first michael sfantzikopoulos award

Award Ceremony

1st Michael Sfantzikopoulos Award

MD-Lab hosted the first Michael Sfantzikopoulos Award ceremony, recognizing the best diploma thesis in mechanical design for the academic year 2021-22. The award was presented to Rafail Gkioves for his work on the modeling and design of a scroll compressor for the CERN HEV ventilator.

Award Recipient Rafail Gkioves Diploma Mechanical Engineer NTUA

Award handover during the first Michael Sfantzikopoulos Award ceremony — The first Michael Sfantzikopoulos Award ceremony, with the awarded thesis poster presented during the event.

About the Award

The Michael Sfantzikopoulos Award is dedicated to outstanding diploma-thesis work in the field of mechanical design. It is awarded annually to the best diploma thesis in this area, highlighting rigorous engineering design, clear modeling work and practical contribution to mechanical engineering research and practice.

The first award ceremony also had a special symbolic character, as Michael Sfantzikopoulos himself was present for the event.

Awarded Diploma Thesis

The first award was presented to Rafail Gkioves for the diploma thesis Modeling and Design of a Scroll Compressor for HEV Ventilator of CERN. The work was connected to the HEV project, a high-quality, low-cost ventilator concept developed in close collaboration with physicians and intended to support COVID-19 treatment needs.

Within this project, MD-Lab’s work focused on the study and development of a compressor capable of providing compressed air to the HEV system. The awarded thesis addressed the mechanical design of a scroll-type compressor, where compression is achieved through the coordinated motion of one fixed and one moving spiral.

Thesis focus: parametric scroll-compressor geometry, compressor flow estimation, CFD-based loss evaluation, alternative layout concepts and detailed design of the drive, compression and cooling systems.

HEV scroll-compressor concept renderings developed by MD-Lab — Scroll-compressor concept renderings developed during the awarded diploma thesis.

Design Highlights

Parametric design of the stator-rotor scroll pair to support rapid design iterations and future laboratory studies.
Calculation of compressor flow based on geometry and expected losses between the cooperating spirals.
CFD simulations used to evaluate clearances, estimate losses and support final design decisions.
Comparison of proposed system layouts before detailed design of the transmission, compression and cooling subsystems.

Detailed section view of the HEV scroll-compressor mechanical layout — Detailed layout of the compressor, including transmission, shaft support and balancing elements.

Ceremony Photos

First Michael Sfantzikopoulos Award ceremony with the thesis poster and reception table — Ceremony setting with the awarded thesis poster on display.

Michael Sfantzikopoulos Award ceremony with attendees and thesis poster — The awarded thesis poster presented during the ceremony.

Rafail Gkioves receiving the Michael Sfantzikopoulos Award — Award handover during the first ceremony.

Rafail Gkioves and Michael Sfantzikopoulos during the award handover — Michael Sfantzikopoulos attended the ceremony and participated in the award moment.