Dr Rasool Erfani
Dr Rasool Erfani CEng, FHEA, MIMechE
Senior Lecturer
My profile
Biography
Dr. Rasool Erfani is a Senior Lecturer within the Division of Mechanical Engineering, leading the Modelling and Digital Twin theme of the Smart Infrastructure & Industry Research (SIIR) Group. His group conducts leading-edge research in plasma engineering, computational fluid dynamics, and experimental fluid dynamics. With expertise in these areas, Dr. Erfani applies his knowledge to environmental science, technological development for resource management, and healthcare. Collaborating closely with UK and international universities as well as various industries, his work has far-reaching implications.
Notably, Dr. Erfani’s collaboration with the NHS led to securing a prestigious £600k NIHR-i4i grant (NIHR200023). This grant aims to design and develop an innovative device for Vocalisation in Tracheostomised Patients, significantly enhancing their quality of life.
Leading three Innovate UK-KTP grants, totaling £550k, Dr. Erfani’s remarkable projects include UK-KTP1024934 with Motherwell Tank, expanding the applications of flame arresters to the pharmaceutical and sewage treatment sectors. This project promises improved safety measures and operational efficiencies in these industries.
In collaboration with Severn Trent Water company, Dr. Erfani obtained the Innovate UK-KTP1025332 grant, which focuses on developing a novel leak-seeking technique that avoids the need for excavation or pipe replacement. This groundbreaking approach has the potential to revolutionize water management systems, reducing costs and minimizing disruptions.
Furthermore, the Innovate UK-KTP1026924 grant, in partnership with Clean Air, addresses a critical environmental challenge by developing a digital twin methodology using computational fluid dynamics. This methodology offers a reliable alternative for assessing air quality without the need for testing using SF6, a potent greenhouse gas.
Dr. Erfani’s collaboration with Manchester University, funded by Lb Orthopaedics Manchester Ltd, resulted in the design and construction of a device that manipulates circadian rhythm by temperature to enhance healing time for injuries. This research holds great promise for advancing medical treatments.
Acknowledging his remarkable contributions, they received the “National Innovation Award” from the Institute of Water, recognising the significant impact of his research group’s work on innovation in the water industry. Additionally, he was honored with the IMechE’s Andrew Medd Award, earning the title of “Young Mechanical Engineer of the Year”.
Furthermore, Dr. Erfani has been appointed as an honorary Associate Professor at University College London (UCL) and is supervising a PhD project on technology development for water and wastewater treatment. They have also secured a PhD studentship funded by Medical Science University, SA, and won a highly competitive studentship from a Nigerian Oil Company in collaboration with Salford University, further illustrating their international recognition and influence.
Academic and professional qualifications
- CEng, Chartered Engineer
- FHEA, Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy
- PGCert, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Manchester Met. University
- PhD, Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical Aerospace & Civil Engineering (MACE), University of Manchester
- MSc, Applied Fluid Dynamics, School of Mathematic, University of Manchester
Expert reviewer
- EPSRC,
- Elsevier ScienceDirect: Redox biology,
- Elsevier Sci. &Tech. Books,
- Elsevier ScienceDirect: Journal of Heat & Mass Transfer,
- Elsevier ScienceDirect: Aerospace Science and Technology,
- IOP, Institute of Physics: Journal of Applied Physics D,
- AIAA, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- ASME, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science.
Prizes and awards
- Winner of the Young Mechanical Engineer of the Year - IMechE’s Andrew Medd Award, 2020
- Winner of Institute of Water Innovation Award for our KTP Seek-a-Leak project, 2020
- IMechE Best BEng Eng. Project Award, 2019, 2022
- Dopper Changemaker Challenge, Semifinalist for BEng Eng. Project, 2019
- 1st Prize of the MACE Image Competition research conference, BP in collaboration with The University of Manchester, 2009
- Travel fund and maintenance support awarded by the University of Manchester, 2009
- Full PhD Scholarship awarded by the University of Manchester, School of MACE September, 2008
Visiting and honorary positions
- Honorary Associate Professor | Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering | University College London, 2020 - Now
- Visiting Academic | The University of Manchester 2012-2015
Membership of professional associations
- Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
Teaching
Why study…
As part of fluid mechanic course students will:
- Develop understanding of fundamental and applicable equations of heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
- Develop Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling techniques.
- Develop statistical analysis of research data.
Through:
- Critically analyse the real world situations
- Find, evaluate, synthesise and use information
- Use systems and scenario thinking
These will strengthen your:
- Analytical thinking; Critical evaluation; Attention to details; Problem solving; Computer aided engineering; Technical communication …
All of these are what industry wants and they can help students towards developing their employability skills.
Supervision
- Electrocardiograph (ECG) Signal Processing
- Non-thermal plasma technology for environmental protection
- Nanopulse Plasma Reactor Optimization for Cancer Therapy
- Development and Optimization of a Medical Plasma Reactor
- Plasma Surface Modification of Polypropylene
- Aircraft Flutter Suppression Using Plasma Actuator
- Modelling & Simulation of Incompressible Tunnel Design
- Haemodynamics in Grafts Numeric Investigation
- Warming Sleeve Osteoarthritis Joint Disease Patients
Research outputs
Technology development for Air/Water treatment, Plasma Sciences and its Healthcare & Environmental applications,
Resource security, Technology development for renewable energy, Flight and Flow Control, Advanced Flow Diagnostics and Wind Tunnel Testing, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Modelling & Optimisation, System Dynamic.
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Chapters in books
Erfani, R., Kontis, K. (2019) 'MEE-DBD Plasma Actuator Effect on Aerodynamics of a NACA0015 Aerofoil: Separation and 3D Wake.' In Qin, N., Periaux, J., Bugeda, G. (ed.) Advances in Effective Flow Separation Control for Aircraft Drag Reduction. Computational Methods in Applied Sciences, vol. 2. Springer, pp. 75-92.
Erfani, T., Erfani, R. (2015) 'Fair resource allocation using multi-population evolutionary algorithm.' Applications of Evolutionary Computation. Springer, pp. 214-224.
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Journal articles
Erfani, T., Naeini, M.M., Borgomeo, E., Anvari, M., Hurford, A., Erfani, R., Zarei, A., Matin, M.A., Madani, K. (2024) 'Sustainability nexus AID: infrastructure resilience.' Sustainability Nexus Forum, 32(1)
Manning, A., Qian, L., Erfani, R. (2024) 'CFD modelling of velocity fields around a fume cupboard: Evaluating static and dynamic meshes with experimental measurements.' European Journal of Mechanics - B/Fluids, 105pp. 238-246.
Fatahian, H., Fatahian, E., Erfani, R. (2023) 'Square cyclone separator: performance analysis optimization and operating condition variations using CFD-DPM and Taguchi method.' Powder Technology, 428pp. 118789-118789.
Zafar, R., Nezhad, A.E., Ahmadi, A., Erfani, T., Erfani, R. (2022) 'Trading Off Environmental and Economic Scheduling of a Renewable Energy Based Microgrid Under Uncertainties.' IEEE Access, 11pp. 459-475.
Erfani, R., Carmichael, C., Sofokleous, T., Wang, Q. (2022) 'Nanosecond-pulsed DBD plasma treatment on human leukaemia Jurkat cells and monoblastic U937 cells in vitro.' Scientific Reports, 12(1)
Erfani, T., Mokhtar, H., Erfani, R. (2017) 'Self-adaptive agent modelling of wind farm for energy capture optimisation.' Energy Systems, 9(1) pp. 209-222.
Tan, C.C., Erfani, T., Erfani, R. (2017) 'Water for energy and food: A system modelling approach for Blue Nile river basin.' Environments, 4(1) pp. 1-13.
Ruisi, R., Zare-Behtash, H., Kontis, K., Erfani, R. (2016) 'Active flow control over a backward-facing step using plasma actuation.' Acta Astronautica, 126pp. 354-363.
Ding, N., Erfani, R., Mokhtar, H., Erfani, T. (2016) 'Agent based modelling for water resource allocation in the transboundary Nile river.' Water (Switzerland), 8(4)
Erfani, T., Erfani, R. (2015) 'An evolutionary approach to solve a system of multiple interrelated agent problems.' Applied Soft Computing, 37pp. 40-47.
Erfani, R., Zare-Behtash, H., Hale, C., Kontis, K. (2015) 'Development of DBD plasma actuators: The double encapsulated electrode.' Acta Astronautica, 109
Keshmiri, A., Erfani, R., Darabkhani, H.G. (2013) 'An investigation into the failure of a non-linear eddy-viscosity model in capturing the laminarisation phenomenon.' 21st AIAA Computational Fluid Dynamics Conference,
Erfani, R., Keshmiri, A., Erfani, T., Kontis, K. (2013) 'Multiple encapsulated electrode plasma actuator effect on aerofoil-wake interaction.' 44th AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference,
Erfani, R., Erfani, T., Utyuzhnikov, S.V., Kontis, K. (2013) 'Optimisation of multiple encapsulated electrode plasma actuator.' Aerospace Science and Technology, 26(1) pp. 120-127.
Erfani, R., Erfani, T., Utyuzhnikov, S.V., Kontis, K. (2013) 'Optimisation of multiple encapsulated electrode plasma actuator.' Aerospace Science and Technology,
Erfani, R., Hale, C., Kontis, K. (2012) 'Flow control of a NACA0015 airfoil in a turbulent wake using plasma actuators.' 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition,
Erfani, R., Zare-Behtash, H., Kontis, K. (2012) 'Plasma actuator: Influence of dielectric surface temperature.' Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 42pp. 258-264.
Erfani, R., Zare-Behtash, H., Kontis, K. (2012) 'Influence of shock wave propagation on dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator performance.' Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 45(22)
Erfani, R., Hale, C., Kontis, K. (2011) 'The influence of electrode configuration and dielectric temperature on plasma actuator performance.' 49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition,
Hale, C., Erfani, R., Kontis, K. (2010) 'Plasma actuators with multiple encapsulated electrodes to influence the induced velocity.' 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition,
Hale, C., Erfani, R., Kontis, K. (2010) 'Multiple encapsulated electrode plasma actuators to influence the induced velocity: Further configurations.' 40th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference, 1
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Conference papers
Erfani, T., Samami, H., Erfani, R., Utyuzhnikov, S.V. (2015) 'Approximation of the pareto surface via a hybrid of scalarization method and evolutionary algorithm.'
Erfani, T., Samami, H., Erfani, R., Utyuzhnikov, S.V. (2015) 'Approximation of the pareto surface via a hybrid of scalarization method and evolutionary algorithm.'
Erfani, T., Samami, H., Erfani, R. (2013) 'A Hybrid Approach to Approximate the Trade-off Surface in Engineering Design via Scalarization and Evolutionary Computation.' In 31st AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Keshmiri, A., Erfani, R., Darabkhani, H.G. (2013) 'An investigation into the failure of a non-linear eddy-viscosity model in capturing the laminarisation phenomenon.'