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Environmental Thermo-Fluid Engineering Lab
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The lab reveals the nature of turbulence in flows ranging from everyday winds to supersonic flight.
AboutAbout the lab
Turbulent flows, studied with wind tunnels and simulation.
The lab studies the turbulence that arises in flows and how heat and matter are transported within it.
It covers flows across a wide range of speeds, from everyday winds to the flow around aircraft flying at supersonic speeds.
Combining wind tunnel and water tank experiments with numerical analysis on supercomputers, the lab examines how vortices are generated, develop, and decay.
The lab aims to clarify the mechanisms of turbulence, and to predict and control mixing and heat transport.
Key terms
- Turbulence
- A disordered flow in which vortices of various sizes form and efficiently transport momentum, heat, and matter
- Shock wave
- A thin surface in a flow faster than the speed of sound across which pressure and density jump abruptly
- Boundary layer
- A thin layer of flow right next to the surface of an object, in which the speed changes sharply
ResearchResearch themes
Flows and the transport of heat within them appear in nature as well as inside and outside industrial equipment and transportation machinery. The lab studies various fluid dynamics problems related to mechanical engineering, especially transport phenomena caused by turbulence, making full use of wind tunnel experiments and numerical analysis on supercomputers.
*Illustrative imageFrom the Birth of Turbulence to Its Decay
Vortices are born from flow instability and develop, then gradually decay through viscosity once the external supply of energy is cut off. Using wind tunnel and water tank experiments and direct numerical simulation, the lab investigates grid turbulence and mixing layers under density stratification, tracing the process from generation to decay.
When a Shock Wave Meets Turbulence
When a shock wave travels through turbulence, fluctuations in velocity and pressure deform the wavefront, and its propagation speed and strength vary from place to place. Using wind tunnel experiments and numerical simulation, the lab investigates how the shock wave deforms and weakens, and how the turbulence structure changes after the shock passes.
*Illustrative imageVortices in High-Speed Flows
In high-speed flows such as jets, mixing layers, and boundary layers, vortices of various sizes actively transport momentum and heat. As compressibility becomes stronger, density changes and shock waves become entangled with the vortices, so the lab investigates their generation and development through experiments and simulation.
*Illustrative imageHeat Flow Altered by Buoyancy and Swirl
Buoyancy caused by temperature differences and swirl caused by the rotation of the flow greatly change the structure of turbulence and how heat is transported. The lab studies turbulence with density stratification and swirling jets, aiming to clarify the link between the velocity field and the temperature field.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Environmental Thermo-Fluid Engineering Lab consist of faculty members, doctoral students, master's students, and undergraduate students.
- ProfessorKoji Nagata
- Associate ProfessorTomoaki Watanabe
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
For images provided to us or used with permission, the source is listed on each line. Wikimedia Commons images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab (they are cropped). Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Kelvin-Helmholtz waves” Astronautilus / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- From the Birth of Turbulence to Its Decay: “Incense stick” AntanO / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- When a Shock Wave Meets Turbulence: “Interaction between a shock wave and a turbulent field (numerical simulation)” 環境熱流体工学研究室 / Used with the lab's permission (cropped)
- Vortices in High-Speed Flows: “J58 AfterburnerT” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Heat Flow Altered by Buoyancy and Swirl: “Dust devil” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Thermophysical Engineering Lab): “3D Turbulence Infinitesimal Fluid Element Stretching Orientation Map” Terry Brannigan / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Nano and Micro Systems Engineering Lab): “A MicroVision MEMS mirror” S2upidOnReddit / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Fluid Dynamics Lab): “Shockwave pattern around a T-38C observed with Background-Oriented Schlieren photography (1)” NASA & US Air Force: J.T. Heineck / Ed Schairer / Maj. Jonathan Orso / Maj. Jeremy Vanderhal / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Plasma Physics and Engineering Lab): “Tokamak schematic Smith” Smith Chris Llewellyn and Cowley Steve / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
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