Professor of Thermofluid Dynamics
Academic Division: Energy, Fluids and Turbomachinery
Research group: Energy
Telephone: +44 1223 3 32585
Email: mpj1001@eng.cam.ac.uk
Research interests
Matthew Juniper's research is in the broad area of flow instability, encompassing hydrodynamic instability and thermoacoustic instability. This research is inspired by developments in the analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems and the analysis of linear stability with adjoint methods. Its broad aim it to take concepts that have been proven for simple systems and scale them up into tools that can be used in industry.
The main application of this research is in gas turbine combustion chambers, which are susceptible to both hydrodynamic and thermoacoustic oscillations. As manufacturers strive to make engines that are cleaner and more fuel-efficient, they operate closer to the boundaries of instability. The aim of this research is to predict these instability boundaries, to analyse the behaviour beyond these boundaries, and to work out how such systems can be stabilized.
This research also has other applications, such as reducing the noise in cyclone separators, and retaining laminar flow in low Reynolds number furnaces, which could be important for the fabrication of certain new materials.
Strategic themes
Energy, transport and urban infrastructure
The vast majority of the world's hydrocarbon fuel is burnt in internal combustion engines. Just a small improvement in efficiency or pollutant production has a significant influence on the climate impact of energy production and transport.
Manufacturing, design and materials
Software developed by the group is being used with two industrial partners.
Complex, resilient and intelligent systems
The algorithms under development in the group are similar to those used in Uncertainty Quantification.
Research projects
ERC Starter Grant (Advanced Lagrangian Optimization, Receptivity and Sensitivity analysis ); Framework 7 Marie Curie Network (ANADE)
Teaching activity
- Online course learnfluidmechanics.org
- 3rd year Incompressible Flow
- 4th year Flow Instability
- Graduate level courses via the AIM Network
Other positions
Associate Editor, International Journal of Spray and Combustion Dynamics
PI of the UK Fluids Network (https://www.ukfluids.net)
Biography
Dr Matthew P. Juniper is a Professor in the Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge, U.K. He studied Natural Sciences Part 1 (1994) and Engineering Part 2 (1997) at the University of Cambridge and received his M.S (1998) and PhD (2001) from the Ecole Centrale de Paris. After a period as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. (2002-2003) he joined the University of Cambridge as a lecturer (2003) and fellow of Trinity College (2006). His research interests include nonlinearity and non-normality in thermoacoustic systems, local and global stability analyses of hydrodynamic flows, and adjoint-based methods for optimization and continuation analysis.