Mathematical modelling and CFD

Dubravka Pokrajac , Kejian Wu , Peter Hicks , Zaibin Lin , Kevin Suen , Yingfang Zhou , Jeff Gomes

This research area focuses on the development of mathematical and computational models for fluid flows in a range of environmental and industrial applications. The group has interests in multi- and single-phase fluid flow dynamics in porous media, open channels and confined spaces. Current research includes splashing in droplet impacts, sloshing and ship slamming, fluid flows in reservoir rocks, unsteady turbulent flows over rough walls, multiphysics models including fluid-structure interaction (for wind power generation), fluid-radiation-solid interaction (for nuclear systems), and predictive models (including reduced-order models, data assimilation and machine learning).

Recent external projects

2022-2024	Development, Deployment and Commercialisation of Laser Cutting as an Innovative and More Efficient Offshore and Subsea Cutting Service, Innovate UK (J. Gomes, £282k)
2020-2023	Application of Double-Averaging Methodology to modelling of flow in compound channels with vegetation on floodplains, Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia (D. Pokrajac, £8.2K)
2021-2022	Proof of Concept: Design of a Stirling Engine for Maritime Transport, Interface (J. Gomes, £5k)
2017-2022	Stream-aquifer interactions and their influence on flow regimes and fluvial processes in ephemeral streams, United Utilities Water PLC (D. Pokrajac £140k)
2016-2018	Modelling hyporheic exchange flows of natural streams in Palestine, Israel and the UK, British Council (D. Pokrajac, £100k)
2020-2021	Level set method based tool for automatic in-situ contact angle and curvature measurements, Total (Y. Zhou).
2020-2021	Multiscale numerical and experimental approaches on Multiphysics problems in porous media, British Council and NSFC (Y. Zhou).
2019-2020	Prototyping contact angle measurement, Total (Y. Zhou)
2019-2022	Pore scale simulation of oil migration and reservoir formulation, PetrolChina Research Institute Northwest Branch (Y. Zhou)
2017-2019	Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) characterization of wettability and pore scale modelling of multiphase flow in unconventional reservoirs, RSE-NSFC Joint project (Y. Zhou).
2017-2018	The effect of wettability distribution on flow function in tight reservoir formation by direct pore scale modelling, State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation (Y. Zhou).
2016-2018	Fractal characterization and pore scale modeling of capillary flow in porous media, The Royal Society, International Exchange Scheme (Y. Zhou).
2016-2017	Local wettability variation on seal and reservoir rocks for CO geological sequestration, pore scale modelling and direct imaging, UKCCSRC International collaboration fund (Y. Zhou).
2012-2016	Flood MEMORY: Multi-Event Modelling Of Risk & recovery, EPSRC (D. Pokrajac, £214k), total project value £1.9M.

Recent PhD projects

2022 - present	Stephen Ajah	Numerical Investigation of Critical Heat Flux during Criticality Excursions in Water-Cooled Nuclear Reactors - A CFD-AI Approach for Interface-Capturing Methods
2019 - present	Abdulrauf Bello	Macroscopic fluxes and forces in porous media flows
2019 - present	Temiloluwa Onimisi	An Integrated POD-AI Reduced-Order Model for Permeability Tensor in Multiphase Flows
2019 - present	Rui Li	Pore-Scale Modelling of Geophysical Properties in Hydrate Bearing Sediment
2022	Dr Babatunde Lashore	A Reduced-Order Model for Permeability Upscaling in Multiphase Porous Media Flow
2020	Dr Anelechi Ibekwe	Impact of grain roughness on the pore scale distribution of immiscible fluids in porous media
2019	Dr Alexandra Roslin	Pore scale properties of coals
2017	Dr Zaibin Lin	Integrated numerical model of coastal wave, pile and soil and groundwater
2017	Dr Michele Starnoni	Modelling single and two-phase flow on micro-CT images of rock samples

Selected papers

Onimisi, T., Lashore, B., Akanji, L., Gomes, J. (in press) A Constrained Proper Orthogonal Decomposition Model for Upscaling Permeability. Intl. J. Numerical Methods in Fluids.
Yong, W., Derksen, J. J. and Zhou, Y. (2021) The influence of CO2 and CH4 mixture on water wettability in organic rich shale nanopore, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 87, 103746
Li, Q., Liu, D., Cai, Y., Zhao, B., Lu, Y., and Zhou Y. (2021) Effects of natural micro-fracture morphology, temperature and pressure on fluid flow in coals through fractal theory combined with lattice Boltzmann method, Fuel, 286, 119468.
Lin, Z., Qian, L., Bai, W., Ma, Z., Chen, H., Zhou, J.-G., Gu, H. (2021) A Finite Volume Based fully nonlinear potential flow model for water wave problems. Applied Ocean Research. 106:02445.
Lin, Z., Chen, H., Qian, L., Ma, Z., Causon, D., Mingham, C. (2021) Simulating focused wave impacts on point absorber wave energy converters. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Engineering and Computational Mechanics, 174:9-31.
Ayuba, I., Akanji, L., Falade, G. K., Gomes, J. (2021) Investigation of drift phenomena at the pore-scale during flow and transport in porous media. Mathematics, 9, 2509.
Qin, X., Cai, J., Zhou, Y. and Kang, Z., (2020) Lattice Boltzmann simulation and fractal analysis of effective thermal conductivity in porous media. Applied Thermal Engineering, 180, 115562.
Starnoni, M., Pokrajac, D. (2020) On the macroscopic momentum balance equation for the fluid-fluid interfaces in two-phase porous media flows, Advances in Water Resources, 135, 103487.
Lin, Z., Pokrajac, D., Guo, Y., Liao, C., Tang, T. (2020) Near-trapping effect of wave-cylinders interaction on pore water pressure and liquefaction around a cylinder array. Ocean Engineering, 218, 108047.
Roslin, A., Pokrajac, D. and Zhou, Y., (2019) Cleat structure analysis and permeability simulation of coal samples based on micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and scan electron microscopy (SEM) technology, Fuel, 254, 115579.
Christou, K., Radunz, W.C., Lashore, B.O., de Oliveira, F.B.S., Gomes, J. (2019) Numerical Investigation of Viscous Flow Instabilities in Multiphase Heterogeneous Porous Media. Advances in Water Resources, 130, 46-65.
Ballio, F., Pokrajac, D., Radice, A., and Sadabadi, S.A.H. (2018) Lagrangian and Eulerian description of bed-load transport, Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface, 123(2), 384-408.
Leonardi, A., Pokrajac, D., Roman, F., Zanello, F., Armenio, V. (2018) Surface and subsurface contributions to the build-up of forces on bed particles, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 851(25), 558-572.
Starnoni, M., Pokrajac, D. (2018) Numerical study of the effects of contact angle and viscosity ratio on the dynamics of snap-off through porous media, Advances in Water Resources, 111, 70-85.
Gomes, J., Pavlidis, D., Salinas, P., Xie, Z., Percival, J. R., Melnikova, Y., Pain, C. C., Jackson, M. D. (2017) A Force-Balanced Control Volume Finite Element Method for Multi-Phase Porous Media Flow Modelling. Intl. J. Numerical Methods in Fluids, 83, 431-445.
Zhou, Y., Helland, J. O, and Hatzignatiou, D.G. (2016) Computation of Three-Phase Capillary Pressure Curves and Fluid Configurations in Mixed-Wet Conditions in 2D Rock Images, SPE Journal, SPE-170883-PA.
Pavlidis, D., Gomes, J., Xie, Z., Percival, J. R., Pain, C. C., Matar, O. K. (2016) Compressive advection and multi-component methods for interface-capturing, Intl. J. Numerical Methods in Fluids, 80, 256-282.
Pokrajac, D. and de Lemos, M.J.S. (2015) Spatial averaging over a variable volume and its application to boundary layer flows over permeable walls, ASCE Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 141(4), 04014087.
ElSheikh, A., Pain, C., Fang, F., Gomes, J., Navon, I. M. (2013) Parameter estimation of subsurface flow models using iterative regularized ensemble Kalman filter. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 27, 877-897.
Gomes, J., Pain, C. C., Eaton, M. D., Tollit, B., Goddard, A. J. H., Piggott, M. D., Ziver, K., Yamane, Y. (2011) Coupled neutronics-fluids modelling of criticality within a MOX powder system. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 53, 523-552.