Skip to ContentSkip to Navigation
About us Practical matters How to find us A. (Antonis) Vakis, Prof

Research interests

Trained as a mechanical engineer, Prof. dr. A.I. Vakis is a specialist in the field of tribology –the science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion– and a generalist performing and leading award-winning research on renewable energy and advanced manufacturing. He has published on nanoscale contacts at the head-disk interface of hard disk drives, and investigated fundamental aspects of the nature of contact at the atomic level. His group has expertise on computational methods including molecular dynamics and finite elements, and develops multi-physics models that can be used, for example, to account for tribological effects at critical interfaces in engineering systems. The bulk of research currently performed by the group focuses on offshore renewable energy harvesting and storage technologies. Projects in this direction include wave energy, where the group investigates dense arrays of wave energy converters, and energy storage, were the group develops novel underwater pumped hydro storage together with spin-off company Ocean Grazer BV. Computational fluid dynamics and the boundary element method are used to study fluid-structure interaction, hydrodynamics and hydraulics, while experimental measurements on scale prototypes are used to validate models. To this end, the group manages experimental facilities that include, among others, a wave tank and hydraulic systems such as a scale prototype of the power take-off system for wave energy. Prof. dr. Vakis has also worked on advanced manufacturing in collaboration with industry, for example, to develop digital twins of forming processes, while he also collaborates closely with academic partners on topics ranging from computational fluid dynamics to geomechanics.

Read more

Publications

Modeling and Simulation in Tribology Across Scales: an Overview

Mechanical design and modeling of a single-piston pump for the novel power take-off system of a wave energy converter

Investigating the adaptability of the multi-pump multi-piston power take-off system for a novel wave energy converter

Modelling of a wave energy converter array with a nonlinear power take-off system in the frequency domain

Single asperity nanocontacts: Comparison between molecular dynamics simulations and continuum mechanics models

Harvesting the Wind - Assessment of Offshore Electricity Storage Systems

Improvement of the Stability of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine by a Centreboard and Heave Plate System

Modelling Supercritical CO2 Bubble Breakup Dynamics in Twin Screw Extruders

Modelling supercritical CO2 flow in a co-rotating twin screw extruder using the level-set method

Renewable energy system sizing with power generation and storage functions accounting for its optimized activity on multiple electricity markets

Read more

Press/media

Ocean Grazer-project van RUG genomineerd voor Huibregtsenprijs: altijd schone (golf)energie voorhanden

Ocean Grazer-project van RUG genomineerd voor Huibregtsenprijs: altijd schone (golf)energie voorhanden

Groningers catch electricity from the sea

Ben Feringa Impact Award: Ocean Grazer

Ocean Grazer and IvyONe winners of first Ben Feringa Impact Awards

Ocean Grazer en IvyONe winnaars eerste Ben Feringa Impact Award. Schone energie en medisch hulpmiddel in de schijnwerper

Read more