Project acronym UFO
Project Uncovering the origins of friction
Researcher (PI) Jean-François Molinari
Host Institution (HI) ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE8, ERC-2009-StG
Summary Nanotechnology is a new frontier in research and new tools must be developed. As surface to volume ratios become large, engineering at the nanoscale will be dominated by surface science. The study of Contact Mechanics at nanoscales nanotribology- needs to fully account for adhesive forces, third-body interactions and deformation mechanisms at contacting asperities. Understanding these factors as well as the morphological evolution of contact clusters has the potential of explaining the origins of frictional forces and wear. This will guide us in the design of tailored-made lubricants and surface morphologies, which, in turn, will help reduce the high societal cost of wear damage. This ERCstg proposal describes a plan to establish a world-leading group in Contact Mechanics at length scales ranging from the atomic to macroscopic scales relevant to Civil or Mechanical Engineering structural applications. Our approach will have recourse to molecular dynamics coupled with the finite-element method for an accurate description of atomic interactions at the contact surface, and of long-range elastic forces. The project is interdisciplinary as the deepening of our understanding of Contact Mechanics will necessitate Computer Science developments. A central objective of the research will be the release of an open, 3D parallel, finite-element platform dedicated to contact applications. The PI will assemble a team of Engineers and Computer Scientists to ensure a successful and perennial diffusion in the European academic and industrial network. The research will therefore explore the origins of friction, a scientific quest of fundamental importance to many industrial applications, and will also create a stable base for sharing scientific-computing resources.
Summary
Nanotechnology is a new frontier in research and new tools must be developed. As surface to volume ratios become large, engineering at the nanoscale will be dominated by surface science. The study of Contact Mechanics at nanoscales nanotribology- needs to fully account for adhesive forces, third-body interactions and deformation mechanisms at contacting asperities. Understanding these factors as well as the morphological evolution of contact clusters has the potential of explaining the origins of frictional forces and wear. This will guide us in the design of tailored-made lubricants and surface morphologies, which, in turn, will help reduce the high societal cost of wear damage. This ERCstg proposal describes a plan to establish a world-leading group in Contact Mechanics at length scales ranging from the atomic to macroscopic scales relevant to Civil or Mechanical Engineering structural applications. Our approach will have recourse to molecular dynamics coupled with the finite-element method for an accurate description of atomic interactions at the contact surface, and of long-range elastic forces. The project is interdisciplinary as the deepening of our understanding of Contact Mechanics will necessitate Computer Science developments. A central objective of the research will be the release of an open, 3D parallel, finite-element platform dedicated to contact applications. The PI will assemble a team of Engineers and Computer Scientists to ensure a successful and perennial diffusion in the European academic and industrial network. The research will therefore explore the origins of friction, a scientific quest of fundamental importance to many industrial applications, and will also create a stable base for sharing scientific-computing resources.
Max ERC Funding
1 773 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-09-01, End date: 2014-08-31
Project acronym UltimateMembranes
Project Energy-efficient membranes for carbon capture by crystal engineering of two-dimensional nanoporous materials
Researcher (PI) Kumar Varoon AGRAWAL
Host Institution (HI) ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE8, ERC-2018-STG
Summary The EU integrated strategic energy technology plan, SET-plan, in its 2016 progress report, has called for urgent measures on the carbon capture, however, the high energy-penalty and environmental issues related to the conventional capture process (amine-based scrubbing) has been a major bottleneck. High-performance membranes can reduce the energy penalty for the capture, are environment-friendly (no chemical is used, no waste is generated), can intensify chemical processes, and can be employed for the capture in a decentralized fashion. However, a technological breakthrough is needed to realize such chemically and thermally stable, high-performance membranes. This project seeks to develop the ultimate high-performance membranes for H2/CO2 (pre-combustion capture), CO2/N2 (post-combustion capture), and CO2/CH4 separations (natural gas sweetening). Based on calculations, these membranes will yield a gigantic gas permeance (1 and 0.1 million GPU for the H2 and the CO2 selective membranes, respectively), 1000 and 10-fold higher than that of the state-of-the-art polymeric and nanoporous membranes, respectively, reducing capital expenditure per unit performance and the needed membrane area. For this, we introduce three novel concepts, combining the top-down and the bottom-up crystal engineering approaches to develop size-selective, chemically and thermally stable, nanoporous two-dimensional membranes. First, exfoliated nanoporous 2d nanosheets will be stitched in-plane to synthesize the truly-2d membranes. Second, metal-organic frameworks will be confined across a nanoporous 2d matrix to prepare a composite 2d membrane. Third, atom-thick graphene films with tunable, uniform and size-selective nanopores will be crystallized using a novel thermodynamic equilibrium between the lattice growth and etching. Overall, the innovative concepts developed here will open up several frontiers on the synthesis of high-performance membranes for a wide-range of separation processes.
Summary
The EU integrated strategic energy technology plan, SET-plan, in its 2016 progress report, has called for urgent measures on the carbon capture, however, the high energy-penalty and environmental issues related to the conventional capture process (amine-based scrubbing) has been a major bottleneck. High-performance membranes can reduce the energy penalty for the capture, are environment-friendly (no chemical is used, no waste is generated), can intensify chemical processes, and can be employed for the capture in a decentralized fashion. However, a technological breakthrough is needed to realize such chemically and thermally stable, high-performance membranes. This project seeks to develop the ultimate high-performance membranes for H2/CO2 (pre-combustion capture), CO2/N2 (post-combustion capture), and CO2/CH4 separations (natural gas sweetening). Based on calculations, these membranes will yield a gigantic gas permeance (1 and 0.1 million GPU for the H2 and the CO2 selective membranes, respectively), 1000 and 10-fold higher than that of the state-of-the-art polymeric and nanoporous membranes, respectively, reducing capital expenditure per unit performance and the needed membrane area. For this, we introduce three novel concepts, combining the top-down and the bottom-up crystal engineering approaches to develop size-selective, chemically and thermally stable, nanoporous two-dimensional membranes. First, exfoliated nanoporous 2d nanosheets will be stitched in-plane to synthesize the truly-2d membranes. Second, metal-organic frameworks will be confined across a nanoporous 2d matrix to prepare a composite 2d membrane. Third, atom-thick graphene films with tunable, uniform and size-selective nanopores will be crystallized using a novel thermodynamic equilibrium between the lattice growth and etching. Overall, the innovative concepts developed here will open up several frontiers on the synthesis of high-performance membranes for a wide-range of separation processes.
Max ERC Funding
1 875 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-06-01, End date: 2024-05-31
Project acronym UniEqTURB
Project Universal Equilibrium and Beyond - Challenging the Richardson-Kolmogorov Paradigm
Researcher (PI) Clara VELTE
Host Institution (HI) DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE8, ERC-2018-STG
Summary Turbulence is at a crossroads: The old, established ideas of Richardson and Kolmogorov have with accumulating evidence come under renewed scrutiny, especially in non-stationary and non-equilibrium flows. Many in the community seek new and more accurate ways to describe turbulence. This is a time of re-evaluation and opportunity!
The assumed statistical equilibrium of the smallest and intermediate scales is identified as the main cause of the potentially erroneous deductions. This problem was not previously noticed because experiments that confirmed the previous theories were all in statistical equilibrium. And those experiments and theories which disagreed were labelled ‘anomalous’, no matter how carefully performed or argued.
The proposed theory-intensive approach will therefore specifically use non-equilibrium and statistically non-stationary flows to:
1. Investigate the underlying mechanisms determining the level of dissipation
2. Quantify the resulting effects on the balance equations of central importance
3. Test the results against the established, as well as competing, theories
I will use stationary and accelerating jets well-suited for studying the non-linear interactions and quantifying departures to the assumed equilibrium and the non-stationary dissipation. The feasibility is demonstrated with preliminary results. The databases which will be established should contribute substantially to settling the long-lived ultimate question of turbulence: what are the true underlying mechanisms that set the level of dissipation.
The results will be ground breaking scientifically and economically. The impact for engineering applications is extensive, since Kolmogorov-based turbulence models are routinely used, and since developing flows constitute the rule rather than the exception in the majority of engineering applications. The potential economic consequences for e.g. transportation, climate predictions and power extraction are impossible to underestimate.
Summary
Turbulence is at a crossroads: The old, established ideas of Richardson and Kolmogorov have with accumulating evidence come under renewed scrutiny, especially in non-stationary and non-equilibrium flows. Many in the community seek new and more accurate ways to describe turbulence. This is a time of re-evaluation and opportunity!
The assumed statistical equilibrium of the smallest and intermediate scales is identified as the main cause of the potentially erroneous deductions. This problem was not previously noticed because experiments that confirmed the previous theories were all in statistical equilibrium. And those experiments and theories which disagreed were labelled ‘anomalous’, no matter how carefully performed or argued.
The proposed theory-intensive approach will therefore specifically use non-equilibrium and statistically non-stationary flows to:
1. Investigate the underlying mechanisms determining the level of dissipation
2. Quantify the resulting effects on the balance equations of central importance
3. Test the results against the established, as well as competing, theories
I will use stationary and accelerating jets well-suited for studying the non-linear interactions and quantifying departures to the assumed equilibrium and the non-stationary dissipation. The feasibility is demonstrated with preliminary results. The databases which will be established should contribute substantially to settling the long-lived ultimate question of turbulence: what are the true underlying mechanisms that set the level of dissipation.
The results will be ground breaking scientifically and economically. The impact for engineering applications is extensive, since Kolmogorov-based turbulence models are routinely used, and since developing flows constitute the rule rather than the exception in the majority of engineering applications. The potential economic consequences for e.g. transportation, climate predictions and power extraction are impossible to underestimate.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 036 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-04-01, End date: 2024-03-31
Project acronym WINDMIL
Project Smart Monitoring, Inspection and Life-Cycle Assessment of Wind Turbines
Researcher (PI) Eleni Chatzi
Host Institution (HI) EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE8, ERC-2015-STG
Summary The excessive energy consumption that Europe is faced with, calls for sustainable resource management and policy-making. Amongst renewable sources of the global energy pool, wind energy holds the lead. Nonetheless, wind turbine (WT) facilities are conjoined with a number of shortcomings relating to their short life-span and the lack of efficient management schemes. With a number of WTs currently reaching their design span, stakeholders and policy makers are convinced of the necessity for reliable life-cycle assessment methodologies. However, existing tools have not yet caught up with the maturity of the WT technology, leaving visual inspection and offline non-destructive evaluation methods as the norm.
This proposal aims to establish a smart framework for the monitoring, inspection and life-cycle assessment of WTs, able to guide WT operators in the management of these assets from cradle-to-grave. Our project is founded on a minimal intervention principle, coupling easily deployed and affordable sensor technology with state-of-the-art numerical modeling and data processing tools. An integrated approach is proposed comprising: (i) a new monitoring paradigm for WTs relying on fusion of structural response information, (ii) simulation of influential, yet little explored, factors affecting structural response, such as structure-foundation-soil interaction and fatigue (ii) a stochastic framework for detecting anomalies in both a short- (damage) and long-term (deterioration) scale.
Our end goal is to deliver a “protection-suit” for WTs comprising a hardware (sensor) solution and a modular readily implementable software package, titled ETH-WINDMIL. The suggested kit aims to completely redefine the status quo in current Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition systems. This pursuit is well founded on background work of the PI within the area of structural monitoring, with a focus in translating the value of information into quantifiable terms and engineering practice.
Summary
The excessive energy consumption that Europe is faced with, calls for sustainable resource management and policy-making. Amongst renewable sources of the global energy pool, wind energy holds the lead. Nonetheless, wind turbine (WT) facilities are conjoined with a number of shortcomings relating to their short life-span and the lack of efficient management schemes. With a number of WTs currently reaching their design span, stakeholders and policy makers are convinced of the necessity for reliable life-cycle assessment methodologies. However, existing tools have not yet caught up with the maturity of the WT technology, leaving visual inspection and offline non-destructive evaluation methods as the norm.
This proposal aims to establish a smart framework for the monitoring, inspection and life-cycle assessment of WTs, able to guide WT operators in the management of these assets from cradle-to-grave. Our project is founded on a minimal intervention principle, coupling easily deployed and affordable sensor technology with state-of-the-art numerical modeling and data processing tools. An integrated approach is proposed comprising: (i) a new monitoring paradigm for WTs relying on fusion of structural response information, (ii) simulation of influential, yet little explored, factors affecting structural response, such as structure-foundation-soil interaction and fatigue (ii) a stochastic framework for detecting anomalies in both a short- (damage) and long-term (deterioration) scale.
Our end goal is to deliver a “protection-suit” for WTs comprising a hardware (sensor) solution and a modular readily implementable software package, titled ETH-WINDMIL. The suggested kit aims to completely redefine the status quo in current Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition systems. This pursuit is well founded on background work of the PI within the area of structural monitoring, with a focus in translating the value of information into quantifiable terms and engineering practice.
Max ERC Funding
1 486 224 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-05-01, End date: 2021-04-30
