Projects

This research will enable the modeling of nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater treatment plants using integrated CFD and biokinetic models. A reduced model (compartmental model) will be developed still yielding more realistic model predictions compared to current state-of-the-art models. Compartmental model will be used to develop mitigation strategies for nitrous oxide emissions.

Thermal-fluid cooling systems are commonly used in many industrial applications due to their capability to handle high heat loads. An example is the cooling of electronic devices. For the new generations of processors, the continuously increasing power density is a bottleneck in guaranteeing their functional performance. This poses serious challenges to the cooling system design. To optimize the performance of these liquid-cooled heat sinks ...

Taking advantage of interdisciplinary know-how in life sciences and engineering, this project uses a concerted approach to develop novel fluid dynamics models for blood flow in both larval and adult zebrafish. These models will be applied in zebrafish strains carrying engineered genetic mutations that lead to cardiovascular abnormalities, in order to assess their impact on advanced hemodynamic parameters.

The objective is to gain more insight into the impact of a disruption of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in patients with Chiari type 1 malformation. Therefore, we develop computational models, which can realistically simulate cerebrospinal fluid and in turn can be applied to study cerebrospinal fluid pressure and flow under normal conditions and in Chiari type 1 malformation.

This interdisciplinary project combines know-how in life sciences and engineering. Experimental data (ultrasound imaging, synchrotron X-ray tomography…) is used to develop novel fluid dynamics models for blood flow in adult zebrafish. The application of these models in zebrafish strains carrying engineered genetic mutations that lead to cardiovascular abnormalities, allows to assess the impact of ...

Steam cracking of hydrocarbons is the main process for the production of almost all valuable organic base chemicals, especially ethylene and propylene. The goal of this work is to develop a 3D model to accurately simulate both kinetics and flow in steam cracking reactors. This will allow to predict the influence of process conditions and reactor geometry on conversion, product yields and coking behavior, thus greatly enhancing the design of ...

Statistical mechanics is applied to three systems; Colloid-polymer mixture near a hard wall, irreversible aggregation models, and transport phenomena in engines.

Density Functional theory is used to describe a demixed colloid-polymer mixture at three-phase coexistence. The excess surface free energy for imposed wetting layers are computed and the line tension and the shape of the transition zone are computed via an interface ...

The aim of this research project is to gain more insight into the interaction between microclimate, plant water and carbon status and quality aspects of tomato fruits. This will finally result in an integrated plant model for tomato that mechanistically describes different plant processes and allows to predict fruit growth and quality based on climatic conditions.

Well-considered experiments will be carried out on tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) to elucidate the driving microclimatic factors and to unravel the ecophysiological mechanisms underlying growth, development and quality of tomato fruit. Based on this knowledge a useful and integrated simulation model for tomato fruit production and quality will be developed. Biosensors will be used to monitor the plant health status.