UNSW School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering has a long history of strong research in engineering fluid dynamics, both computationally and experimentally.
In this laboratory, our focus is biomedical fluid dynamics, with projects including work relevant to arterial flows and haemodialysis.
Our school's experimental capabilities include the advanced experimental area of laser fluid diagnostics.
Four particle image velocimetry (PIV) systems (one in-house designed and three commercial) are currently used for a range of research projects, and several continuous wave lasers are used for flow visualisation.
A Dantec three-component Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) system complements the existing PIV laser diagnostics tools, exposing students to the most up-to-date flow measurement technology.
The LDA system is a general-purpose, three-component system that is appropriate for a variety of applications. It is a local laser diagnostics instrument, capable of fully three-dimensional measurement, while accurately measuring high order turbulence statistics such as Reynolds Stresses.
Laser measurement systems are non-intrusive measurement techniques — invasive probes, such as Hot Wire Anemometers and Pitot tubes are generally two-dimensional, often fail in reversing flows and multi-phase flows, as well as disturbing the flow being measured.