Thermo-Fluids Research
Our thermo-fluids research spans length scales from ocean waves to blood vessels and includes applications such as bio-inspired silent flight and underwater locomotion, sustainable energy systems, and design of advanced materials for power generation. Browse below to learn more about our faculty-led research labs in thermo-fluids.
Keith Moored's lab discovers the fundamental physics behind unsteady flow phenomena and fluid-structure interactions that occur in engineering and throughout nature. We integrate in-house numerical tools with state-of-the-art experimental techniques to generate new understanding of phenomena at the intersection of fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and biology. Our research has broad applications to bio-inspired underwater vehicles, marine hydrokinetic turbines, unmanned aerial systems, aircraft, rotorcraft, and wind turbines. Research updates and lab news can be found on Twitter @MooredLabs.
Graduate Student Placements: Boeing, Sikorsky, Gulfstream, Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Pennsylvania State University, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), University of Southampton (UK)
Read more about Prof. Keith Moored and his work on bio-inspired riverine power.
Arindam Banerjee’s Turb-Lab focuses on multi-scale fluid-dynamics problems in energy and biological systems. Current research projects include marine energy systems, hydrodynamic instabilities, and, computational pulmonary fluid dynamics. The research goal of the group is to address of fundamental challenges related to space and scale interactions in turbulent flows. The group specializes in novel experiments and also performs computations at different fidelities to enhance their understanding of fluid dynamics.
Graduate Student Placements: Air Products and Chemicals, American Standards, Amazon, Caterpillar Inc., Corvid Technologies, EMD Electronics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Raytheon, Colorado School of Mines, Verdant Power Inc, Zoetis,
Read more about Prof. Arindam Banerjee and his work on Mimicking Turbulence Characteristics at Tidal Energy Test Sites in a Laboratory Environment.
Professor Demir’s Design and Engineering of Microswimmers for Interdisciplinary Research (DEMIR) Lab focuses on developing artificial swimmers that mimic microorganisms found in the nature, such as bacteria and spermatozoa, to elucidate the physics of their swimming in biological fluids. The lab uses computational methods to better the design of the swimmers and to study the fluid-swimmer interactions. The swimmers are then manufactured using advanced manufacturing techniques, and used in experiments mimicking biological fluidic environments, such as blood flows inside veins. Larger scale robotic swimmers are also studied in the lab to explore the possible contributions of machine learning algorithms.
Research updates and lab news can be found on Twitter @DEMIR_Lab.
Read more about Prof. Demir.
Dr. Wang’s research group focuses on three interactive research themes: 1) thermal and fluids engineering; 2) radiation heat transfer and management; 3) clean energy production and storage. We use principles and tools in heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics, micro/nanotechnology, and computational modeling. Details and opportunities can be found on the group website.
Research work as cover art:
Jianxing Sun’s lab studies phase change phenomena to address challenges in energy and sustainability. We experimentally investigate microscale fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and interfacial science to build a deep understanding of phase change physics. This knowledge guides the design of advanced materials and systems that enhance thermal management, support advanced manufacturing, and enable the use of new energy resources.
We welcome motivated undergraduate and graduate students to join the lab.