Fluids and beyond
Igor Matteo Carraretto
- Thesis title: Experimental characterization of air-water foamy flows
- PhD Tesi Supervisors: Luigi Pietro Maria Colombo
- Phd: STEN, 34° cycle (starting year 2018)
- B. Sc: 2013, Energy Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
- M. Sc: 2016, Energy Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
Tell us something to introduce yourself
I’m Igor, a PhD student in Energy Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, after my graduation in December 2016 I worked for almost two years in a company, but then after a while as I was not fully satisfied I decided to get back to the books and I matriculated to a PhD program here in Milano, focusing on the study of foam motion in pipelines. During the three years I spent 8 months at MIT to focus on the rheological properties of the foam.
What are you working on at the moment?
Right now, I’m mainly working on two projects: an European project called Desolination, in which the aim is to produce drinkable water using both a forward osmosis process and solar energy, and a project on the fluid-dynamic characterization of three-phase flows, specifically measurement on void fraction and pressure drop are conducted.
What aspect of your work is most exciting you right now?
The fact that the field is so new and very little has been done in the past.
What are the challenges of your research?
The challenges that I’ve been facing are mainly related to the absence of a well-established literature, which on the other hand is the main reason why the research gets so interesting!
Why did you choose to start this experience and why did you choose PoliMi?
I choose PoliMi as it was a reality already familiar to me and I knew that research at high level is conducted here.
How would you describe this period of your life with three adjectives?
Challenging, Stimulating, Useful. It was challenging to cope with the project daily little challenges, but at the same time it was definitely stimulating as I had to think how to overcome those issues. And it was definitely useful as I gained confidence and the ability to combine various expertise.
What are your plans after the end of the PhD?
For sure taking a long holiday, perhaps either vising a country in which I’ve never been such as Australia or New Zealand or going back for a while to the US to explore areas which I didn’t have the time to travel to while I was there! And then getting back to my research.
Which advice would you give to new engineers that are pondering about PhD in Polimi?
Choose it, you won’t regret this choice, if you are interested in deepening your knowledge on a specific subject that you have dealt with during your master or during your Thesis, choosing to perform a PhD is the best choice you can do.
Which personal experience (trip, meeting of a person, book, movie, etc..) mostly affected the way you see things?
I would say, all the experiences I’ve done abroad starting from the period in UK after the bachelor, the Erasmus in Norway and eventually the months in the US.
