Category: UK Fluids Network

Fire and Ice: Burning Oil in the Polar Regions

One of the clean-up methods used following an oil spill is to burn the fuel on the surface of the ocean. This generally works well, except in polar regions where the heat from the fire rapidly accelerates the melting of ice. Hamed Farahani at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is studying this phenomenon using laboratory experiments with the goal of improving the efficiency of combustion as a control for ocean pollution.

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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Listening to Tornadoes to increase warning times and save lives

Before a tornado forms the pressure drop at the centre emits a dull tone at 5-10Hz which can be detected hours before it becomes dangerous. Brian Elbing at Oklahoma State University has devised a detection system that works up to 300 miles away from the source and can predict the size and strength of the tornado before it forms, providing advanced warning for at-risk areas.

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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Airflow around a Yacht Sail

The flow of air around a sail is very different to that of a wing, but both generate significant lift force. Ignazio Maria Viola at the University of Edinburgh studied sails in numerical simulations and experiments to discover the force comes from vortices that are produced at the edges of the sail. By controlling the strength and location of these vortices he hopes to be able to produce faster and more efficient sails in the future.

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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How to Reduce Drag when Cycling

Cyclists can use up to 90% of their energy overcoming drag, which was the motivation behind the work of Ivaylo Nedyalkov at the University of New Hampshire, who was able to measure the force on each individual cyclist in a train formation to determine the best position to reduce your overall drag.

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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Why does shaking your head NOT remove water from your ear?

Removing water from your ear canal by shaking requires an acceleration 10 times that of gravity according to research from Sunny Jung at Virginia Tech (now Cornell).

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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Stopping the spread of oil pollution using Maths

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, scientists at the University of Cambridge have been studying underwater plumes to try to understand how the Earth’s rotation affects the spread of oil. Their experiments revealed the important role played by conservation of angular momentum after one rotation period, emphasising the importance of a rapid response to a disaster.

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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Building Squid Robots for Ocean Exploration

Current underwater vehicles are rigid in structure which limits their suitability for many tasks required for ocean exploration. Francesco Giorgio-Serchi is working with a team at the University of Southampton to design new robots based on squids and octopuses that are made entirely from silicone. They are not only more mobile, but are also more reliable and more efficient.

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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How do bees carry pollen?

Pollen is the main source of protein in a honey bees diet and so it’s essential that they are able to carry enough of it safely back to the hive. Marguerite Matherne at the Georgia Institute of Technology studies how they use nectar to create a viscous suspension that sticks the pollen to their hind legs and ensures that it doesn’t fall off during flight.

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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Building bio-inspired vehicles to explore Mars

The air density on Mars is 1/100th of that on Earth which means that current airborne vehicles cannot be used to explore the planet. Jeremy Pohly, at the University of Alabama Huntsville, is designing new bio-inspired vehicles – based on bumblebees – which he hopes will be used in the near future for the human exploration of Mars.

This video is part of a collaboration between FYFD and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics featuring a series of interviews with researchers from the APS DFD 2017 conference.

Sponsored by FYFD, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and the UK Fluids Network. Produced by Tom Crawford and Nicole Sharp with assistance from A.J. Fillo.

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