Michel Cervantes

I am essentially working with hydropower: experimentally and numerically. Experiments are performed on full-scale machines (Kaplan), models (Kaplan, Francis) and generic test cases (transient, flow unsteadiness). CFD is used to design experiments, understand specific flow phenomena and validate specific turbulence models.

My research is principally concerned with the effects of unsteadiness on the losses, rotor-stator interaction, flow design and flow measurements. Special interest is given to the scale-up formula between model and prototype in hydropower flow, flow control, development of the pressure-time method, trust and quality in CFD. I am partially financed by the Swedish Hydropower Center (www.svc.nu) where I am responsible of the experimental fluid dynamics.

I am supervising and supervised the following PhD students:

• Saeed Salehi (UT), PhD student: unsteadiness and turbulence modelling
• Simin Dokht Saemi (UT, LTU), PhD student: numerical development of the pressure time method
• Kaveh Amiri (LTU), PhD student: experimental investigation of a Kaplan model
• Chirag Trivedi (IIT, LTU), PhD student: start/stop, transients in high head FrancisHamed Alemi Arani (UT), PhD student: instabilities in pumps used as turbines

• Berhanu Mulu (LTU), PhD. student: LDA measurements on Porjus U9 model (finished 2012, now at Vattenfall)
• Pontus Jonsson (LTU), PhD. student: development of the Gibson method for low head turbines (finished 2011, now at Poyry)
• Urban Andersson (VRD, LTU), PhD student: LDA and pressure measurments on a Kaplan model (finished 209, now at Alstom)
• Samuel Cupillard (LTU), PhD. student: simulation of flows between micro-pattern surfaces with application to hydropower  (finished 2009, now at Hydro-Quebec)
• Magnus Lövgren since (LTU): development of the Gibson method for low head turbines (lic  2006, now at Vattenfall)

• Norvegian University of Science and Technology, Norway: flow measurements in low head hydraulic machines, transient in Francis turbines
• Indian Institute of Technology, India: transient in Francis turbines
• Tehran University, Iran: flow measurements in low head hydraulic machines, unsteadiness and turbulence modelling
• University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania: flow measurements in low head machines
• Polytenicha University of Timisoara, Romania: Kaplan turbines
• Ecole Polytechique de Montréal, Canada: CFD of Kaplan turbines
• McGill University, Canada : optimisation
• Hydro-Quebec, Canada : flow measurements in low head machines, textured bearings
• Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden: CFD of Kaplan turbine, transient
• Vattenfall Research & Development: model testing

I am involved in undergraduate (U) and graduate (G) courses:

• Hydromechanics (F0031T) (U)
• Wind Power Technology (F0050T) (U)
• Water Turbines (F7017T) (U,G)
• Turbulence (G)
• Trust & Quality in CFD (G)
• Flow measurements (G)