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Ateneo

Fluid dynamics lab

Description

The fluid dynamics lab was the first lab to be established at the then Department of Mechanics of Ancona.
Over the years the lab has evolved, acquiring innovative and technologically advanced techniques. Particular attention has been devoted to non-contact techniques, whose contactless feature is extremely useful especially when performing fluid dynamic measurements, where the presence of physical sensors could greatly affect the field to be measured or even hamper measurements (e.g. when measuring the flow between the blades of a rotating fan).
Thanks to the numerous field tests carried out, the staff of the lab has gained solid experience not only in basic research, but also in technology transfer to industry.
Besides traditional instrumentation for fluid dynamic measurements (hot-wire anemometers, Pitot tubes, etc.), the lab is also equipped with:

  • 2D Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) system;
  • 3D Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system).

Facility

Laser Doppler Anemometry – Working principle and application examples
This technique makes it possible to measure fluid velocity at a point and in its temporal evolution.
The lab has a 2D system which allows the synchronous measurement of 2 velocity components.
The system is based on the Doppler effect which occurs when a coherent radiation, such as a laser beam, meets a solid in motion. In this specific case, the flow is  seeded with tracer particles which follow the flow and interact with the coherent light creating the Doppler effect.

Particle Image Velocimetry – Working principle and application examples
This technique makes it possible to measure fluid velocity at an instant in time and over a whole plane so as to assess the fluid dynamic field present.
The lab has a 3D system which allows synchronous measurement of 3 velocity components over a plane.
The system is based on the seeding of the fluid analyzed with a myriad of tiny particles, small enough to be entrained by the fluid.
The system is composed of a laser source able to generate a plane of pulsating light and a pair of cameras that observe the position of the particles in stereoscopic vision at two successive light pulses.

Manager

Phone:
+39 071 220 4789

Room:
Q145_182