Miltiadis V. Papalexandris

New papers

Thermal frontal polymerization (TFP) is a process that converts a liquid monomer solution into a solid polymer through the propagation of a reaction front. It has gained interest as a fast, energy-efficient method for composite manufacturing. In our paper, recently published in the journal Chemical Engineering Science, we present a two-phase model for TFP and examine the effects of fluid motion. According to our findings, it does not affect substantially the average front speed but has a noticeable impact on the monomer conversion hence the final composition of the product.

In our paper, recently published in the journal Fuel, we study the mechanism of soot formation in n-dodecane and biodiesel spray flames. According to our results, biodiesel develops a less rapidly spreading flame and produces markedly lower soot levels than n-dodecane. This reduction is linked to modified local mixture conditions and decreased availability of soot-forming precursors.

Research Activities

The research activities of our group lie primarily on the fields of Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics with particular emphasis on the fundamentals of multi-phase flows, reacting flows and electrohydrodynamics.. Our activities cover: i) development of mathematical models for the flows of interest, ii) algorithm development for these models and software verification & validation, and iii) detailed numerical studies and simulations via high performance computing.

With regard to multi-phase flows, our current research activities focus on i) fluid-saturated granular materials and granular suspensions with application to sediment transport in coastal and fluvial environments, ii) flows through porous media with application to heat-transfer enhancement, iii) liquid-vapor systems with applications to nuclear-reactor safety, and iv) electric charge accumulation during the pneumatic conveying of powders and in flows of liquid dielectrics.

With regard to reacting flows, we are currently pursuing research on both subsonic and supersonic combustion. Examples include spray combustion, detonations, and frontal polymerization.

Funding of these ongoing projects is provided by the European Commission, the National Fund of Scientific Research of Belgium (FNRS), the Belgian Federal Public Service Economy and the private sector.

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