51±¾É«

A 51±¾É«-led project on Modelling, Control and Applications of Hydrodynamic Cavitation Phenomena (CaviPRO) has been awarded €2.17 million in funding as part of the EU Doctoral Network programme.

Hydrodynamic cavitation is a process of generation, growth and collapse of vapour cavities in liquids. Cavity collapse generates intense shear, very high pressure and temperature as well as highly oxidising radicals near the location of collapse.

Appropriate control and utilisation of these highly localised extreme conditions by cavitation has the potential to revolutionise the European process industries and global industrial community. The CaviPRO project will harness hydrodynamic cavitation for intensifying mixing, reactions, emulsions and particle formation via developing systematic understanding, new devices and scale-up methodologies.

Professor Vivek Ranade, Chair of Process Engineering at UL’s Bernal Institute, will coordinate the project with leading scientists across Europe to push the current scientific boundaries and explore entirely new directions of fundamental research on controlled cavitation to facilitate deployment of hydrodynamic cavitation at industrial scale.

The four-year project under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks umbrella will support 10 PhD students.

CaviPRO will also educate and mentor these PhD candidates to form a critical mass of fully skilled young professionals. These researchers will also gain industry experience by doing placements, preparing them for problem solving and entrepreneurial roles that will facilitate realisation of cutting-edge technologies across Europe.

CaviPRO involves partners in Germany, Italy, Slovenia, France, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, as well as in Ireland.