research

Flow-induced vibrations

Whenever a solid object interacts with moving fluids such as water and air at sufficiently high speeds, it experiences flow-induced vibrations (FIV). These vibrations can often be harmful for engineered structures – such as when strong winds buffet a tall, thin skyscraper – but they are also sometimes useful. At low speeds, FIVs can be harnessed to extract ambient energy from the surroundings by converting the mechanical energy from the vibrations into electrical energy for the use of small devices.

Biological Fluid Dynamics

Practically all lliving organisms on earth live in a fluid-filled environment, and life in moving fluids presents us with a spectacular array of scientific phenomena that are waiting to be discovered and better understood. For instance, how do fish use their tailfins to generate thrust and propel themselves in the ocean? Can we learn from these techniques to implement bio-insipred robots?

Vortex Dynamics

A vortex is a region of strongly rotating fluid. From smoke rings to the gust of air that you feel when a large truck rushes past you, and from the strongest hurricanes on earth to Jupiter’s ‘Great Red Spot’, nature produces vortices in all sorts of places. Vortices are also mathematical objects: elegant differential equations describe their motion, giving us a powerful set of tools to model the ‘real world’ of fluid mechanics using applied mathematics.