PMMF Laboratory

Porous Media and Multiphase Flow (PMMF) Laboratory

Dr. Hooman Tafreshi
Professor,
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering,
NC State University
Email: hvtafres@ncsu.edu
Phone: 919-515-6151
Department website:
mae.ncsu.edu/people/hvtafres/
Research website:
mae.ncsu.edu/pmmf/		 The Porous Media and Multiphase Flow (PMMF) Laboratory conducts computational and experimental research in the field of multiphase fluid mechanics and heat transfer. With the access to clean air and water becoming a global concern, the current focus of the PMMF lab is on discovering new ways to more efficiently remove droplet/particle contaminants from the environment. Of particular interest is the understanding of the interactions between multiphase fluids/droplets and fibrous materials of heterogenous wettabilities. Such materials are used as superhydrophobic coatings (self-cleaning and drag reduction applications), in fluid absorbent products, or in droplet/particle separation (coalescence filtration, electrostatic particle capture, desalination membranes…) among many other applications. Research activities of the PMMF laboratory also include structural modeling of fibrous materials like those produced via electrospinning. To date, the PMMF laboratory has published more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles in the above and other areas of thermo-fluid sciences, including liquid jets and nozzle cavitation. More detailed information about the past and current research activities of the lab can be found under the Research tab on this page. The PMMF lab is led by Dr. Hooman Tafreshi, who is a faculty member in the Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department at NC State University and who also serves as the Associate Director for Research at the Nonwovens Institute. Prior to joining NC State University, Dr. Tafreshi was with the Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2007 to 2020, where he worked as assistant, associate, and Qimonda full professor. Dr. Tafreshi is an active member of the American Filtration and Separation (AFS) Society and also serves on the editorial board of Separation & Purification Technology journal.