The research group FLUMACS (FLUid dynamics of MAcro and micro Complex Systems) is based at the Mechanical and Aerospace Department, Sapienza University of Rome working on the fluid dynamics of complex flows. The group is presently growing thanks to the ERC-Advanced-GRANT 2013, BIC (Following bubbles from inception to cavitation).

The modus operandi of the group is chiefly theoretical and numerical, oriented to fundamental and numerical modelling. This approach brought us in contact with several neighbouring disciplines, such as physics, material science, chemistry, and biology. The issuing multidisciplinary and multiscale expertise already proved successful in dealing with such diverse problems as Combustion, Drag reduction, Particle Transport, Multiphase Flows, and Interfacial Phenomena like wetting and liquid slippage.

Major achievements of the research group concern the general problem of coupling macroscopic flows with a micro-structure. In particular the group has given contributions in particulate turbulent flows, polymers-laden and multiphase flows. Using DNS, significant insight has been provided in the characterization of turbulent kinetic energy fluxes in wall bounded flows, where certain exotic effects of reverse energy cascade associated with the so-called coherent structures of vorticity were found fundamental for successful LES of wall bounded flows. Much of the present research is focused on micro- and nano-scale flows, and concentrated in the study of fluid motion and protein translocation in nanopores through various kind of molecular dynamics simulations. Advanced molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and free-energy methods have been applied to address the stability of vapor nuclei on rough, hydrophobic surfaces. The original results achieved in this field encouraged us in extending this kind of approaches from the nano to the micro scale (thermodynamics and phase field methods) and in getting more directly involved in cavitation problems.