Flow research

Professors Hannu Ahlstedt, Reijo Karvinen and Pentti Saarenrinne

Research in fluid flow is specialised round the application of the physical fundamentals of fluid flow to industrial problems. Detailed knowledge of fluid flow is a prerequisite for the development of industrial processes.

Present development of experimental and computational techniques in fluid flow is opening up new perspectives for fluid flow research and providing unique possibilities for process development. For example, in the case of multiphase flows the interaction between phases can currently be studied in detail. The properties of a dispersed phase, e.g. fibre orientation as well as bubble and particle motion and size, can be measured even in real processes. Also, advanced methods have been developed for the analysis of instabilities and disturbances in fluid flows, for research on the mechanisms which generate turbulence and on turbulence behaviour, as well as vibration induced by fluid flows.