Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Herbert L. Stiles Professor of Chemical Engineering

3162B Sweeney Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2230

Phone (515)294-9104
Fax (515)294-2689
rofoxiastate.edu

Education
B.S., (cum laude), ChE, Kansas State University, 1982
M.S., ChE, Kansas State University, 1985
Ph.D., ChE, Kansas State University, 1987

Honors and Awards

Fellow, American Physical Society
UDCT Golden Jubilee Visiting Fellowship Lecture, Mumbai, India
Dr. G.P. Kane Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award, Indian Inst. of Chemical Engineers, Hyderabad, India
Glenn Murphy Professor of Engineering
Halliburton Company Teaching Award
Dow Outstanding New Faculty Award, ASEE Midwest Section
1991 Presidential Young Investigator Award
NATO Postdoctoral Fellow
NSF Graduate Fellow
Fulbright Scholar, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland

Teaching/Office Hours Schedule

Research Interests

Our research focuses on the development, implementation and validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools for Chemical Reaction Engineering. With the ever-increasing power of desktop computers, CFD has become a powerful tool for chemical reactor analysis, design and optimization in the chemical process industry. Its successes have led to a growing demand for greater sophistication and range in the types of problems that can be treated. Thus, the elaboration of accurate yet tractable models for the manifold physical and chemical processes that occur in industrial-scale reactors is still very much an open and challenging field of inquiry. In attacking these problems, our modeling efforts draw on a large range of tools originating in diverse fields including probability theory and stochastic processes, non-linear dynamics, computational science and engineering, chemical reaction engineering, and transport phenomena.

Other Information

American Chemical Society
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
American Physical Society
American Society of Engineering Education
Omega Chi Epsilon
Phi Kappa Phi
Sigma Xi
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Research Projects

1. U.S. DOE NETL, Development, Verification, and Validation of Multiphase Models for Polydisperse Flows
2. U.S. DOE NETL, Modeling of Reacting Multiphase Flows with MFIX
3. U.S. DOE OSCR, Micro-Mesoscopic Modeling of Heterogeneous Chemically Reacting Flows (MMM-HCRF) Over Catalytic/Solid Surfaces
4. U.S. DOE NERI, Detailed Reaction Kinetics for CFD Modeling of Nuclear Fuel Pellet Coating for High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors
5. National Science Foundation, NIRT: Functional Nanoparticle Formation by “Flash NanoPrecipitation” and Block Copolymer Directed Assembly
6. National Science Foundation, NIRT: Multiscale Simulation of Nanoparticle Aggregation for Scale  Up of High-Rate Synthesis Methods
7. National Science Foundation, MRI: Acquisition of a High-Speed Particle Image Velocimetry System for Fluid Dynamics Research
8. National Science Foundation, CFD Models for Liquid-Phase Chemical Reactors: Validation of PDF and Large-Eddy Simulations Using Stereo PIV and Reactive PLIF Experiments
9. Univation Technologies, Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Unipol Gas Phase Reactor

Selected Publications

Fox, R. O., Computational Models for Turbulent Reacting Flows, Cambridge University Press (2003).

Marchisio, D. L., R. D. Vigil, and R. O. Fox, “Quadrature method of moments for aggregation-breakage processes,” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 258, 322 (2003).

Fox, R. O., and P. K. Yeung, “Improved Lagrangian mixing models for passive scalars in isotropic turbulence,” Physics of Fluids 15, 961 (2003).

Raman, V., R. O. Fox, A. D. Harvey, and D. H. West, (Invited Paper) “Effect of feed-stream configuration on gas-phase chlorination reactor performance,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 42, 2544 (2003).

Marchisio, D. L., J. T. Pikturna, R. O. Fox, R. D. Vigil, and A. A. Barresi, “Quadrature method of moments for population balances with nucleation, growth and aggregation,” AIChE Journal 49, 1266 (2003).

Marchisio, D. L., R. D. Vigil, and R. O. Fox, “Implementation of the quadrature method of moments in CFD codes for aggregation-breakage problems,” Chemical Engineering Science 58, 3337 (2003).

Wang, L., and R. O. Fox, “Application of in-situ adaptive tabulation to CFD simulation of nanoparticle formation by reactive precipitation,” Chemical Engineering Science 58, 4387 (2003).

Fan, R., D. L. Marchisio, and R. O. Fox, “Application of the direct quadrature method of moments to polydisperse gas-solid fluidized beds,” Powder Technology 139, 7 (2004).

Raman, V., R. O. Fox, and A. D. Harvey, “Hybrid finite-volume/transported PDF simulations of a partially premixed methane-air flame,” Combustion and Flame 136, 327 (2004).

Xie, N., F. Battaglia, and R. O. Fox, “Simulations of multiphase reactive flows in fluidized beds using in situ adaptive tabulation,” Combustion Theory and Modelling 8, 195 (2004).

Wang, L., and R. O. Fox, “Comparison of micromixing models for CFD simulation of nanoparticle formation,” AIChE Journal 50, 2217 (2004).

Liu, Y., V. Raman, R. O. Fox, and A. D. Harvey, “Scale up of gas-phase chlorination reactors using CFD,” Chemical Engineering Science 59, 5167 (2004).

Fox, R. O., and V. Raman, “A multienvironment conditional probability density function model for turbulent reacting flows,” Physics of Fluids 16, 4551 (2004).

Marchisio, D. L., and R. O. Fox, “Solution of population balance equations using the direct quadrature method of moments,” Journal of Aerosol Science 36, 43 (2005).

Wang, L., D. L. Marchisio, R. D. Vigil, and R. O. Fox, “CFD simulation of aggregation and breakage processes in laminar Taylor-Couette flow,” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 282, 380 (2005).

Kolhapure, N. H., R. O. Fox, A. Daiss, and F.-O. Maehling, “PDF simulations of ethylene decomposition in tubular LDPE reactors,” AIChE Journal 51, 585 (2005).

Wang, L., R. D. Vigil, and R. O. Fox, “CFD simulation of shear-induced aggregation and breakage processes in turbulent Taylor-Couette flow,” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 285, 167 (2005).

Sanyal, J., D. L. Marchisio, R. O. Fox, and K. Dhanasekharan, (Invited Paper) “On the comparison between population balance models for CFD simulation of bubble columns,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 44, 5063 (2005).

Monahan, S., V. S. Vitankar, and R. O. Fox, “CFD predictions for flow-regime transitions in bubble columns,” AIChE Journal 51, 1897 (2005).

Gao, D., S. Subramaniam, R. O. Fox, and D. K. Hoffman, “Objective decomposition of the stress tensor in granular mixtures,” Physical Review E 71, 021302 (2005).

Raman, V., H. Pitsch, and R. O. Fox, “Hybrid large-eddy simulation/Lagrangian filtered-density-function approach for simulating turbulent combustion,” Combustion and Flame 143, 56 (2005).

Feng, H., M. G. Olsen, Y. Liu, R. O. Fox, and J. C. Hill, “Investigation of turbulent mixing in a confined planar-jet reactor,” AIChE Journal 51, 2649 (2005).

Fox, R. O., “CFD models for analysis and design of chemical reactors,” in Advances in Chemical Engineering, vol. 31, Ed. G. B. Marin, Elsevier, pp. 231-305 (2006).

Zucca, A., D. L. Marchisio, A. A. Barresi, and R. O. Fox, “Implementation of the population balance equation in CFD codes for modelling soot formation in turbulent flames,” Chemical Engineering Science 61, 87 (2006).

Gao, D., R. Fan, S. Subramaniam, R. O. Fox, and D. K. Hoffman, “Momentum transfer between polydisperse particles in dense granular flow,” Journal of Fluids Engineering 128, 62 (2006).

Liu, Y., and R. O. Fox, (Cover Article) “CFD predictions for chemical processing in a confined impinging-jets reactor,” AIChE Journal 52, 731 (2006).

Raman, V., H. Pitsch, and R. O. Fox, “Eulerian transported-PDF sub-filter model for LES of turbulent combustion,” Combustion Theory and Modelling 10, 439 (2006).

Vigil, R. D., I. Vermeersch, and R. O. Fox, “Destructive aggregation: Aggregation with collision-induced breakage,” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 302, 149 (2006).

Gokarn, A., F. Battaglia, R. O. Fox, and J. C. Hill, “Simulations of mixing for a confined co-flowing planar jet,” Computers & Fluids 35, 1228 (2006).

Liu, Y., Feng, H., M. G. Olsen, R. O. Fox, and J. C. Hill, “Turbulent mixing in a confined rectangular wake,” Chemical Engineering Science 61, 6946 (2006).

Fox, R. O., “Bivariate direct quadrature method of moments for coagulation and sintering of particle populations,” Journal of Aerosol Science 37, 1562 (2006).

Mummudi, M., and R. O. Fox, (Invited Paper) “A comprehensive dynamic model for high-pressure tubular LDPE reactors,” Journal of the Chinese Institute of Chemical Engineers 37, 413 (2006).