ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

With the recognition that wind energy will become an important contributor to the world’s energy portfolio, several wind farms with a capacity of over 1 gigawatt are in planning phase. In the past, engineering of wind farms focused on a bottom-up approach, in which atmospheric wind availability was considered to be fixed by climate and weather. However, farms of gigawatt size slow down the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) as a whole, reducing the availability of wind at turbine hub height. In Denmark’s large off-shore farms, this leads to underperformance of turbines which can reach levels of 40%–50% compared to the same turbine in a lone-standing case. For large wind farms, the vertical structure and turbulence physics of the flow in the ABL become crucial ingredients in their design and operation. This introduces a new set of scientific challenges related to the design and control of large wind farms. The major ambition of the present research proposal is to employ optimal control techniques to control the interaction between large wind farms and the ABL, and optimize overall farm-power extraction. Individual turbines are used as flow actuators by dynamically pitching their blades using time scales ranging between 10 to 500 seconds. The application of such control efforts on the atmospheric boundary layer has never been attempted before, and introduces flow control on a physical scale which is currently unprecedented. The PI possesses a unique combination of expertise and tools enabling these developments: efficient parallel large-eddy simulations of wind farms, multi-scale turbine modeling, and gradient-based optimization in large optimization-parameter spaces using adjoint formulations. To ensure a maximum impact on the wind-engineering field, the project aims at optimal control, experimental wind-tunnel validation, and at including multi-disciplinary aspects, related to structural mechanics, power quality, and controller design.

1 499 241 €

Start date: 2012-10-01, End date: 2017-09-30

"Photovoltaics (PV) based on Silicon (Si) semiconductors is one the most growing technology in the World for renewable, sustainable, non-polluting, widely available clean energy sources. Theoretical and applied research aims at increasing the conversion efficiency of PV modules and their lifetime. The Si crystalline microstructure has an important role on both issues. Grain boundaries introduce additional resistance and reduce the conversion efficiency. Moreover, they are prone to microcracking, thus influencing the lifetime. At present, the existing standard qualification tests are not sufficient to provide a quantitative definition of lifetime, since all the possible failure mechanisms are not accounted for. In this proposal, an innovative computational approach to design and durability assessment of PV modules is put forward. The aim is to complement real tests by virtual (numerical) simulations. To achieve a predictive stage, a challenging multi-field (multi-physics) computational approach is proposed, coupling the nonlinear elastic field, the thermal field and the electric field. To model real PV modules, an adaptive multi-scale and multi-field strategy will be proposed by introducing error indicators based on the gradients of the involved fields. This numerical approach will be applied to determine the upper bound to the probability of failure of the system. This statistical assessment will involve an optimization analysis that will be efficiently handled by a Mathematica-based hybrid symbolic-numerical framework. Standard and non-standard experimental testing on Si cells and PV modules will also be performed to complement and validate the numerical approach. The new methodology based on the challenging integration of advanced physical and mathematical modelling, innovative computational methods and non-standard experimental techniques is expected to have a significant impact on the design, qualification and lifetime assessment of complex PV systems."

1 483 980 €

Start date: 2012-12-01, End date: 2017-11-30

Flows of complex fluids, such as many biological fluids and most synthetic fluids, are common in our daily life and are very important from an industrial perspective. Because of their inherent nonlinearity, the flow of complex viscoelastic fluids often leads to counterintuitive and complex behaviour and, above critical conditions, can prompt flow instabilities even under low Reynolds number conditions which are entirely absent in the corresponding Newtonian fluid flows. The primary goal of this project is to substantially expand the frontiers of our current knowledge regarding the mechanisms that lead to the development of such purely-elastic flow instabilities, and ultimately to understand the transition to so-called “elastic turbulence”, a turbulent-like phenomenon which can arise even under inertialess flow conditions. This is an extremely challenging problem, and to significantly advance our knowledge in such important flows these instabilities will be investigated in a combined manner encompassing experiments, theory and numerical simulations. Such a holistic approach will enable us to understand the underlying mechanisms of those instabilities and to develop accurate criteria for their prediction far in advance of what we could achieve with either approach separately. A deep understanding of the mechanisms generating elastic instabilities and subsequent transition to elastic turbulence is crucial from a fundamental point of view and for many important practical applications involving engineered complex fluids, such as the design of microfluidic mixers for efficient operation under inertialess flow conditions, or the development of highly efficient micron-sized energy management and mass transfer systems. This research proposal will create a solid basis for the establishment of an internationally-leading research group led by the PI studying flow instabilities and elastic turbulence in complex fluid flows.

994 110 €

Start date: 2012-10-01, End date: 2018-01-31

Living tissues are regulated by multi-cellular collectives mediated at cellular level through complex interactions between mechanical and biochemical factors. A further understanding of these mechanisms could provide new insights in the development of therapies and diagnosis techniques, reducing animal experiments. I propose a combined and complementary methodology to advance in the knowledge of how cells interact with each other and with the environment to produce the large-scale organization typical of tissues. I will couple in-silico and in-vitro models for investigating the micro-fabrication of tissues in-vitro using a 3D multicellular environment. By computational cell-based modelling of tissue development, I will use a multiscale and multiphysics approach to investigate various key factors: how environmental conditions (mechanical and biochemical) drive cell behaviour, how individual cell behaviour produces multicellular patterns, how cells respond to the multicellular environment, how cells are able to fabricate new tissues and how cell-matrix interactions affect these processes. In-vitro experiments will be developed to validate numerical models, determine their parameters, improve their hypotheses and help designing new experiments. The in-vitro experiments will be performed in a microfluidic platform capable of controlling biochemical and mechanical conditions in a 3D environment. This research will be applied in three applications, where the role of environment conditions is important and the main biological events are cell migration, cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions: bone regeneration, wound healing and angiogenesis.

1 299 083 €

Start date: 2012-11-01, End date: 2018-05-31

"Wearing sub-optimally fitted lower limb prosthesis cause disorders of the stump that strongly lessens the well-being and the performance of an amputee. As experimental measurements are currently not capable of providing enough insights in the dynamic behaviour of the stump, simulations need to be employed to achieve the necessary knowledge gain to significantly improve the socket design and, hence, to increase the amputee’s well-being and performance. The overall goal of this proposal is to provide the enabling technology in form of novel computational and experimental methodologies to assist the design process of next-generation prosthetic devices. The focus hereby is to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of the musculoskeletal system of a lower extremity amputee, here, the stump of an above-knee amputee. To achieve this, LEAD pursues two aims. The first and main aim focuses on substantially changing existing modelling philosophies and methodologies of forward dynamics approaches such that they are capable of representing muscles, bone, and skin as 3D continuum-mechanical objects. To counteract the increase of computational cost by switching from 1D lumped-parameter models to 3D models, novel, elegant, and efficient algorithms, e.g. nested iteration techniques tuned for efficiency through model-based coupling strategies and optimised solvers, need to be developed. The second aim is to experimentally measure physical quantities that provide the necessary input to drive the forward dynamics model, e.g. EMG, and to provide means of validation, e.g. with respect to pressure measurements, ultrasound recordings, and motion capture. Given the non-existing field of forward dynamics appealing to continuum-mechanical skeletal muscle models, LEAD creates a new field of research."

1 676 760 €

Start date: 2012-11-01, End date: 2017-10-31

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from the existing vasculature, is a process that is fundamental to normal tissue growth, wound repair and disease. The control of angiogenesis is of utmost importance for tissue regenerative therapies as well as cancer treatment, however this remains a challenge. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a one of the key controlling factors of angiogenesis. The mechanisms through which the ECM exerts its influence are poorly understood. MAtrix will create unprecedented opportunities for unraveling the role of the ECM in angiogenesis. It will do so by creating a highly innovative, multiscale in silico model that provides quantitative, subcellular resolution on cell-matrix interaction, which is key to the understanding of cell migration. In this way, MAtrix goes substantially beyond the state of the art in terms of computational models of angiogenesis. It will integrate mechanisms of ECM-mediated cell migration and relate them to intracellular regulatory mechanisms of angiogenesis. Apart from its innovation in terms of computational modelling, MAtrix’ impact is related to its interdisciplinarity, involving computer simulations and in vitro experiments. This will enable to investigate research hypotheses on the role of the ECM in angiogenesis that are generated by the in silico model. State of the art technologies (fluorescence microscopy, cell and ECM mechanics, biomaterials design) will be applied –in conjunction with the in silico model- to quantity cell-ECM mechanical interaction at a subcellular level and the dynamics of cell migration. In vitro experiments will be performed for a broad range of biomaterials and their characteristics. In this way, MAtrix will deliver a proof-of-concept that an in silico model can help in identifying and prioritising biomaterials characteristics, relevant for angiogenesis. MAtrix’ findings can have a major impact on the development of therapies that want to control the angiogenic response.

1 497 400 €

Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-03-31

Nowadays, the treatment of cancer is based on the so-called diagnostic paradigm. We feel that the shift from the traditional diagnostic paradigm to a predictive patient-specific one may lead to more effective therapies. Thus, the objective of this project is to introduce predictive models for cancer growth. These predictive models will take the form of mathematical models developed from first principles and the fundamental features of cancer biology. For these models to be useful in clinical practice, we will need to introduce new numerical algorithms that permit to obtain fast and accurate simulations based on patient-specific data. We propose to develop mathematical models using the framework provided by the mixtures theory and the phase-field method. Our model will account for the growth of the tumor and the vasculature that develops around it, which is essential for the tumor to grow beyond a harmless limited size. We propose to develop new algorithms based on Isogeometric Analysis, which is a recent generalization of Finite Elements with several advantages. The use of Isogeometric Analysis will simplify the interface between medical images and the computational mesh, permitting to generate smooth basis functions necessary to approximate higher-order partial differential equations like those that govern cancer growth. Our modeling and simulation tools will be examined and validated by experimental and clinical observations. To accomplish this, we propose to use anonymized patient-specific data through several patient imaging modalities. Arguably, the successful undertaking of this project, would have the potential to transform classical population/statistics-based treatments of cancer into patient-specific therapies. This would elevate mathematical modeling and simulation of cancer growth to a stage in which it can be used as a quantitatively accurate predictive tool with implications for clinical practice, clinical trial design, and outcome prediction.

1 405 420 €

Start date: 2012-10-01, End date: 2017-09-30

The advent of molecular reprogramming and the associated opportunities for personalised and therapeutic medicine requires the development of novel systems for on-demand delivery of reprogramming factors into cells in order to modulate their activity/identity. Such triggerable systems should allow precise control of the timing, duration, magnitude and spatial release of the reprogramming factors. Furthermore, the system should allow this control even in vivo, using non-invasive means. The present project aims at developing triggerable systems able to release efficiently reprogramming factors on demand. The potential of this technology will be tested in two settings: (i) in the reprogramming of somatic cells in vitro, and (ii) in the improvement of hematopoietic stem cell engraftment in vivo, at the bone marrow. The proposed research involves a team formed by engineers, chemists, biologists and is highly multidisciplinary in nature encompassing elements of engineering, chemistry, system biology, stem cell technology and nanomedicine.

1 699 320 €

Start date: 2012-11-01, End date: 2017-10-31

"Even after more than one century of flight, both civil and military aircraft are still plagued by major vibration problems. A well-known example is the external-store induced flutter of the F-16 fighter aircraft. Such dynamical phenomena, commonly known as aeroelastic instabilities, result from the transfer of energy from the free stream to the structure and can lead to limit cycle oscillations, a phenomenon with no linear counterpart. Since nonlinear dynamical systems theory is not yet mature, the inherently nonlinear nature of these oscillations renders their mitigation a particularly difficult problem. The only practical solution to date is to limit aircraft flight envelope to regions where these instabilities are not expected to occur, as verified by intensive and expensive flight campaigns. This limitation results in a severe decrease in both aircraft efficiency and performance. At the heart of this project is a fundamental change in paradigm: although nonlinearity is usually seen as an enemy, I propose to control - and even suppress - aeroelastic instability through the intentional use of nonlinearity. This approach has the potential to bring about a major change in aircraft design and will be achieved thanks to the development of the nonlinear tuned vibration absorber, a new, rigorous nonlinear counterpart of the linear tuned vibration absorber. This work represents a number of significant challenges, because the novel functionalities brought by the intentional use of nonlinearity can be accompanied by adverse nonlinear dynamical effects. The successful mitigation of these unwanted nonlinear effects will be a major objective of our proposed research; it will require achieving both theoretical and technical advances to make it possible. A specific effort will be made to demonstrate experimentally the theoretical findings of this research with extensive wind tunnel testing and practical implementation of the nonlinear tuned vibration absorber. Finally, nonlinear instabilities such as limit cycle oscillations can be found in a number of non-aircraft applications including in bridges, automotive disc brakes and machine tools. The nonlinear tuned vibration absorber could also find uses in resolving problems in these applications, thus ensuring the generic character of the project."

1 316 440 €

Start date: 2012-09-01, End date: 2017-08-31

"This project leads to the development of novel MEAs comprising components elaborated by the electrospinning technique. Proton exchange membranes will be elaborated from electrospun ionomer fibres and characterised. In the first stages of the work, we will use commercial perfluorosulfonic acid polymers, but later we will extend the study to specific partially fluorinated ionomers developed within th project, as well as to sulfonated polyaromatic ionomers. Fuel cell electrodes will be prepared using conducting fibres prepared by electrospinning as supports. Initially we will focus on carbon nanofibres, and then on modified carbon support materials (heteroatom functionalisation, oriented carbons) and finally on metal oxides and carbides. The resultant nanofibres will serve as support for the deposition of metal catalyst particles (Pt, Pt/Co, Pt/Ru). Conventional impregnation routes and also a novel “one pot” method will be used. Detailed (structural, morphological, electrical, electrochemical) characterisation of the electrodes will be carried out in collaboration between partners. The membranes and electrodes developed will be assembled into MEAs using CCM (catalyst coated membrane) and GDE (gas diffusion electrode) approaches and also an original ""membrane coated GDE"" method based on electrospinning. Finally the obtained MEAs will be characterised in situ in an operating fuel cell fed with hydrogen or methanol and the results compared with those of conventional MEAs."

1 352 774 €

Start date: 2013-01-01, End date: 2018-06-30

Globally 1 in 100 children are born with significant congenital heart defects (CHD), representing either new genetic mutations or epigenetic insults that alter cardiac morphogenesis in utero. Embryonic CV systems dynamically regulate structure and function over very short time periods throughout morphogenesis and that biomechanical loading conditions within the heart and great-vessels alter morphogenesis and gene expression. This proposal has structured around a common goal of developing a comprehensive and predictive understanding of the biomechanics and regulation of great-vessel development and its plasticity in response to clinically relevant epigenetic changes in loading conditions. Biomechanical regulation of vascular morphogenesis, including potential aortic arch (AA) reversibility or plasticity after epigenetic events relevant to human CHD are investigated using multimodal experiments in the chick embryo that investigate normal AA growth and remodeling, microsurgical instrumentation that alter ventricular and vascular blood flow loading during critical periods in AA morphogenesis. WP 1 establishes our novel optimization framework, incorporates basic input/output in vivo data sets, and validates. In WP 2 and 3 the numerical models for perturbed biomechanical environment and incorporate new objective functions that have in vivo structural data inputs and predict changes in structure and function. WP 4 incorporates candidate genes and pathways during normal and experimentally altered AA morphogenesis. This proposal develops and validates the first in vivo morphomechanics-integrated three-dimensional mathematical models of AA growth and remodeling that can predict normal growth patterns and abnormal vascular adaptations common in CHD. Multidisciplinary application of bioengineering principles to CHD is likely to provide novel insights and paradigms towards our long-term goal of optimizing CHD interventions, outcomes, and the potential for preventive strategies.

1 995 140 €

Start date: 2013-01-01, End date: 2019-07-31