Fluid mechanics is the branch of classical physics and mathematics concerned with the response of matter that continuously deforms (flows) when subjected to a shear stress. The subject can be divided into fluid statics - the study of fluids at rest, and fluid dynamics - the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion. Fluid flows impact transport and mixing (of materials or properties) in the environment and in industrial processes, and are hence of interest across a wide range of fields - including engineering, physics, mathematics and biology. Fluid mechanics is the subject of active international research, and features some of the most important unsolved problems of classical physics.
Lead by Professor Marco Giometto the department's research in fluid mechanics focuses:
- Experimental and numerical investigation of fundamental transport processes
- Development of scaling laws for physical modeling of fluid flow and contaminant transport
- Turbulence closure models for numerical simulations
- Mechanics of turbulence in two and three-dimensional boundary layers
- Turbulent transport in canopy flows
- Visualization systems for fluid flow and transport
- Particle-laden flows
- Particle transport in porous media
- Nano-scale transport processes
