David Smeulders
Department

RESEARCH PROFILE
David Smeulders is a Full Professor in the section Energy Technology at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Chair of Engineering Thermodynamics for Energy Systems. His research interests include transport in porous media, gas dynamics, thermodynamics, acoustics and hydraulic fracturing. Tuition topics include transport in porous media, thermodynamics and gas dynamics and sustainable energy sources.
Research concentrates on two topics. The first is Microscale interface processes, where the system length scale is typically smaller than the length scale of the transport process over the considered interface. Applications are electrokinetic flows, micromixing, membrane technology, electronics cooling, condensation phenomena in (natural) gases, and hemodialysis. We also study fracture initiation and propagation in porous media and interfacial aspects of ionized porous media.
The second is Small-scale renewable energy systems, addressing the energy system as a whole rather than the individual process. Two renewable examples are hybrid PhotoVoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) systems and Heat Storage Systems. Also thermochemical treatment of biomass is investigated. Smallest scale physical processes are studied by coupling Molecular Dynamics analysis with a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo model.
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
David Smeulders obtained his PhD in Physics from TU/e, with a thesis entitled “wave propagation in saturated and partially saturated porous media”. He also holds an MSc in Aerospace Engineering from Delft University. Before joining TU/e, he was Assistant and later Associate professor of Applied Geophysics and Petrophysics, Department of Civil Engineering and Technical Geosciences Delft University of Technology. He has been a visiting professor at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. (Grant Negev Desert Large Scale Facility (LSF) and at Le Mans, France (Grant Pays de la Loire.)
David speaks regularly at key international events. Recent appointments have included lectures at EPFL, Lausanne (2017), Conference on Technology Perspectives for Energy Storage, Prague (2015), the Symposium on Energy Geotechnics, Barcelona (2015), 2nd International Conference on Continuous Media with Microstructure, Łagów (2015) and Petrochina, Beijing (2010). He is or has been a member of over a dozen scientific/advisory committees and MSc/PhD committees worldwide and is on the Editorial Board of Transport in Porous Media.
Key Publications
-
On the numerical simulation of crack interaction in hydraulic fracturing
Computational Geosciences (2018) -
Diffusive transport of water in magnesium chloride dihydrate under various external conditions for long term heat storage
European Journal of Mechanics. B, Fluids (2017) -
An investigation of the step-wise propagation of a mode-II fracture in a poroelastic medium
Mechanics Research Communications (2017) -
A DFT-based comparative equilibrium study of thermal dehydration and hydrolysis of CaCl2 hydrates and MgCl2 hydrates for seasonal heat storage
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2016) -
Reactive force field development for magnesium chloride hydrates and its application for seasonal heat storage
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2016)
Current Educational Activities
- Gasdynamics
- Sustainable Energy Sources
- Thermodynamics
- Introduction porous media
- Transport in porous media
- Introduction transport phenomena
- Energy transition – the path towards net zero
- Honors program professional development
- Honors program professional development
- Honors program professional development
Ancillary Activities
No ancillary activities