above: the 15m Benthic Turbulence Flume

The Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory is as a state-of-the-art facility for research and instruction of fluid mechanics in natural systems. Research is focused on the interaction between fluid flow and biological or ecological systems. The EFML houses two recirculating flow facilities: the Benthic Turbulence Flume, and a Teaching Flume. Each facility has laser-based instrumentation for quantifying turbulence and transport of contaminants.

left: the 8m Teaching Flume, with laser-based flow visualization system in operation
Lasers: Two water-cooled ion lasers (argon at left, and krypton at right) form the backbone for laser-induced flourescence and laser-Doppler anemometry experiments.   Cameras: Two 12-bit cameras can capture 60 minutes of 30Hz image streams and store the data to a 1 terabyte computer
                 

 

 

Flow Measurement: A DANTEC laser-Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) is used to make detailed turbulence measurements in the flumes.

   A Sontek acoustic-Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) is used for measuring turbulent flows both in the teaching flume and in the field.