Staff Profile

Francesco Zonta obtained the PhD from the University of Udine in 2010. From 2010 to 2016 he has been Research Assistant at the University of Udine and at the University of Torino. In 2016 he became Senior University assistant at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer of the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) where, in 2022, he was promoted Senior Scientist. He has been visiting scholar at the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne (EPFL, 2008), at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC, 2014), and at the University of Adelaide (2019). He joined Newcastle University in 2024.

Since 2024, he is also the Head of the Fluid Dynamics and Thermal Systems group at Newcastle University.

Awards

2013: Recipient of the ''Ermanno Grinzato'' prize awarded by AIPT (Italian Association for Thermophysical Properties), for the best research on thermophysical properties of materials.

2020: Habilitation (venia docendi) in Fluid Mechanics from the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien).

2023-2024: Managing editor of International Journal of Multiphase Flows (IJMF).

Since 2023: Associate editor of ASME Journal of Fluids Engineering.

Research topics:

Reserach topics include (but are not limited to):

Turbulence;

Heat transfer;

Stratified flows;

Multiphase flows;

Flows in porous media;

Computational fluid dynamics;

Gas and aerodynamics;

Transport processes in environmental and biological flows;

Current Teaching activity:

• ENG2027 - Applications of Engineering Fluid Mechanics II
• MEC3032 - Advanced Thermofluid Dynamics
• MEC3098 - Mechanical Engineering Project
• MEC8095 - Msc Projects

Previous Teaching activity:

• Gas dynamics and aerodynamics
• Computational aerodynamics
• Transport phenomena in biological systems
• Numerical simulation and scientific computing
• Applied fluid mechanics
• Numerical methods for transport equations
• Dynamics of waves: theory and applications

• Articles

  • Roccon A, Zonta F, Soldati A. Turbulent drag reduction in water-lubricated channel flow of highly viscous oil. Physical Review Fluids 2024, 9(5), 054611.
  • Giamagas G, Zonta F, Roccon A, Soldati A. Turbulence and Interface Waves in Stratified Oil–Water Channel Flow at Large Viscosity Ratio. Flow, Turbulence and Combustion 2024, 112(1), 15-31.
  • Giamagas G, Zonta F, Soldati A. Scaling of turbulence-forced capillary waves. International Journal of Multiphase Flow 2024, 180, 104949.
  • Mangani F, Roccon A, Zonta F, Soldati A. Heat transfer in drop-laden turbulence. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 2024, 978, A12.
  • Schenk M, Giamagas G, Roccon A, Soldati A, Zonta F. Computationally Efficient and Interface Accurate Dual-Grid Phase-Field Simulation of Turbulent Drop-Laden Flows. Journal of Fluids Engineering 2024, 146(12), 121401.
  • Song Z, Zonta F, Ogorek LLP, Bastegaard VK, Herzog M, Pellegrini E, Pedersen O. The quantitative importance of key root traits for radial water loss under low water potential. Plant and Soil 2023, 482(1-2), 567-584.
  • Giamagas G, Zonta F, Roccon A, Soldati A. Propagation of capillary waves in two-layer oil-water turbulent flow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 2023, 960, A5.
  • Roccon A, Zonta F, Soldati A. Phase-field modeling of complex interface dynamics in drop-laden turbulence. Physical Review Fluids 2023, 8(9), 090501.
  • Chibbaro S, Reyes J, Rossi M, Soldati A, Zonta F. Coherent structure modification by a shear acting at the surface of a turbulent open channel. European Physical Journal Plus 2023, 138(9), 799.
  • De Paoli M, Pirozzoli S, Zonta F, Soldati A. Strong Rayleigh-Darcy convection regime in three-dimensional porous media. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 2022, 943, A51.
  • Ghodrati-Misek M, Schloglhofer T, Gross C, Maurer A, Zimpfer D, Beitzke D, Zonta F, Moscato F, Schima H, Aigner P. Left atrial appendage occlusion in ventricular assist device patients to decrease thromboembolic events: A computer simulation study. Frontiers in Physiology 2022, 13, 1010862.
  • Zonta F, Hadi Sichani P, Soldati A. Interaction between thermal stratification and turbulence in channel flow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 2022, 945, A3.
  • Ghodrati M, Schloglhofer T, Maurer A, Khienwad T, Zimpfer D, Beitzke D, Zonta F, Moscato F, Schima H, Aigner P. Effects of the atrium on intraventricular flow patterns during mechanical circulatory support. International Journal of Artificial Organs 2022, 45(4), 421-430.
  • Ghodrati M, Khienwad T, Maurer A, Moscato F, Zonta F, Schima H, Aigner P. Validation of numerically simulated ventricular flow patterns during left ventricular assist device support. International Journal of Artificial Organs 2021, 44(1), 30-38.
  • Pirozzoli S, De Paoli M, Zonta F, Soldati A. Towards the ultimate regime in Rayleigh-Darcy convection. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 2021, 911, R4.
  • Roccon A, Zonta F, Soldati A. Energy balance in lubricated drag-reduced turbulent channel flow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 2021, 911, A37.
  • Zhang X, Zonta F, Tian ZF, Nathan GJ, Chin RC, Soldati A. Dynamics of semi- and neutrally-buoyant particles in thermally stratified turbulent channel flow. International Journal of Multiphase Flow 2021, 139, 103595.
  • Ghodrati M, Maurer A, Schloglhofer T, Khienwad T, Zimpfer D, Beitzke D, Zonta F, Moscato F, Schima H, Aigner P. The influence of left ventricular assist device inflow cannula position on thrombosis risk. Artificial Organs 2020, 44(9), 939-946.
  • Sichani PH, Marchioli C, Zonta F, Soldati A. Shear effects on scalar transport in double diffusive convection. Journal of Fluids Engineering 2020, 142(12), 121105.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Giamagas G, Zonta F, Roccon A, Soldati A. Interaction Between Capillary Waves and Hydrodynamic Turbulence in a Two-Layer Oil-Water Flow. In: ASME 2024 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting. 2024, Anaheim, California, USA: American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
  • Mangani F, Zonta F, Roccon A, Soldati A. Heat Transfer in Drop-Laden Turbulent Flows. In: ASME 2024 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting. 2024, Anaheim, California, USA: American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
  • Giamagas G, Zonta F, Roccon A, Soldati A. Interaction between capillary waves and hydrodynamic turbulence in a two-layer oil-water flow. In: 10th International Symposium on Turbulence, Heat and Mass Transfer (THMT-23). 2023, Rome, Italy: Begell House Inc.