RSA CE&C 2015-2021 Group descriptions

Chemical and Process Technology (CPT) 31 2. Education of MSc and PhD graduates for the process industry – many MSc and PhD students have graduated from our group and carry their knowledge and expertise to the process industries (Akzo Nobel, Dow Chemical, DSM, Sabic, Shell, Tata Steel and many others). 3. Development of academic researchers – during the review period, two former PhD students (K.A. Buist and M.W. Baltussen) were educated and hired as assistant professors within the research unit and two at another department (Giulia Finotello and Yali Tang), while two associate professors (N.G. Deen and J.T. Padding) have been promoted to full professors at TU/e and TUD. The valorization of our research is affected by i) direct knowledge transfer via bilateral or consortia projects and joint publications with industry and ii) MSc and PhD graduates (see above). Research facilities Our groupmaintains a state-of-the-art high-performance computing (HPC) cluster for large-scale MCFD simulations (last updated in 2021). In addition, we have access (via many successful grant applications) to the national Snellius (previously Cartesius) supercomputer for very demanding calculations requiring the utilization of massively parallel computing devices. In the laboratories of our group, a wide range of state-of-the-art experimental techniques are available for the non-invasive monitoring of multiphase flows, including high-resolution high-speed cameras, optical techniques (PIV, DIA, LDA, PDA, IRT, LIF, SLIPI), electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) for operations at elevated pressure, magnetic particle tracking (MPT) and MRI flow imaging. The capabilities of these techniques are continuously being improved through the acquisition of external funding. In addition, dedicated technical support staff are available within the group. Prospects Development of the research field The Multi-Scale Modeling of Multiphase Flows research group combines unique experience in the multi-scale modeling of multiphase chemical reactors in concert with the development and application of powerful non-invasive monitoring techniques for model validation. Recent developments include the following topics: • The combined computational and experimental (usingMRI flow imaging) study of multiphase reactive flows in complex porous media, including trickle-bed reactors. • The coupling of microkinetic models (MKM) with advanced multiphase computational fluid dynamics models to enable the ab initio prediction of multi-tubular fixed bed chemical reactors. • The modeling of multicomponent electrochemical conversion processes with production/ consumption gaseous species using advanceddirect numerical simulation (DNS) techniques. • The development of magnetic particle tracking (MPT) techniques allowing the measurement of rotational particle motion in dense granular flows. Further improvement and expansion of the functionality of this technique will be investigated. Viability Our research group combines unique knowledge and experience in the multi-scale modeling of multiphase chemical reactors and the utilization of powerful non-invasive monitoring techniques. The group members have highly complementary knowledge and expertise and mutually collaborate to tackle complicated problems. In view of the importance of multiphase flows andprocesses, the future of the group looks bright and consequently there are no concerns