The Thermofluids Research Group at the University of Sydney in the School of Aerospace Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering is firmly committed in the long term to developing the numerical design tools in engineering problems that typically involve turbulent flows, chemical reactions, heat transfer and particle dynamics. Our approach focuses on the further development of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
CFD is finding increasing use in the profession for predicting these complex flows. Improved understanding of the flow results in rapid solution of design, development and operating problems.
Current CFD methods are, however, far from perfect when it comes to the prediction of pollutant emissions. This is largely due to the problems of combustion / turbulence interactions: turbulence causes strong fluctuations in species concentrations and temperature so that conventional approaches using averaged conservation equations become intractable; and in turn the heat release associated with the reactions affects the turbulent mixing and transport processes. This is a long-standing classical problem in this field.
The Thermofluids Research Group has made significant contributions in theoretical, experimental and computational studies of the turbulence/combustion interaction problem over the last 25 years. Conserved scalar theory and the Conditional Moment Closure (CMC) approach are advances that have achieved wide-spread international recognition. They are currently being implemented into professional CFD codes. A complementary approach using Monte Carlo simulation of the PDF transport equation is being pursued in collaboration with Cornell University.
A notable feature of the Thermofluids Research Group at Sydney has been the strong experimental basis for the modelling development work. Laser-based measurements in flames have been made in our laboratory for more than 20 years. Our current Multi-species Imaging Facility is among the leading measurement capabilities of this type in the world. Collaboration with other leading laser diagnostic facilities around the world is also strong, particularly with Sandia National Laboratories at Livermore, California and with Yale University. Emphasis has been placed on both the elucidation of flame structure and on obtaining quantitative measurements in well-defined flows for model validation.
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