Thermofluids

Thermofluids

The faculty in the Thermofluids Research Group consists of professors who use modelling, numerical simulations, experiments, design and development for industrial and biomedical applications. Key application areas include complex flows and complex fluids, aerodynamics, fluid-structure interaction, aero-/hydroelasticity, two-phase flows, microfluidics, combustion, clean energy, particle systems and energy conservation, acoustics, naval architecture and pulp and paper.

The faculty group is made up of Nima Atabaki, Kendal Bushe, Gwynn Elfring, Ian Frigaard, Dana Grecov, Sheldon Green, Rajeev Jaiman, Patrick Kirchen, Christopher McKesson, Walter Mérida, Jon Mikkelsen, Carl Ollivier-Gooch, James Olson, Peter Ostafichuk, Steven Rogak, Martha Salcudean, and Boris Stoeber. A few of the projects currently underway are outlined below.

Dr. Nima Atabaki — Heat and Mass Transfer

Current Projects: Loop heat pipes, two-phase fluid flow and heat transfer, effective thermal conductivity of fluid saturated sintered powder metal plates, and HVAC systems.

Homepage for Nima Atabaki

Dr. Kendal Bushe — Turbulent Combustion

Current Projects: Numerical simulation of turbulent combustion in internal combustion engines and gas turbines, model development for turbulence/chemistry interactions, chemical kinetic mechanism development, and renewable fuels for heavy-duty transportation and stationary power applications.

Homepage for Kendal Bushe

Dr. Gwynn Elfring — Mathematical Modeling

Current Projects: Ongoing research into the mechanics of soft matter, including cell biomechanics, mechanics of active suspensions, interfacial rheology and instabilities, and non-Newtonian flow physics.

Homepage for Gwynn Elfring

Dr. Ian Frigaard — Fluid Mechanics

Current Projects: Studies are pursued continuously, using a mix of experimental, computational and mathematical tools. The subject areas range across industrial processes, typically involving non-Newtonian and/or multiphase fluids. Areas of specialization include  viscoplastic (yield stress) fluids and flows connected with the cementing of oil and gas wells.

Homepage for Ian Frigaard

Dr. Dana Grecov — Fluid Mechanics

Current Projects: Computational and experimental methods to analyze complex fluid flow in journal bearings, design of new lubricants and biolubricants, rheostructural and hydrodynamic study of synovial fluid, numerical simulation of industrial flows, Non-Newtonian fluid flows occurring in processing and primary industries.

Homepage for Dana Grecov

Dr. Sheldon I. Green — Fluid Mechanics

Current Projects: Liquid friction modifier application to train tracks (industrial partner: LB Foster; collaborators: Boris Stoeber and Neil Balmforth), electrospraying onto a moving surface (industrial partner: LB Foster; collaborator: Boris Stoeber), analytical and experimental studies of paper creping (industrial partners: FP Innovations, Kruger Products, Solenis, Albany; collaborator: Srikantha Phani), experimental studies of paper pressing (industrial partner: AstenJohnson; collaborator: Boris Stoeber), energy recovery ventilator optimization (industrial partner: CORE Energy Recovery Solutions; collaborator: Steven Rogak).

Homepage for Sheldon I. Green

Dr. Rajeev Jaiman — Fluid-Structure Interaction

Current Projects: Development of high-fidelity variational methods for fluid-structure interaction and aeroelasticity, Data-driven modeling and model reduction for unsteady wake dynamics, Physics of vortex- and wake-induced vibrations, Active and passive flow control techniques for flow-induced vibration, Bio-inspired flapping and locomotion, Modeling and physics of multiphase fluid-structure interaction via ALE/phase-field techniques.

Homepage for Rajeev Jaiman

Dr. Patrick Kirchen — Combustion

Current projects: Thermal energy conversion, combustion, internal combustion engines, ion transport membranes.

Homepage for Patrick Kirchen

Dr. Walter Mérida — Clean Energy Systems

Current Projects: Energy systems (climate disruption), fuel cell technology (durability and reliability), and hydrogen infrastructures (refueling stations for fuel cell vehicles).

Homepage for Walter Mérida

Pr. Jon Mikkelsen — Naval Architecture

Current Projects: Developing a vertical axis tidal turbine for power generation, and collaborating with First Nations to develop live capture fishing technologies.

Homepage for Jon Mikkelsen

Dr. Carl F. Ollivier-Gooch — Aerodynamics

Current Projects: Developing high-order accurate methods for compressible, turbulent flows, with applications in aerodynamics, aerodynamic optimization, and unstructured mesh generation from CAD data.

Homepage for Carl F. Ollivier-Gooch

Dr. James Olson — Pulp and Paper

Current Projects: Reducing electrical energy consumption in pulping, developing a mathematical model of fibre
orientation and concentration in turbulent flow, and design of a high performance, low energy pulp screen rotor.

Homepage for James Olson

Dr. Peter Ostafichuk — Aerodynamics

Current projects: Aerodynamics of sport, general aerodynamics, hydrodynamics.

Homepage for Pete Ostafichuk

Dr. Steven Rogak — Particle Systems and Energy Conservation

Current Projects: Development of simple, low-emissions fuel injectors for heavy-duty engines, determining the optimal balance between thermal comfort and energy consumption in buildings.

Homepage for Steven Rogak

Dr. Adam Rysanek – Energy and Environmental Systems in the Built Environment

Current Projects: Optimum design, construction, and control of high-performance building energy systems using data analytics and machine learning; Simulation-based optimization of energy-efficient building design; Bayesian statistics for building performance evaluation.

Homepage for Adam Rysanek

Dr. Boris Stoeber — MEMS and Microfluids

Current Projects: Flow control in microfluidic devices, complex microflows, microflow characterization methods, micro-optical devices, biomedical microdevices, and sensor technology.

Homepage of Boris Stoeber