Mark Runacres

Mark Runacres

Professor of Fluid Dynamics

FLOW research group

Faculty of Engineering

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

Bio

Mark Runacres is a fluid dynamicist with research interests ranging from astrophysical flows to vortex-induced vibration. He is a member of the FLOW research group at the Faculty of Engineering of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he is also chair of the department of Engineering Technology. He directs the Fablab Brussels.

Interests

  • Unsteady fluid dynamics
  • Wind energy
  • Physical and data-driven modelling

Education

  • PhD in Physics, 1997

    Vrije Universiteit Brussel

  • MSc in Applied Mathematics, 1990

    Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Recent Posts

Breathney: A modular design toolbox for an affordable ventilator with full functionality

The Covid-19 pandemic is still progressing globally and a small but significant fraction of patients need mechanical ventilation at some point. Although some countries have sufficient ventilators, there are indications of a future global shortage of such devices.
Last updated on Apr 12, 2020 2 min read

Projects

High-fidelity surrogate wind data

The objective of this project is to create a modelling framework for high-fidelity surrogate wind data. This work is largely the PhD project of Daniele D’Ambrosio whom I supervise with prof.  Tim De Troyer.

Interaction of closely-spaced vertical-axis wind turbines

Vertical-axis wind turbines, when placed close together, have an improved power production and very interesting aerodynamics. The experimental side of this project is the PhD project of Antoine Vergaerde. The computational side of the project is taken care of by Greeshma Boohalli Shivamallegowda. Both Antoine and Greeshma are supervised by Tim De Troyer and myself.

Distributed wind energy and small wind turbines.

I have been working on distributed wind energy since 2007. Jochem Vermeir’s PhD thesis summarises a lot of the work that we did back then. I was involved in IEA Wind Task 27 on Small wind turbines in strongly turbulent environments and am currently involved in IEA Wind Task 41 on distributed wind.

Recent Publications

Daniele D’Ambrosio, Joannes Schoukens, Tim De Troyer, Mark Runacres (2020). A novel deterministic method for generating synthetic wind speeds.

PDF

Antoine Vergaerde, Tim De Troyer, Lieven Standaert, Joanna Kluczewska-Bordier, Denis Pitance, Alexandre Immas, Frédéric Silvert, Mark Runacres (2020). Experimental validation of the power enhancement of a pair of vertical-axis wind turbines. Renewable Energy.

DOI

Quentin Deltenre, Tim De Troyer, Mark Runacres (2019). Techno-economic comparison of rooftop-mounted PVs and small wind turbines: a case study for Brussels. IET Renewable Power Generation.

DOI

Antoine Vergaerde, Tim De Troyer, Andreu Carbo Molina, Lieven Standaert, Mark Runacres (2019). Design, manufacturing and validation of a vertical-axis wind turbine setup for wind tunnel tests. Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics.

DOI

Andreu Carbo Molina, Sander Geert Van de Maele, Gianni Bartoli, Mark Runacres, Tim De Troyer (2019). Experimental Characterization of VAWT Airfoils Under Turbulent Flows. Wind Energy Exploitation in Urban Environment.

DOI

See all publications

Contact

  • +322 614 82 57
  • Building G, Usquare, Kroonlaan 227
    1050 Brussel
    Belgium
  • Enter through green gate, enter G building to your left, take elevator to 2nd floor