Prof.dr.ir. Piero Colonna

Piero Colonna is Full Professor, Chair of Propulsion and Power at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering

Degrees

  • M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 1991.
  • M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, USA, 1995.
  • Ph.D. in Energy Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 1996.

Work Experience

  • 2013-current, Full Professor, Propulsion and Power, TU Delft, The Netherlands.
  • 2002-2013, Associate Professor, Renewable Energy Systems, TU Delft, The Netherlands.
  • 2005-2006, Interim Head of the Energy Technology Section, TU Delft, The Netherlands.
  • 1997-2002, Assistant Professor, Fluid Machinery, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
  • 1996-2003, Founder and Partner of AustEx – Exergy Management s.r.l., Milano, Italy.
  • 1995, Research Assistant, Engineering Thermodynamics, Stanford University, California.
  • 1991-1996,  Energy Engineering consultant, Studio Tecnico SPELL, Milano, Italy.

Expertise

Technologies / Methods

  • Organic Rankine Cycle Power Systems
  • Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle Power Systems
  • Unconventional Turbomachinery

Innovative Methods

  • Automated turbomachinery fluid dynamic design
  • Prompt-by-design power plants
  • Integrated process/components design optimization

Science

  • Non Ideal Compressible Fluid Dynamics (NICFD)
  • Thermodynamic Properties of Pure Fluids and Mixtures
  • Dynamics of Energy Conversion Systems

Current Projects

  • CC-Powertrain
  • Mini-ORC turbogenerator for 0-energy buildings
  • BZT fluids for small power systems
  • CC-engine for next-generation aircraft
  • Mini-turbopropeller for long-range civil UAV
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