معرفی
Elia Merzari is a Professor in the Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and a member of the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS). His research focuses on computational fluid dynamics, turbulence modeling, and thermal hydraulics in nuclear systems.
Research Interests
Merzari specializes in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), with a focus on Large Eddy Simulation (LES), Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS), and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models. His work addresses challenges in nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics, including flow stability in rod bundles, turbulence in pebble beds, and multiscale frameworks for advanced reactor design. He actively applies machine learning techniques like physics-informed neural networks to nuclear engineering problems.
Recent Research Trends
Merzari's recent publications (2025) highlight advancements in temperature monitoring for high-temperature gas reactors, spectral element implementations of RANS models, and transition to turbulence in complex geometries. His work integrates Nek5000/NekRS software with multiscale modeling to enhance reactor safety and deployment efficiency.
Grants & Projects
- Center for Thermal-Fluids Applications in Nuclear Energy (PI, 2024–present): Focuses on industry adoption of multiscale frameworks.
- Reduced Order Modeling of Heat and Fluid Flow (CoPI, 2023–present): Aims to accelerate reactor deployment via multiscale techniques.
- High-Resolution Pebble Bed Data at Low Flow Conditions (PI, 2022–present): Investigates flow dynamics in pebble bed reactors.
- Innovative Monitoring Technology for Micro-HTGR (CoPI, 2022–present): Develops sensors for reactor vessel stress estimation.
- Low Temperature Cladding Failures in RIA Transients (CoPI, 2021–present): Studies accident-tolerant fuels under reactor transients.
