Direct numerical simulation of phase change

This page summarises my master’s and PhD research at the Laboratory of Scientific Computing & Modelling of the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland. The work combined numerical-method development, scientific software, and investigation of phase-change physics.

Focus

My research investigated evaporation, condensation, and nucleate boiling through direct numerical simulation, with particular emphasis on the formation and evaporation of the thin liquid microlayer beneath a growing bubble.

Methods and contributions

• Developed geometric volume-of-fluid and sharp-interface phase-change methods and implemented simulation workflows in the C++ PSI-BOIL research code.
• Verified and validated computational models and analysed simulation results to investigate phase-change mechanisms and microlayer dynamics.
• Collaborated with international partners, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Kyushu Institute of Technology.
• Supervised student research and communicated findings through journal articles, conferences, and workshops.

Outcomes

Across the combined master’s and PhD research period, I added or substantially rewrote more than 100,000 lines of the PSI-BOIL C++ codebase. My master’s and doctoral research led to six first-author peer-reviewed journal papers and four first-author peer-reviewed conference papers.

The work contributed numerical methods and physical insights into nucleate boiling, forming the basis of my master’s and doctoral theses. My doctoral work received the 2022 ENEN PhD Prize.

See the publications list for individual research outputs.