Lluís Jofre Cruanyes (Technical University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech, UPC) has obtained an ERC Starting Grant 2021. His project SCRAMBLE (Turbulence-On-a-Chip: Supercritically Overcoming the Energy Frontier in Microfluidics) will focus on the fundamentals of inducing turbulent flow in microdevices and their applications.

In 2009, Lluís started a PhD in Fluid Mechanics at the Heat and Mass Transfer Technological Center at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC, Spain) to carry out theoretical and computational research in Fluid Mechanics and engineering applications. His work focused on interfacial hydrodynamics and two-phase turbulent flow. He also did a research stay at the Bernoulli Institute for Mathematics, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) to work on modelling multiphase turbulent flows.

In 2014, Lluís obtained a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Center for Turbulence Research (CTR) at Stanford University (USA). His work there focused on the physics, modelling and computational development of a computing system and software to perform predictive, extreme-scale studies of irradiated particle-laden flows. He also studied the fluid mechanics of multiscale particle motion in irradiated turbulence using the new Sierra supercomputer and worked on developing a multiscale model for describing the interfacial hydrodynamics of high-pressure transcritical flows in atomization processes. After promoting to Engineering Research Associate at Stanford University in 2017, he also worked on multiphysics flows, data science flow analysis, and reduced-order modelling, as well as supervising PhD students and teaching postgraduate courses.

Since 2020, Luís is a Beatriz Galindo Professor & Researcher in the Department of Fluid Mechanics of the Technical University of Barcelona – BarcelonaTech (Spain), where he teaches courses on Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics and Transport Phenomena, and leads research on topics related to Multiscale Fluid Mechanics, Data Science, Model Reduction, UQ and Computational Science & Engineering with applications to advanced energy, propulsion & transportation systems, biomedical applications, and manufacturing technology.

Which are the main objectives of SCRAMBLE?

The technological opportunities enabled by understanding and controlling the microscale world have not yet been capitalized to disruptively improve energy processes, especially heat transfer and power generation. This is mainly due to the laminar flows typically encountered in microdevices resulting in low mixing and transfer rates. This is a central unsolved problem in the thermal-fluid sciences,  in what some researchers refer to as “lab-on-a-chip and energy – the microfluidic frontier”. Therefore, the overarching goal of the SCRAMBLE project is to overcome this long-standing frontier by (i) discovering the fundamentals of inducing turbulent flow in microdevices by means of utilizing high-pressure supercritical fluids, (ii) finding the critical conditions to drastically enhance and control mixing and transfer processes, and (iii) designing, fabricating and testing a disruptive first-ever series of turbulence-on-a-chip prototypes for transferring energy with a hundredfold performance improvement with respect to standard microsystems.

Why did you decide to carry out your research at the Technical University of Catalonia?

After 5 years as a researcher at Stanford University (USA), I decided that I wanted to return back to Barcelona (Spain) to start my Research Group at my alma mater university, the Technical University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech. The principal motivation was to transfer the knowledge and expertise gathered during my PhD and postdoctoral research to the next generation of students and contribute to the Spanish innovation ecosystem.

One of the main benefits of working at the Technical University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech is the interaction with excellent students and researchers and the access to excellent research facilities and equipment.

How do you expect this grant will affect your professional career?

The successful accomplishment of the objectives proposed within the SCRAMBLE project will disruptively enhance microfluidic mixing and transfer (estimation of 100x larger than in standard devices). This achievement will largely increase the efficiency of present-day and future energy applications by opening a new path to overcome the so-called “energy frontier in microfluidics”. In addition, in the mid-term, this grant will help establish my research group at the Technical University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech focused on fundamental studies of multiscale flow phenomena and engineering applications.

Are you planning to open research positions at your group?

Yes, 4 PhD and 2 Postdoctoral Research positions are open in the Fluid Mechanics fields of (1) theoretical and computational studies, (2) microfluidic laboratory experiments, (3) data-driven flow analysis, and (4) design-oriented uncertainty quantification. Additional information is available at https://sites.google.com/view/lluisjofre.

Are you planning any collaborations?

The SCRAMBLE project will collaborate with researchers at Stanford University (USA), University of British Columbia (Canada), University of Dundee (United Kingdom), and University of Colorado Boulder (USA). Additional prospective collaborations are envisioned with universities and research institutions in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Where can we learn more about you and your project?

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/lluisjofre

Twitter: @FluidMechLJC

Selected publications

Transcritical diffuse-interface hydrodynamics of propellants in high-pressure combustors of chemical propulsion systems, L. Jofre & J. Urzay, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 82, 100877 (2021).

Data-driven dimensional analysis of heat transfer in irradiated particle-laden turbulent flow, L. Jofre, Z. R. del Rosario & G. Iaccarino, International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 125, 103198 (2020).

During the following weeks, we will be presenting those researchers working at Spanish institutions that have obtained an ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant 2021 and their projects. You can check their profiles HERE.