activity overview and future perspectives of small group
TRANSCRIPT
Activity overview and future perspectives of SMaLL group
Prof. Pietro Asinari, PhD
Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, ITALY
PI of multi-Scale ModeLing Laboratory – SMaLL (www.polito.it/small)
Editor of Heliyon (Elsevier, http://www.heliyon.com)
Project Technical Advisor (PTA) of the EC Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Unit D.3 — Advanced Materials and Nanotechnologies
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Overview: Funding, team, international collaborations
and our vision
Methods: Novel solvers, nanoparticles & nanofluids
and thermal percolating networks
Technologies: Advanced metering and heat transfer
enhancement by additive manufacturing
Societal impact: Solar energy, thermal energy storage
and clean water & desalination
Future perspectives
Outline
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Fund raising (2008-2016, nine years)
NOTE: PA has raised 2,79 M€ in funding during the last nine years (i.e. more
than 310 k€/y).
TIMELINE Role Project Type Cost [k€] 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
PI THERMAL-SKIN FIRB 954
PI NANO-BRIDGE PRIN 192
PI ENERGRID REG. 137
PI NANOSTEP/ERC(a) REG. 199
PI ENI S.p.A. NAT. 50
Co-PI MITOR REG. 27
Unit leader ARTEMIS FP7 352
Unit leader HT-PEM PRIN 23
Unit leader EMMC-CSA H2020 388
Group leader THERMONANO FP7 115
Group leader DRAPO' REG. 40
Group leader MODCOMP H2020 226
Group leader COMPOSELECTOR H2020 90
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http://www.polito.it/small
Current research assistants
Eliodoro Chiavazzo, PhD, Assistant
Professor (RTD-B)
Shahin Mohammadnejad, Grad. Assistant (IRAN)
Annalisa Cardellini, PhD Student (III)
Matteo Fasano, PhD, Post-doc
Matteo Morciano, PhD Student (I) Davide Lizzi, Grad. Assistant 4
(Part of) current international network
Prof. E. Wang, MIT
Prof. L.-S. Luo, ODU
Prof. S. Garimella, PURDUE
Prof. D. Megaridis, UIC
USA
Prof. D. Blankschtein, MIT
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(Part of) current international network
Prof. D. Poulikakos, ETH
Prof. M. Krafczyk, BRAUNSCHWEIG
Prof. F. Bresme, IMPERIAL
Prof. F. Kuznik, INSA-LYON
EUROPE
Prof. N. Marzari, EPFL
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(Part of) current international network
NOTE: PA was nominated Research Associate by the
Graduate School of Engineering of Kyoto
University (2006, 09, 12).
Prof. Z. Guo, HUST
Prof. T. Ohwada, KYOTO
FAR EAST
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Former research assistants are now in...
F. Di Rienzo, PhD ROLLS-ROYCE
S. Izquierdo, PhD ITA-INNOVA
L. Bergamasco, PhD UPMC - Paris 6
F. Robotti, ETH
A. S. Tascini, IMPERIAL
M. R. Vaziri Sereshk, UC Merced
F. Cola, NANYANG (NTU)
A. Bevilacqua, IMPERIAL
U. Salomov, PhD, RECTOR of Andijan Machine Building Institute (Uzbekistan)
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Our vision
Proof-of-concept (POC)
Energy materials
Modelling, methods and simulations: Novel models; Faster solvers; Smaller memory demand; High performance computing (HPC)
Heat & mass transfer enhancement / Metering
Societal impact
Technologies
Methods
Clean water & Desalination
Thermal energy storage
Solar energy
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Methods
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Nanoparticles
α Al2O3
Magnetite
A. Cardellini, M. Fasano, M. Bozorg Bigdeli, E. Chiavazzo and Asinari, P., Thermal transport phenomena in nanoparticle suspensions, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 28, 2016
Nanofluids for heat transfer !
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Understanding nanofluids: Nano
• Thermal conductivity and
viscosity of nanofluids depend
on three main effects:
1. (Nano) Interfacial thermal
resistance (coating);
2. (Meso) Solvent nano-layer
effect, i.e. thin layer of water
which is adsorbed on the
nanoparticle surface;
3. (Macro) Brownian motion of
the nanoparticles, requiring
a mesoscopic description of
the solvent micro-dynamics
(e.g. by LBM or Link-wise).
TH = 1.15
TC=0.95
Nano-particle
Temperature jump = Interfacial thermal
resistance
Biot >> 1
Heat flux
Base fluid
Radius N
orm
aliz
ed
te
mp
era
ture
Tascini A.S., Armstrong J., Chiavazzo E., Fasano M., Asinari, P. and Bresme F.,
Thermal transport across nanoparticle-fluid interfaces, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, submitted 2016 12
Meso: Thickness of the water nano-layer
BEST RESULT #1: [BEST1] Chiavazzo, E., Fasano, M., Asinari, P., Decuzzi, P., NATURE Communications, 5, 4565, 2014
The atomistic description of the surface is used
to predict the water nano-layer thickness and its
energetic properties (validated experimentally
and independently by ORNL in USA, 2015).
Novel dimensionless quantity !
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Energy released by the water nano-layer
BEST RESULT #1: [BEST1] Chiavazzo, E., Fasano, M., Asinari, P., Decuzzi, P., NATURE Communications, 5, 4565, 2014
The method allows an a-priori
estimate of the heat of adsorption,
which is useful to discriminate
hundreds of adsorption materials. Heat of sorption/desorption
0
100
200
300
Water PCM Zeolite
Thermal energy density
[kWh/m3]
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Macro: Choose the right solver!
• More than 10,000 papers in
roughly 25 years (1,000
papers only in 2015); 10
books; Commercial software.
NOTE: PA joined the International Scientific Committee of the International Conference for
Mesoscopic Methods in Engineering and Science (ICMMES) in 2012 (on-going).
• Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is
considered a powerful solver for the
simulation of complex energy flows
(e.g. particle dynamics) and large
domains (e.g. environmental flows).
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• Ohwada & Asinari [BEST3, 2010] recognized that the LBM for
incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is nothing more than a very
efficient discretization of the Artificial Compressibility Method (ACM).
• Later, Asinari et al. [R19] proposed an alternative novel method, called
Link-wise ACM, mimicking the efficient LBM discretization, but using
only macroscopic variables.
Revamping ACM: Link-wise ACM !
BEST RESULT #3: [BEST3] Ohwada, T., Asinari, P., JCP, 229 (5), 2010; [R19] Asinari, P., Ohwada, T., Chiavazzo, E., Di Rienzo, A.F., JCP 231 (15), 2012
• This novel approach (a) is over twice as fast as
LBM and (b) requires only one fifth of the memory
(GTX Titan GPU card). Hence it is extremely
promising on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for
super-computing on the desktop !!!
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(1) Fuel cells
BEST RESULT #2: [BEST2] Asinari, P. et al., JPS, 170 (2), 2007; [R13] Salomov U.R. et al., Comput. & Math. with Appl. 67, 2014; Salomov U.R. et al., Int. J. of Hydrogen Energy 40, 2015.
• Huge computational power is extremely
useful to characterize also fuel cell
electrodes. Better performance can be
achieved by reducing the tortuosity of
electrodes, which can be computed by
pore-scale simulations [BEST2, R13].
• Pioneering work [BEST2] has been
recently extended to design better
catalyst distribution inside the
catalyst layer and hence to mitigate
degradation phenomena [R13].
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SOFC
HT-PEM
(2) Electric desalination
• A mesoscopic model of electrolytes has
been developed based on an extended
thermodynamic approach [Asinari, P., PRE
80 (5), 2009; Asinari, P., PRE 77(5), 2008;
Zudrop, J. et al., PRE 89 (5), 2014; Zudrop,
J. et al., Comput. & Fluids, submitted].
• This model has been implemented in a
massively parallel (efficient up to 100,000
cores), octree-based, software framework
called APES (RWTH Aachen University).
• The code is used in the design of the
Electrodialysis & Electrodeionization Unit
by Siemens Water Technologies. 18
(3) Thermally conductive composites
• Heat transfer in complex heterogeneous
systems is also crucial in designing
composites materials with enhanced
thermal conductivity.
• Here there are two challenges:
1. To minimize the interfacial
thermal resistance among filler
particles (Fasano et al., Renew.
Sust. Energ. Rev. 41, 2015);
2. To optimize the thermal
percolation network (Chiavazzo
E., Asinari P., Int. J. Therm. Sci.
49, 2010).
HOT Thermostat
COLD Thermostat 19
(4) Aeraulic simulations at urban scale
• Link-wise ACM is considered one of the most
promising tools for thermal aeraulic
simulations for buildings at urban scale. The
Energy and Thermal Sciences Center (CETHIL)
of INSA Lyon has already implemented link-
wise ACM in their multi-GPU code (Obrecht
et al., JCP 275, 2014; Obrecht et al.,
COMPUT. MATH. APPL. 72:2, 2016).
Courtesy of IRMB
• Beyond Academia, Link-wise ACM is currently
used by commercial software houses,
namely Next Limit Technologies (Spain) and
FluiDyna GmbH (Germany).
Courtesy of CETHIL
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DNS
LES
Technologies
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www.thermalskin.org
Convective heat transfer sensor
1 cm
This flush-mounted novel sensor allows
measuring small convective heat fluxes
(< 0.2 W/cm2) with very small average
deviations < 6%. 22
Advanced heat sinks
Manufacturing technology Samples
Traditional machining (including by electrical discharge)
Additive manufacturing (AM), in collaboration with IIT
Laser etching, in collaboration with Microla S.r.l.
Direct carbon nanotubes growth, in collaboration with Carbon Group
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MAX ENHANCEMENT based on fitting: 70,2 %
www.thermalskin.org
Ventola et al., Int. J. of
Heat and Mass Transfer
75, pp. 58–74, 2014.
AM: Artificial roughness
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Reference
Roughness only
Roughness + Smart design
Fluid stagnation (i.e. TBL thickness increase) !!!
AM: Pitot-based heat sink
25 M. Fasano, L. Ventola, F. Calignano, D. Manfredi, E. Ambrosio, E. Chiavazzo, P. Asinari,
Passive heat transfer enhancement..., Int. Comm. Heat and Mass Transfer 74, 2016
MAX ENHANCEMENT 35,0 %
Societal impact
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Desalination by reverse osmosis
• Zeolite-based materials are used for
desalination by reverse osmosis.
• A thermodynamic model has been
used to rationalize the molecular
dynamics simulations for infiltration
and to predict the role of defects.
Clean water & Desalination
+
27 Courtesy of Prof. Evelyn Wang (MIT)
M. Fasano, T. Humplik, A. Bevilacqua, M. Tsapatsis, E. Chiavazzo, E.N. Wang, P. Asinari, Interplay between hydrophilicity and surface barriers on water transport in zeolite membranes, NATURE Communications, 7, 12762, 2016.
The role of surface barriers
From Molecular Dynamics
From Experiments
Proposed correction
Clean water & Desalination
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Multi Effect Distillation
Exhaust heat recovery
Clean water & Desalination 29
Rooftop solar potential
• The rooftop solar potential of the Piedmont
Region was estimated as 69 TWh/year
[Asinari P. & Bergamasco L., Solar Energy 85,
p. 1041-1055 & p. 2741-2756, 2011].
• This may lead to 6.9 TWhe/year, equal to
electric energy produced (in same Region) by
all renewable sources in 2009 (GSE).
30 Solar energy
Solar-based water treatment
In-field
Lab scale: Titanium Dioxide Coated Hollow Glass Microspheres
Solar energy 31
Thin-film solar cell
3 IT and 2 international
patent applications (EURO-PCT)
Much cheaper device, but
same efficiency as
MIT’s
Solar energy
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Future perspectives
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Summing up: Industrial challenges
Molecular
(Nano) Particle/grain
(Meso) Thermal-fluid
(Macro)
Energy materials
Nanoparticles, nanointerfaces
Nanofluids, Composite materials
Porous electrodes for fuel cells
Metering Thermal guard
(1) Thermal sensor
Heat transfer enhancement
Boundary layer
(2) Pitot-based heat sink
Thermal energy storage
Zeolite-based battery
(3) Thermal battery on cars
Solar energy Solar water treatment
(4) Thin-film solar cell
Clean water & Desalination
Membranes for desalination
Electro- dialysis for desalination
Thermal insulation
(5) Multi-effect distillation (MED)
Modelling, METHODS and simulations
Proof-of-concept (POC)
CHALLENGES 34
Understanding societal feedbacks
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(1) Democratization for Every3
Clean water & Desalination
Thermal energy storage
Solar energy
Everyone: Technology must address basic needs which hold for everyone on Earth, e.g. water. Today, 780 million people lack access to an improved
water source; approximately one in nine people [WHO & UNICEF, 2012].
Every time: The variability of solar energy poses some challenges in
terms of thermal storage, in particular for demanding tasks as
water purification.
Everywhere: The majority of developing countries fall within the most favorable regions for
solar radiation, in contrast to the conventional sources.
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(2) Personal (flexible) manufacturing
In the long-term future, objects will be built when and where are needed, e.g. Fab@Home is a platform of printers and programs which can produce functional 3D objects on desktop and is supported by a global, open-source community.
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(Educational platform)
Solar steam generation
Stratasys Elite 3D printer + support removal
Roland MDX-540 4-axis desktop CNC mill
Workline WL6146 Laser cutter
Multiple effect distillator
Newport 94041A Sun Simulator\
Biocompatible solar nanofluids Energy Fab Lab
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On-going activities New facilities (31/12/2016)
3D-printing for heat storage
The impact on teaching and learning …
2016, October 10th, @POLITO
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Short, medium and long term goals
• Long-term plan (10 years): Setting-up a
laboratory (Energy Fab Lab) for designing
flexible energy-related devices by democratic
manufacturing, addressing basic needs and with
the potential to impact on one billion people.
• Medium-term plan (6 years): Moving developed
technologies for heat and mass transfer
enhancement towards effective commercial
exploitation by industry.
• Short-term plan (3 years): Defining an effective
and feasible multi-scale protocol for predictive
design of nano-interfaces for thermal systems.
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Funding & manpower
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• Funding: A risk mitigation strategy is required:
– Low-risk industrial contracts (ENI, SMAT, DENSO) on thermal
systems (avoiding scattered consultancy);
– Medium-risk H2020 calls, in particular about energy systems
modelling (EMMC-CSA, MODCOMP, COMPOSELECTOR);
– High-risk/high-gain ERC calls, e.g. ERC Consolidator Grant
(already passed Step 1 in 2015, but still working on…).
• Manpower:
– Developing the democratic manufacturing would require
another permanent research assistant (RTD-A) in the group;
– It is important to offer a qualified exit strategy to brilliant
PhD students, e.g. by a spin-off.
Additional slides
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Zeolite-based automotive thermal storage
• Thermal storage is required on modern cars
for thermal comfort and outside windshield
defrosting during start-up.
• A novel zeolite-based prototype of thermo-
adsorptive storage has been developed for
Denso Thermal Systems S.p.A. (revenues in
2006 were 750 M€ with 3,500 employees).
To engine cooling/heating system
Engine exhaust
Zeolite
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Thermal energy storage
Nanofluids for solar collectors
• Carbon nanohorn-based nanofluids are considered promising as
black fluids for direct-absorption solar collectors [Moradi A. et al.,
J. of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 15, 2015].
• The thermal performance in polymer collectors are currently under
investigation: Advantages in terms of flexible manufacturing and design.
By Lengmartin (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via
Wikimedia Commons Solar energy 45
Not only ambition: Material vs. Device
Solar steam with thermal efficiency up to 85% at only 10 kW/m2 [Ghasemi H. at al., Nature Comm., 5:4449, Jul 2014]. “A novel carbon-based material gives solar steam power a boost” [The Economist].
85%, July 2014
80% first tested release
Almost same performance
by a democratic device
instead! Three patents
already submitted. 46
Desalination by reverse osmosis
• Zeolite-based materials are used for
desalination by reverse osmosis.
• A thermodynamic model has been
used to rationalize the molecular
dynamics simulations for infiltration
and to predict the role of defects. Clean water & Desalination
47
Other academic and professional duties
• Member of the Steering Committee of
the U.I.T. (Unione Italiana di
Termofluidodinamica) under the
President Prof. Alfonso Niro
• Member of the Executive Board of the
the Alta Scuola Politecnica (ASP), which
was funded in 2004 by Politecnico di
Milano and Politecnico di Torino,
restricted to 150 young and exceptionally
talented students.
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• Member of the Operational Management Board (OMB) of the European
Materials Modelling Council (EMMC).
Maps for Rational Design of Engineered Nanofluids for Solar thermal Energy (DENSE)
by Dr. Pietro ASINARI, Politecnico di Torino, ITALY
- Principal Investigator of the Multi-Scale Modelling Laboratory – SMaLL (www.polito.it/small)
- Management Board member of the European Materials Modelling Council (http://emmc.info)
- 66 articles on peer-reviewed international journals (37 as senior author), 3 patent applications, 982 citations, 19 h-index (Google)
- 1,8 M€ in funding during the last 7 years (i.e. more than 0.26 M€/y)
PhD in Computational
Engineering
Renewable Energy
Mechanical Engineer
Clean Water Center @ PoliTO
• The Clean Water Center @PoliTo addresses technological and societal challenges related to water treatment and supply. Its main goal is the development of water treatment systems that are scalable for use by industry and the public sector at medium-large scale. The center gathers equipment and know-how to exploit alternative water and energy sources. Main proponents: Proff. Alberto Tiraferri, Pietro Asinari and Davide Luca Janner.
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Applicazioni Energetiche dei Materiali
• Il corso si propone di trasmettere una cultura ingegneristica sui materiali recenti più avanzati (nano-ingegnerizzati) per applicazioni energetiche, con particolare enfasi sulle correlazioni esistenti tra struttura, microstruttura e prestazione degli stessi.
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