Fluid Mechanics
Fluid Mechanics affects everything from hydraulic pumps, to microorganisms, to jet engines. Purdue brings together a world-class group of researchers to model these behaviors in the computer, and then apply them to real-world situations.
Whether it’s air flowing over the blades of a turbine, or liquids coating a batch of pharmaceutical tablets, Purdue boasts one-of-a-kind facilities that enable researchers to explore new theories and set new standards: including the largest academic hydraulics lab in the country. Even at the microscopic or nanoscopic level -- even within the human body! -- Purdue researchers have the expertise to forge new discoveries every day.
Faculty in Fluid Mechanics
- Fluid dynamics
- Biomaterial
- Multiphase flows
- Non-Newtonian fluid dynamics
- Microfluidics
- Complex fluids
- Soft matter
- Pressure gain combustion
- Turbomachinery
- High-speed internal flows
- Aero-thermal focus on the integration of experiments with computational fluid dynamics
- Modeling, Experiments and Simulations of turbulent boundary layers: role of initial conditions and bio-inspired micro-surfaces on evolution of velocity/thermal fields.
- Importance of turbulence and complex topography on wind energy.
- Integration of renewable with water and thermal storage.
- Translational research focus on renewable energy & society
- Wall interaction (e.g., bio-inspired micro surfaces) in respiratory flows
- Big data in turbulence, renewable energy and biomedical engineering.
- Energy and social equality
- Experimental fluid dynamics
- Development of flow diagnostic techniques
- Flow dynamics in stratified environment
- Turbulent flow measurements and modeling
- Fluid Mechanics
- Soft Matter
- Granular Flow
- Microfluidics
- Nonlinear Waves
- Computational Science
- CFD of multiphase flows
- Turbulent gas-liquid flows
- Cavitation
- Heat transfer
- Laser-absorption spectroscopy, laser-induced fluorescence, & IR imaging sensors for gas temperature, pressure, velocity, and chemical species
- Molecular spectroscopy, photophysics, & energy transfer in gases
- Energetic materials (e.g., explosives & propellants) detection & combustion
- Combustion and propulsion systems (small and large scale)
- Biomedical sensing
- Modeling and simulation techniques for multiphase and multiphysics problems using the phase-field method.
- Isogeometric methods with applications in fluid and solid mechanics.
- Modeling and simulation tools for several biomechanics problems, including tumor growth, cellular migration and blood flow at small scales.
- Computational methods for fluid-structure interaction, especially when the problem involves complex fluids.
- Sustainable energy and environment
- Combustion and turbulent reacting flows
- Combustion and heat transfer in materials
- Biomedical flows and heat transfer
- Global policy research
- Application of Artificial Intelligence for Data-Driven Modeling, Analysis, Optimization, and Control
- Physics Informed Machine Learning and Reduced-Order Modeling
- Turbulence, Combustion, Sprays, and Particle Laden Flows
- Multiscale and Multiphysics Modeling and Simulation
- Computational Fluid Dynamics and High-Performance Computing
- Energy Systems Modeling, Multi-Criteria Analysis and Decision Making
- Renewable Energy and Smart Energy Systems
- Aerothermal aspects of turbomachinery
- Axial and radial compressor performance
- Experimental methods in fluid mechanics
- Big data analysis and statistical machine learning
- Predictive modeling and uncertainty quantification
- Scientific computing and computational fluid dynamics
- Stochastic multiscale modeling
- Laser diagnostics
- Diode-laser-based sensors
- Gas turbine and internal engine combustion
- Materials processing and synthesis
- Combustion science
- Fluid mechanics and heat transfer
- Transport Phenomena in Multi-Scale, Heterogeneous Materials & Systems
- Fundamentals of Nanoscale Thermal Transport
- Heat Transfer in Natural and Synthetic Fiber Systems
- Thermofluids Interactions
- Multi-Physics Metrology Design
- Electronics Cooling and Thermal Management
- Advancement of next-generation propulsion concepts including Rotating Detonation Engines (RDEs), Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines (RDREs) and Scramjet Engines
- Laser diagnostics development for applied thermal environments including RDEs, RDREs, gas-turbines, rockets, IC engines, and scramjet engines
- Laser Diagnostics and Spectroscopy for detonations, combustion, sprays, energetics, propellants, hypersonics, plasmas, and non-equilibrium flows
- Estimation of performance, efficiency and emissions using state of the art optical diagnostics (PLIF, CARS, TP-LIF, PIV, 3D Imaging, X-Rays, PIV, Molecular Tagging, Thermographic Phosphors and Pressure Sensitive Paints)
- Thermal-fluid behavior at the extremes, including turbulent, acoustically coupled, high-temperature, high-pressure, multiphase, and non-equilibrium reacting flows
- Fluid dynamics
- Multiphase flows
- Monte Carlo methods
- Kinetic theory of granular flows
- Heat transfer in granular media
- Rarefied gas dynamics
- Turbomachinery, turbines
- Measurement techniques, experimental turbomachinery
- Air-breathing propulsion
- MEMS, nanotechnology
- BioMEMS
- Biosensors
- Protein detection
- Aptamers (Nucleic-acid-based receptor molecules)
- Large eddy and direct simulations
- Turbulent Combustion
- Thermoacoustics
- Non-linear acoustics
- Heat-and-mass transfer
- Physical oceanography and limnology
- Numerical methods for complex geometries
- Designing and modeling hydrostatic pumps and motors
- Hydrodynamic pumps and turbines
- Fluid power systems
- Advanced computational and experimental tribological analysis
- Multiphase combustion, particularly related to propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics
- Nanoscale composite energetic materials
- Advanced energetic materials
- Microscale combustion
- Modeling and simulation of hydraulic systems
- Modeling and testing of pumps and motors for fluid power applications
- Hydraulic valves modeling and testing
- Reduction of noise emissions in fluid power systems
- Measurement science and instrumentation
- Particle image velocimetry
- Quantification of uncertainty
- Multi-phase flows
- Flow induced vibrations and hydro-kinetic energy
- Biological flows
- Biofluid mechanics
- Biomedical cardiovascular devices
- Heart failure and diastolic dysfunction
- Desalination & Water Treatment
- Water-Food-Energy Nexus
- Thermofluids
- Nanotechnology
- Membrane Science
- Discrete element method (DEM) modeling for particulate systems
- -- model development, e.g., fibrous particles, particle breakage, particle shapes
- -- application to manufacturing, e.g., storage and flow, blending, segregation, drying, coating, wet granulation
- Finite element method (FEM) modeling of powder compaction
- -- e.g., roll compaction, tableting, picking and sticking
- Multi-scale modeling (FEM combined with DEM) of powder dynamics
- -- model development and application to hopper flow, blending, and segregation
- Microfluidic MEMS devices
- Development of new microfluidic diagnostic techniques
- Biological flows at the cellular level
- Micro-scale laminar mixing
- Flow transitions and instabilities
- Laser-matter interactions
- Laser-induced plasma and laser-plasma interaction
- Laser applications in manufacturing, materials processing, and other areas