iMMC Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics - UCLouvain

In line with the vision of the iMMC {www.uclouvain.be/immc}, the mission of the TFL division is to study physical phenomena, define models, and design solutions towards sustainable development in energy and transport. This mission is executed by a team of 6 professors, 2 research associates and around 40 researchers (PhD candidates and post-docs). They perform modelling, and numerical and experimental investigations in the areas of energy systems and fluid mechanics. While they make progress in these areas, they also develop various methodologies: numerical methods and high-performance computing (HPC), machine learning and data-driven engineering, and robust optimization. They also seek links with other disciplines: artificial intelligence, optimal control, and mechatronics. The experimental work is supported by the CREDEM platform composed of 10 highly-skilled technical staff members.

Prof. F. Contino works at micro (micro gas turbines, hydrogen storage, ...) and macro levels (region, country) to understand what the key drivers are to help us succeed the energy transition. In that context, he uses robust design optimization and makes it affordable by developing efficient optimizer and fast uncertainty quantification methods. He also integrates other disciplines in his research by studying the social practices related to energy consumption and the impact of policies on the transition.

Prof. Yann Bartosiewicz performs research in heat and mass transfers in fluid flow related to energy efficiency devices and nuclear thermal-hydraulics. The research is generally conducted (i) at different levels (Computational Fluid Dynamics including industrial RANS simulations as well as high fidelity simulations such as Large Eddy Simulation; thermodynamic or system simulations; experiments), and (ii) at different scales (study of local transport phenomena at the component scale, study of global thermodynamic performances at the system scale). The mains applications cover heat transfers in liquid metal conditions for GEN4 nuclear reactors, two-phase flow heat and mass transfers in spent fuel pools and the study of supersonic ejectors and jetpumps for energy efficiency in thermodynamic cycles.

P. Chatelain leads the Turbulence and Vorticity (T&V) group with G. Winckelmans within the Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil engineering (iMMC) at UCLouvain. T&V focuses on the simulation and study of vorticity-dominated incompressible flows and turbulence. This research effort, initiated by Prof. G. Winckelmans over 26 years ago, has brought important contributions in turbulence modelling and the simulation of bluff body aerodynamics and aircraft wakes by means of Lagrangian vortex methods. With P. Chatelain’s arrival in 2009, the group has expanded its expertise in High-Performance Computing, leading to ground-breaking LES-based studies of wakes (wind turbine, aircraft, rotorcraft). It has also expanded its research toward multidisciplinary themes in wind energy, bio-locomotion, flow-structure interaction,…; alo by applying tools from AI, control and Multi-Agent Systems to the modelling and optimization of these systems. The group also has strong connections with the robotics and mechatronics research groups at UCLouvain; these collaborations have led to robotic platforms for fluid mechanics (swimming eel, robotic arm). The group has thus contributed to a few experimental platforms including an in-house designed-and-built drone airship.