Fluid Mechanics

Faculty: Dr. James Brasseur, Dr. Horacio Perez-Blanco, Dr. John Cimbala, Dr. Dan Haworth, Dr. Gary Koopmann, Dr. Anil Kulkarni, Dr. Thomas Litzinger, Dr. John Mahaffy, Dr. Laura Pauley, Dr. Robert Santoro, Dr. Gary Settles, Dr. Kendra Sharp, Dr. Gita Talmage, Dr. Vigor Yang

Research Areas: Bio-fluid mechanics of human swallowing (pharynx, esophagus, and stomach); simulation, structure and dynamics of high Reynolds number turbulence; simulation, modeling and measurement of the atmospheric boundary layer; application of computational fluid dynamics to turbomachinery; interaction of acoustic waves with sprays; simulation of furnace flows; precessing jet flow; non-dilute spray jets breakup; Euler equation solutions for marine propellers; drag of turbulent boundary layers; solar propulsion engines flowfield analysis; coupling between gas dynamics and microwave energy absorption; space propulsion engineering; separation bubble stability; rocket nozzle boundary layer transition; tip vortex generation; gas dynamics of a variety of topics including: advanced materials synthesis and processing, industrial and manufacturing processes, and high-speed aerodynamics and propulsion; supersonic nozzles and jets; particle-laden high-speed flows; high-speed imaging of rapid physical processes; airflows associated with the thermal plume of the human body; the development of advanced, non-intrusive optical flow diagnostic instruments; microfluidics.