
Prof.dr.ir. P. (Piero) Colonna di Paliano
Prof.dr.ir. P. (Piero) Colonna di Paliano
Profile
Current Position
Full Professor, Chair of Propulsion and PowerDirector of the Aerospace Engineering Graduate School
Biography
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- Organic Rankine Cycle Power Systems
- Supercritical CO2 Cycle Power Systems
- Heat pumps
- Unconventional Turbomachinery
- Integrated process & components design optimization
- Automated turbomachinery fluid dynamic design
- (Dynamic) system modeling and simulation
- Non Ideal Compressible Fluid Dynamics (NICFD)
- Thermodynamic Properties of Pure Fluids and Mixtures
Awards
1995, Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, Milano, Italy.
The grant funded the Master studies at Stanford University.
1996, Italian Ministry of the University and Scientific Research, post-doctoral fellowship, Milano, Italy.
2004, NWO VIDI grant, personal grant from the Dutch Science Foundation for the project BZT Fluids for energy conversion applications.
2008, Best Paper Award of the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Conference and Exhibition (IMECE), 11-15 Nov., Seattle, WA, 2007.
2009-2010, Best lecturer award of the Master programs "Sustainable Processes and Energy technologies" and "Solid and Fluid Mechanics" of the Delft University of Technology.
2011-2012, Best lecturer award of the Master programs "Sustainable Processes and Energy technologies" and "Solid and Fluid Mechanics" of the Delft University of Technology.
Projects
- CC-Powertrain for trucks
- Mini-ORC turbogenerator for 0-energy buildings
- BZT fluids for small power systems
- Non-ideal Compressible Fluid Dynamics for Turbomachinery
- Novel ECS for aircraft
- CC-engine and CC-APU for next-generation aircraft
- sCO2 power cycle for waste heat recovery
- Thermal Energy harvesting on board of aircraft
- Methods for ultra-compact aerospace heat exchangers design
- Mixtures as working fluids for ORC systems
Other Positions and Memberships
- Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power (July 2013 - July 2015)
- Editor, Special JEGTP 2013 Issue on ORC Power Systems
- Chairman, ASME International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) board (2016-2017)
- Vice Chairman, ASME International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) board (2014-2015)
- Chairman, ORC Power Systems committee of the IGTI (2012-2015)
- Vice Chairman, Board of the Knowledge Center of Organic Rankine Cycle Technology (KCORC) (2017-2019)
- Chairman, Board of the Knowledge Center of Organic Rankine Cycle Technology (KCORC) (2020)
- Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2000-2022.
- Chairman, ORC 2011 International Seminar
- Chairman, ASME ORC 2013 Conference
- Honorary Chairman, ASME ORC 2015 Conference, ORC 2017, ORC 2019, ORC 2021, ORC 2023
- Member of the Advisory Board of the Global Propulsion and Power Society since 2018
- Associate Editor of the Journal of the Global Propulsion and Power Society since 2018.
- Member of the Board of the SU2 Foundation since 2021
Publications List (Selected or Complete)
- A. Guardone, P. Colonna, M. Pini, and A. Spinelli. Nonideal compressible fluid dynamics of dense vapors and supercritical fluids. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 56:241–269, 2024. DOI
S. Vitale, M. Pini, and P. Colonna. Multi-stage turbomachinery design using the discrete adjoint method within the open-source software SU2. J. Propul. Power, 36(3):465–478, 2020. DOI
W. C. Reynolds and P. Colonna. Thermodynamics: fundamentals and engineering applications. Cambridge University Press, September 2018. DOI
P. Colonna, E. Casati, C. Trapp, T. Mathijssen, J. Larjola, T. Turunen-Saaresti, and A. Uusitalo. Organic Rankine cycle power systems: From the concept to current technology, applications, and an outlook to the future. J. Eng. Gas Turb. Power, 137(10):100801–100820, 2015. DOI
F. Casella and P. Colonna. Dynamic modeling of IGCC power plants. Appl. Therm. Eng., 35:91–111, 2012. DOI
P. Colonna, J. Harinck, S. Rebay, and A. Guardone. Real-gas effects in organic Rankine cycle turbine nozzles. J. Propul. Power, 24(2):282–294, 2008. DOI
C. Zamfirescu, A. Guardone, and P. Colonna. Admissibility region for rarefaction shock waves in dense gases. J. Fluid Mech., 599:363–381, 2008. DOI
P. Colonna and A. Guardone. Molecular interpretation of nonclassical gas dynamics of dense vapors under the van der Waals model. Phys. Fluids, 18(5):056101–1–14, 2006. DOI
P. Colonna, N. R. Nannan, A. Guardone, and E. W. Lemmon. Multiparameter equations of state for selected siloxanes. Fluid Phase Equilib., 244:193–211, 2006. DOI
Google Scholar
Supervision of Doctoral Students
Former Doctoral Students- Prof. Dr. Paolo Silva (Associate Professor, Politecnico di Milano)
- Dr. Falk Ahnert (Head of Global Development Support, Wintershall)
- Dr. Hans van Putten (Software Product Development Manager, Department Head at Deltares)
- Dr. Ryan Nannan (Dean of the Mech. Eng. Dept., Anton De Kom University, Board Member at Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname)
- Dr. John Harinck (Program manager, Institute for Sustainable Processes)
- Dr. Emiliano Casati (PostDoc researcher, ETH Zurich, PREC group, Emiliano is one of the recipient of the European individual fellowship Marie S. Curie-Global)
- Dr. Carsten Trapp (Senior Analyst, Structuring & Valuation, Vattenfall)
- Dr. Enrico Rinaldi (Software Developer, Maxon)
- Dr. Tiemo Mathijssen (Expert, meteorological instrumentation, Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut - KNMI)
- Dr. Sebastian Bahamonde (Simulation Engineer, ASML)
- Dr. Salvatore Vitale (Software Engineer, ING)
- Dr. Lucia Azzini (Thermal Engineer, GE Avio Aero)
- Dr. Antonio Rubino (Data Science Application Engineer, Dutch Analytics)
- Dr. André Perpignan (R&D Engineer, Siemens Energy)
- Dr. Nitish Anand (Senior Researcher at VITO)
- Dr. Adam Head (PostDoc Researcher at TU Delft)
- Francesco Tosto
- Nitish Chandrasekar
- Andrea Giuffre’
- Federica Ascione
- Francesco Mazza
- Leonardo Castellanos
- Dabo Krempus
- Fabio Beltrame
- Matteo Majer
- Praharsh Pai Raikar
- Aude Lecardonnel
A bit about myself
I was interviewed by our marketing and information department when I was appointed professor: the transcript of the interview is displayed on the TU Delft Aerospace Engineering website here.
My inaugural lecture can be seen here.
I am a passionate lecturer of Thermodynamics and organized an International Symposium titled Teaching and Learning Thermodynamics in a Time of Change. A taste of it in these videos
Hobbies
Expertise
Publications
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2023
Mach Number Estimation and Pressure Profile Measurements of Expanding Dense Organic Vapors
Adam J. Head / Theodoros Michelis / Fabio Beltrame / Blanca Fuentes-Monjas / Emiliano Casati / Carlo De Servi / Piero Colonna
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2023
Preliminary Experiments in High Temperature Vapours of Organic Fluids in the Asymmetric Shock Tube for Experiments on Rarefaction Waves (ASTER)
Nitish Chandrasekaran / Theodoros Michelis / Bertrand Mercier / Piero Colonna
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2023
Speed of Sound Measurements in Dense Siloxane D6 Vapor at Temperatures up to 645 K by Means of a New Prismatic Acoustic Resonator
Bertrand Mercier / Nitish B. Chandrasekaran / Piero Colonna
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2022
Design optimization of a high-speed twin-stage compressor for next-gen aircraft environmental control system
Andrea Giuffre / Piero Colonna / Matteo Pini
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2022
Efficiency in Geothermal Operations
Mixtures as working fluids for ORC Power Plants
L. Galieti / C.M. de Servi / Piero Colonna / Paolo Silva / Paola Bombarda -
Media
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2019-12-17
Waste Heat Recovery Systems for More Electric Aircraft
Appeared in: TU Delft
Prizes
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2019-12-17
NWO Open Technology Program Grant
Prof. Colonna, voorzitter van de onderzoeksgroep Propulsion and Power, en zijn collega’s Dr. De Servi, Dr. Pini en Dr. Vos hebben een NWO Open Technology Program Grant van € 1.300.000 ontvangen voor het onderzoeksproject "Waste Heat Recovery Systems for More Electric Aircraft". Het doel van dit programma is het ontwikkelen van een baanbrekende technologie voor de terugwinning van restwarmte die de brandstofefficiëntie van vliegtuigen sterk zal verhogen, namelijk ultralichte organic Rankine cycle (ORC) power systems.
Twee toepassingen maken deel uit van het onderzoek. Een kan eerder op de markt worden gebracht, namelijk een auxiliary power unit (APU) op basis van gasturbines met ORC-restwarmte-terugwinning die alle benodigde elektrische energie tijdens de vlucht levert met een zeer hoog rendement. Voor de wat verdere toekomst wordt gekeken naar turbofanmotor met gecombineerde cyclus. Het team zal nieuwe stroom- en motorconfiguraties bestuderen die radicaal nieuwe ontwerpen voor zowel turbomachinerie als warmtewisselaarcomponenten toepassen.
Ancillary activities
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2023-01-02 - 2024-12-31
Other services
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2022-03-08 - 2024-03-08
Consultancy / research and other
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2023-01-02 - 2024-12-31
Other services
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2023-01-02 - 2024-12-31
Other services