Biography
Dr Rafanelli is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the Oxford Thermofluids Institute, where he returned in 2026 after first joining as a visiting researcher in 2024 during his doctoral studies. Following the completion of his PhD, he worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Florence.
He obtained his BSc, MSc, and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florence, where his research focused on the development of multiphase models and loosely coupled multiphysics CFD approaches, alongside low-order mechanistic models for the simulation of steam turbine start-up. Within this context, he has also numerically investigated the aerodynamics of low-pressure turbines under stalled conditions, as well as the cooling of exhaust casings, contributing to a deeper understanding of turbomachinery behaviour under flexible operation.
Research Interests
- Data-driven Acceleration
- 1D Flow Network
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
- Loosely-coupled CHT
- Multiphase Flows Modeling
