Raúl Bayoán
CAL

Physics - United States

Contact details

Email.
rcal@pdx.edu

Research topics

SCIENTIFIC PROJECT

"Is wildfire particulate transport enhanced/hindered by turbulence?"

Wildfires are intense events that cause by and large enormous devastation both ecologically and societally. Climate-exacerbated wildfires result in immense economic costs and damages each year. The frequency of such events is also increasing. The spread of wildfires is currently a topic that requires more study as it involved fluid mechanics processes that are complex. Sparks and embers that are uplifted in the air cause the spreading of the wildfires to be sustained and fast. Particles smaller than 5 m can travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometers. It is hypothesized that if embers are transported. One of the difficulties in exploring the coupling between particles and turbulence in laboratory experiments resides in the interplay of particles inertia and gravitational mass. Indeed, when the density of the particle differs from that of the fluid, inertial effects modify the way particles interact with turbulence. Such inertial effects can lead to striking behaviors, which can be qualitatively understood in terms of interactions with turbulent eddies. However, such a program is experimentally of outmost complexity, because the relevant dimensionless parameters of the problem are strongly intertwined. The aim here is to disentangle these effects.

 

Activities / Resume

BIOGRAPHY

Raúl Bayoán Cal is the Daimler Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Portland State University; a faculty member since 2010. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2006. During 2006 to 2009, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. His area of research is focused on understanding fluid flow phenomena as it relates to physical systems such as turbulence with emphasis placed on physics related of wall-bounded, free-shear and multi-phase flows as well as wind/solar energy, and capillary microfluidics with interests in both terrestrial and space applications.