Mixing, Interfaces and Flow of Rheologically Complex Fluids

Department of Chemical Engineering

The University of Manchester

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Mixing, Interfaces and Flow of Rheologically Complex Fluids

Department of Chemical Engineering

The University of Manchester

Contact

About

About the group:

Dr Claudio Fonte is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Manchester. His research group activities focus on the study of the flow and mixing dynamics in industrial equipment to provide innovative solutions that address new manufacturing demands. He uses a combination of experimental and computational techniques for the fundamental understanding of physical processes and for the development of computational tools for the in-silico design of new products and equipment. Specific topics of interest include:

Flow and mixing of highly viscous and complex rheology fluids
Microfluidics
Mixing in stirred equipment
Single-phase and multiphase flow in porous media

About Claudio Fonte:

Dr Claudio Fonte obtained his PhD degree in 2012 from the University of Porto, Portugal on the topic of mixing by Confined Impinging Jets (CIJs) for the production of plastic parts by Reaction Injection Moulding. His work focused on the fundamental study of the flow and mixing dynamics in laminar chaotic flows using both Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations (CFD) and laser flow characterisation techniques (Particle Image Velocimetry, PIV; Laser-Induced Fluorescence, PLIF). He was awarded the EFCE Young Researcher Award in Mixing 2015 by the European Federation of Chemical Engineers and its Working Party on Mixing for the innovation, breadth and depth of his research on impinging jets mixing and the dissemination of the results.

From 2013 to 2014 he was a postdoctoral researcher at IFPEN (France), a major research and training centre in the ﬁelds of energy, transport and the environment. There, he developed numerical models of the flow and mass transfer of multiphase pilot-scale stirred reactors using Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Before joining the University of Manchester he was a research engineer at IFPEN in the department responsible for the intensification of pilot-scale equipment. During this period, he developed innovative methodologies based on the combination of computational tools and 3D metal printing techniques for the rational design and manufacture of intensified pilot-scale chemical reactors.

Research topics

Flow and mixing of highly viscous and complex rheology fluids

Reactive injection moulding

Inkjet printing of complex inks

Characterisation of fluid flow in the personal care and food industries

Advanced experimental characterisation of fluid flow

Particle Image Velocimetry

Laser Induced Fluorescence

High-speed shadowgraphy

Mixing in stirred equipment

Blending in laminar and turbulent regimes

High-shear mixing

Solid suspension and gas dispersion

Single-phase and multiphase flow in porous media

Transport and reaction in heterogeneous catalysis

Transport in coatings for corrosion protection

Recent publications

Fully Resolved Modelling and Simulation of Micromixing in Confined Impinging Jets

Brito, M. S. C. A., Dias, M. M., Santos, R. J., Lopes, J. C. B. & Da Fonte, C. P., 2019, In : Chemical Engineering Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2019.115299

Process Intensification via Continuous and Simultaneous Isolation of Antioxidants

Voros, V., Drioli, E., Pereira Da Fonte, C. & Szekely, G., 2019, In: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b04245

Linking power and flow in rotor-stator mixers

John, T. P., Panesar, J. S., Kowalski, A., Rodgers, T. L. & P. Fonte, C., 2019, In: Chemical Engineering Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2019.06.039

Proper Orthogonal Decomposition and Statistical Analysis of 2D Confined Impinging Jets Chaotic Flow

Torres, P., Goncalves, N. D., Fonte, C. P., Dias, M. M., Lopes, J. C. B., Liné, A. & Santos, R. J., 2019, In: Chemical Engineering and Technology

DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201900050

Estimation of kLa Values in Bench-Scale Stirred Tank Reactors with Self-Inducing Impeller

Santos-Moreau, V., Lopes, J. C. B. & Fonte, C. P., 5 Apr 2019, In: Chemical Engineering and Technology

DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201900162

Selecting the best piping arrangement for scaling-up an annular channel reactor

Moreira, F. C., Bocos, E., Faria, A. G. F., Pereira, J. B. L., Fonte, C. P., Santos, R. J., Lopes, J. C. B., Dias, M. M., Sanromán, M. A., Pazos, M., Boaventura, R. A. R. & Vilar, V. J. P., 1 Jun 2019, In: Science of the Total Environment

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.260

A comparison of power and flow characteristics between batch and in-line rotor-stator mixers

John, T., Pereira Da Fonte, C., Kowalski, A. & Rodgers, T., 2019, In: Chemical Engineering Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2019.03.015

3D Mixing Dynamics in T-Jet Mixers

Sultan, M. A., Pardilhó, S. L., Brito, M. S. C. A., Fonte, C. P., Dias, M. M., Lopes, J. C. B. & Santos, R. J., 1 Jan 2019, In: Chemical Engineering and Technology

DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201700684

Investigation of pressure drop in 3D replicated open-cell foams

Bracconi, M., Ambrosetti, M., Okafor, O., Zhang, X., Sans, V., Ou, X., Pereira Da Fonte, C., Fan, X., Maestri, M., Groppi, G. & Tronconi, E., 2018, In: Chemical Engineering Journal

DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2018.10.060

Mixing of fluids with dissimilar viscosities in Confined Impinging Jets

Brito, M. S. C. A., Esteves, L. P., Fonte, C. P., Dias, M. M., Lopes, J. C. B. & Santos, R. J., Jun 2018, In: Chemical Engineering Research and Design

DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2018.04.020

Valorisation of agricultural waste with adsorption/nanofiltration hybrid process

Didaskalou, C., Buyuktiryaki, S., Kecili, R., Pereira Da Fonte, C. & Szekely, G., 2017, In: Green Chemistry

DOI: 10.1039/C7GC00912G

An elastic analog model for controlling the impingement point position in confined impinging jets

Fonte, C. P., Sultan, M. A., Santos, R. J., Dias, M. M. & Lopes, J. C. B., 20 Apr 2016, In: AIChE Journal

DOI: 10.1002/aic.15169

People

Claudio Fonte

Dr Josef Giddings

Dr Thomas John

Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering

Mixing in industrial flows

Flow of complex rheology fluids

Chaotic mixing

Dr Thomas John

Dr Josef Giddings

Dr Thomas John

PDRA in Rheologically Complex Flows

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Particle Image Velocimetry

Funding: CAFE4DM (EPSRC)

Dr Josef Giddings

PDRA in Transport in Corrosion Protection Coatings

Mathematical modelling of transport phenomena

Finite Element Methods

Funding: SusCoRD (EPSRC)

Pedro Torres

Carolina Cruz

Dr Josef Giddings

PhD Student

Characterisation of jets of complex fluids with applications to inkjet printing

Co-supervision: Dr Peter Quayle & Dr Flor Siperstein

Ze Koay

Carolina Cruz

PhD Student

Modelling and simulation of the production of high volume phase emulsions

Co-supervision: Dr Thomas Rodgers

Funding: CAFE4DM (EPSRC)

Carolina Cruz

PhD Student

Characterisation of ice-cream production

Co-supervision: Dr Thomas Rodgers

Funding: CAFE4DM (EPSRC)

Elliott Sutton

Sorosh Mirfasihi

Elliott Sutton

PhD Student

Modelling and simulation o filling operations in the personal care and food industries

Co-supervision: Prof Anne Juel

Funding: CAFE4DM (EPSRC)

Yuqi Bai

Sorosh Mirfasihi

Elliott Sutton

PhD Student

Modelling and simulation of agitated systems in the personal care and food industries

Co-supervision: Dr Thomas Rodgers

Funding: CAFE4DM (EPSRC)

Sorosh Mirfasihi

PhD Student

Mixing of fluids with high viscosity ratio in stirred equipment

Co-supervision: Dr Amir Keshmiri

Funding: CAFE4DM (EPSRC)

Collaborations

UK

Portugal

Dr Thomas Rodgers

Prof Anne Juel

Dr Marco Domingos

Dr Amir Keshmiri

Dr Peter Quayle

Portugal

Prof José Carlos Lopes

Prof Madalena Dias

Dr Ricardo Santos

France

Portugal

Australia

Prof Joëlle Aubin

Prof Alain Liné

Australia

Industrial Collaborations

Australia

Prof David Fletcher

Saudi Arabia

Industrial Collaborations

Dr Gyorgy Szekely

Industrial Collaborations

AkzoNobel (UK)

Unilever (UK)

NNL (UK)

IFPEN (FR)

Mixing, Interfaces and Flow of Rheologically Complex Fluids

Mixing, Interfaces and Flow of Rheologically Complex Fluids

About

Research topics

Flow and mixing of highly viscous and complex rheology fluids

Advanced experimental characterisation of fluid flow

Mixing in stirred equipment

Single-phase and multiphase flow in porous media

Multi-scale modelling @ ChemEng UoM

Highlights

News

21/11/2019

Group research in the cover of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

21/11/2019

Group research in the cover of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

22/07/2019

Group research in the cover of Chemical Engineering & Technology

22/07/2019

Group research in the cover of Chemical Engineering & Technology

Recent publications

Fully Resolved Modelling and Simulation of Micromixing in Confined Impinging Jets

Process Intensification via Continuous and Simultaneous Isolation of Antioxidants

Linking power and flow in rotor-stator mixers

Proper Orthogonal Decomposition and Statistical Analysis of 2D Confined Impinging Jets Chaotic Flow

Estimation of kLa Values in Bench-Scale Stirred Tank Reactors with Self-Inducing Impeller

Selecting the best piping arrangement for scaling-up an annular channel reactor

A comparison of power and flow characteristics between batch and in-line rotor-stator mixers

3D Mixing Dynamics in T-Jet Mixers

Investigation of pressure drop in 3D replicated open-cell foams

Mixing of fluids with dissimilar viscosities in Confined Impinging Jets

Valorisation of agricultural waste with adsorption/nanofiltration hybrid process

An elastic analog model for controlling the impingement point position in confined impinging jets

People

Claudio Fonte

Dr Josef Giddings

Dr Thomas John

Dr Thomas John

Dr Josef Giddings

Dr Thomas John

Dr Josef Giddings

Dr Josef Giddings

Dr Josef Giddings

Pedro Torres

Carolina Cruz

Dr Josef Giddings

Ze Koay

Carolina Cruz

Carolina Cruz

Carolina Cruz

Carolina Cruz

Carolina Cruz

Elliott Sutton

Sorosh Mirfasihi

Elliott Sutton

Yuqi Bai

Sorosh Mirfasihi

Elliott Sutton

Sorosh Mirfasihi

Sorosh Mirfasihi

Sorosh Mirfasihi

Collaborations

UK

Portugal

Portugal

Portugal

Portugal

Portugal

France

Portugal

Australia

Australia

Industrial Collaborations

Australia

Saudi Arabia

Industrial Collaborations

Industrial Collaborations

Industrial Collaborations

Industrial Collaborations

Industrial Collaborations

Getting in touch