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Fluid Mechanics Projects

A NOTE ON THESE PROJECTS act tangentially to the plate. Neither the

change in angle nor the pressure drop is well
All the projects I offer (except a couple near characterised, however both are required in
the end of the list) involve one (or sometimes order to design applications of porous plates.
more) of
1. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) There are two possible projects here, both of
which will involve the use of unsteady
2. Some level of programming in either Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
MATLAB or a proper programming
language
3. Use of the Linux operating system
In the past, none of my projects has been too
difficult for the students that have taken them,
so do NOT be put off if you don’t currently
have these skills. However be prepared to have
to put some effort into learning them during the
early part of the project.
All projects do assume some knowledge of
fluid mechanics, a good mathematical ability, a
degree of physical intuition and a strong desire
to learn and apply new skills.
They are all 12 Credit Point projects and most
have 2 titles – the first is the application, the Figure 1 2D simulation of flow through a
second is the underlying fluid mechanics that porous media for different angles of approach.
are involved.
In Project 1, CFD (in particular Fluent) will be
used to first simulate the 3D flow of fluid
through a single hole in a solid plate, and then
1)  Novel  ocean  wave  damping  technology     to simulate the flow through multiple holes via
           (Flow  through  a  porous  plate)   different approximations. This project will
extend the work started by an FYP student in
(2 projects, each 12 CP) 2016. This project would best suit a student
who has some experience with CFD and mesh
On the nano-scale, porous media are used as generation already (although it is not essential).
membranes for reverse-osmosis, on the micro-
scale they are used for filtering particles out of In Project 2, a bespoke CFD code based on the
suspension and at the macro scale for Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method will
homogenising flow in turbulent wind tunnels be used to investigate the 2D interaction
and enhancing heat transfer. A potential new between waves and a porous plate with
application lies in the partial damping of ocean different parameters (angle, submergence
waves in the place of traditional rock-wall depth, porosity). This project would suit a
breakwaters. student with a good background in fluid
mechanics and numerical methods. Experience
When flow impacts a porous plate at 90° the with the Linux operating system is an
pressure drop (and energy required to drive the advantage and if not a current skill, a
flow) have been studied previously and can be willingness to learn is needed.
related to the porosity and Reynolds number of
the pore size. However, when the flow impacts These projects will also involve interaction
the plate at an angle, it exits the other side at a with a colleague in Perth working on a
different angle as a result of fluid forces that different aspect of CFD modelling as well as a
 Fluid Mechanics Projects

Ph.D. student who is conducting experimental separation. Conical, flat, inverse conical and
measurements. round-based tanks will be considered.

This project would best suit a student who has

some experience already with CFD and mesh
2)   Understanding   trub   separation   in   brewing   generation (although it is not essential). Other
         (Solid-­‐liquid  separation  in  the  whirpool)     requirements are some background in fluid
mechanics, numerical methods and good
(1 project 12 CP) physical intuition. An interest in, and
experience with, brewing beer is a definite
Brewing practice dates back to at least the plus, but is in no way essential!
ancient Sumerians and Egyptians and has a
long and detailed history in Europe that is well
documented over many centuries. The basic
process has remained the same over a long 3)  Mining  waste  disposal  1      
time:          (Turbulent  flow  in  an  open  channel)  
• malt the grain
• mash (or steep) in hot water to convert the (1 project 12 CP)
starch to sugars (forming the wort),
• add bittering and other flavour additions, Flow in an open channel occurs in geophysical
• boil to sterilise, isomerize the hop acids and situations such as rivers and magma tubes, in
help precipitate the proteins and tannins agricultural applications such as irrigation
(forming trub, a fluffy particulate material), canals and in industrial processes where fluid is
transported from one part of a plant to another
• cool and then ferment.
via gravity. In all but a few specialised cases,
Separation of the trub from the wort is highly these flows are highly turbulent. An exception
desirable as its presence in the fermentation occurs when the fluid is non-Newtonian, and
can result in off flavours. This is usually here, industrially relevant flows can occur in
accomplished by stirring the wort for a time the laminar, transitional or weakly turbulent
until it is rotating quickly in the kettle, and then regime.
waiting for the solids to accumulate at the
centre of the tank floor. This process is termed In this project, we utilise a high-order CFD
package semtex (developed by Prof Hugh
“whirlpooling” (for obvious reasons).
Blackburn) to study the effect of fluid
parameters, channel geometry and Reynolds
number on the turbulent flow of Newtonian
and non-Newtonian fluids in open channels.

Figure 2 Schematic of the whirlpool flow (left)

and photo of the trub cone (right) in a kettle. Figure 3 Instantaneous snapshot of turbulent
non-Newtonian flow in a rectangular channel.
This project aims to use CFD to investigate the
whirlpool and understand the effect of the tank For some applications, the presence of a yield
base geometry on the flow and subsequent trub stress could determine the shape of the channel
 Fluid Mechanics Projects

itself, and if time allows a study of how to oscillation on the transition between different
implement a self-formed channel in the splashing regimes. In particular how does drop
software will also be considered. oscillation at impact modify the entrapment of
small bubbles. Developing an understanding
This project would suit a student with a good of this might explain the discrepancy between
background in fluid mechanics and numerical different sets of experimental results and add to
methods. Experience with the Linux operating the fundamental understanding of splash. A
system is an advantage and if not a current successful project is likely to result in
skill, a willingness to learn is essential. submission of a journal paper to a good fluids
journal (if that interests you).

4)  Mining  waste  disposal  2      

       (Mixing  in  turbulent  non-­‐Newtonian  flows)  

(1 project 12 CP)

One means of aiding dewatering of mining

waste streams is to add solutions of long chain
polymers known as flocculants. There has
been recent interest in adding these materials to
a partially dewatered tailings stream, which is
usually a mud-like material that is often non-
Newtonian. How these polymers mix in Figure 4 Experimental images of a drop splash
transitional and turbulent flow inside a pipe is sequence on a shallow pool.
currently unknown.
This project would suit a student with a good
In this project, the student will utilise the background in fluid mechanics and numerical
semtex software (developed by Prof Hugh methods. Experience with the Linux operating
Blackburn) to study the effect of non- system is an advantage and if not a current
Newtonian rheology on the mixing and skill, a willingness to learn is essential.
dispersion of tracer materials in non-
Newtonian flows inside pipes

6)  Dune  formation  in  oil  and  gas  pipelines    

         (Modelling  solid-­‐liquid  transport  in  fluids)  
5)  Simulation  of  splashing  drops  
(1 project 12 CP)
(1 project 12 CP)
The formation of sand dunes via wind is well
The impact of a liquid drop onto a liquid known and something we see every time we
surface is as complex as it is beautiful. Despite visit the beach. Less obvious but just as
being studied for over one hundred and twenty common, is the formation of dunes under the
years, there are still unanswered questions. ocean via the action of ocean currents flowing
over granular material like sand. Far less well-
One important phenomenon is the entrainment known is that dunes can also form in gas and
of small air bubbles during some drop impact oil pipelines as a result of the inevitable
that is believed to play a role in mass transfer creation of sand in the extraction process.
of CO2 and O2 into the oceans.
This can lead to all kinds of problems in
In this project, the student will use a bespoke operating these pipelines including wear,
CFD code to investigate the effect of droplet
 Fluid Mechanics Projects

corrosion, high pressure drops and complete in the catalytic conversion of waste products
pipe blockage. such as CO2. Devices such as rotary kilns,
fluidised beds and spray driers are extensively
utilised in practice, however all have some
deficiencies.
In this project, a two-dimensional CFD model
will be developed of a novel “Cross-flow” gas-
solid contactor with special emphasis on trying
to predict heat transfer to/from solid particles
from/to a gas stream. The proposed contactor
is elegantly simple and its design allows for a
set of contactors to be built in series in a space
only marginally larger than a single contactor.

Figure 5 Coupled CFD/DEM simulation of

solid particle transport in a bed.

In this project, software developed at CSIRO

will be used to solve the coupled equations that
describe the flow of a fluid (oil or gas) through
a porous media (a sand bed) and the flow of a
granular material (individual sand grains). In
particular the conditions that occur near the
transition between flow regimes (i.e. fully Figure 6 Schematic of gas-solid contactor for
suspended, sliding bed, settled bed) will be use in alumina production.
identified, and the conditions under which
dunes form will be identified. Key criteria This project will suit a student with knowledge
such as wavelength, dune amplitude and shape of fluid mechanics, turbulence modelling and
as a function of grain size, shape, in-line sand heat transfer. Familiarity with ANSYS
concentration and pressure drop will be software Fluent of CFX is desirable, although
determined. not essential. A willingness to learn as part of
the project is essential. The project will also
This project will be done in conjunction with a provide the student with exposure to a new
an external CSIRO supervisor (Dr James technology development and the joys (and
Hilton) and will suit a student with good pain) that such a venture can entail. This
physical intuition, good computer skills and project will be undertaken in collaboration with
ideally some familiarity with the Unix/Linux Emeritus Professor Owen Potter (Monash) and
environment. Mark Latham (Latham Solutions).

7) A novel gas-solid contactor design

(1 student, 12 Credit Points) FLUID CHAOS PROJECTS

Heating and cooling of solid particles in a gas Chaos is a term commonly viewed as
stream and/or undertaking chemical reactions equivalent to disorder or randomness.
on their surface or using them as a catalyst is a However, in fluids the common understanding
fundamental part of many processing is often incorrect! Chaotic advection produces
applications including the production of structures in fluids that can be highly ordered –
alumina, cement, milk powders and potentially but not simple. Chaos in fluids is pervasive
 Fluid Mechanics Projects

and generates the template on which all heat,

mass and reactive transport occurs. One of the
fascinating aspects of fluid chaos is that it can
occur in flows that are known exactly in space
and time.
The concept of Lagrangian chaos is central in
both fluid mixing at low Reynolds number and
in turbulent flow containing coherent
structures. Applications include nanoparticle
deposition in alveoli in the lung, viscous
mixing in industrial processes, mixing in Figure 7 Non-mixing vortex cores in wavy
microfluidic devices, dispersion of nutrients in vortex flow (green and blue structures),
large scale structures in the ocean and ore body encircled by inclined non-mixing rings (yellow
formation in porous geological media. structures).
In the following three projects, we consider
different types of flows and investigate the The project is computationally based, and will
conditions under which they are chaotic and suit students with a strong interest in fluid
could mix. mechanics and numerical methods. It will
continue a project started in 2016.

9) Developing a new in-line mixer

8) A novel reactor design (Fluid flow in a swirl pipe)
(Chaos in Taylor-Couette Flow)
(1 student, 12 Credit Points)
(1 student, 12 Credit Points)
Turbulent flow mixes well because it is
The flow between two rotating cylinders is “randomly chaotic” and fluid elements are
known as Taylor-Couette flow. On first sight continually stretched and folded in
this flow might seem rather bland, but over unpredictable and random ways. Very low
twenty different flow types have been Reynolds number flows can also mix, but only
categorised, each with unique properties. if they are carefully “programmed” to
Couette, Taylor-vortex, wavy vortex, introduce what is known as “Lagrangian
modulated vortex, twist vortex, wavy-inflow, chaos”. The most problematic mixing regime
wavy-outflow, turbulent vortex, featureless occurs for intermediate Reynolds numbers that
turbulence ..... the list goes on. are too low to be turbulent but too high to be
effectively driven by viscous forcing. Such
In this project, the student will use an advanced flows are laminar, usually steady and often mix
CFD code to study some of these Taylor- poorly.
Couette flow regimes in detail and apply
Lagrangian particle tracking to understand In this project we consider application of a
which might give rise to chaotic fluid flow. In “swirl pipe” to mixing. The swirl pipe
particular, “twist”, “wavy inflow” and “wavy geometry is shown in the following figure for a
outflow” flow regimes hold promise for 4-lobe design. The slowly spiralling lobes
dividing the flow into “reaction units” that do impart non-uniform swirl and radial motion to
not mix with each other, but which mix well the flow as it moves down the pipe, and thus
internally. The students will develop an moves fluid from the wall toward the pipe
appreciation for supercomputing and the use of centre and vice versa. The superposition of the
sophisticated computer codes to understand the flows from the 4 lobes has the potential to
real world. induce Lagrangian chaos in a programmed
way. However a student project in 2016 found
 Fluid Mechanics Projects

this was not possible unless the pipe was skills, an interest in experimental fluid
modified with the placement of internal “fins”. mechanics. A knowledge of electronics is an
advantage, but not essential.

Figure 8 Four Lobe swirl pipe design.

This project will focus on generating the flow

in different design pipes (2, 3, 4 lobe) with
different spiral ratios and understand how
internal fins can be used to ensure the entire
pipe flow becomes chaotic.

The CFD will be done with Fluent (or CFX).

This project will suit a student who has good
fluid mechanics background. Some experience
with CFD (using one of the packages above) is Figure 9 Mixing/segregation in a stirred tank.
a definite advantage. Top is the attractor vortex that draws particles
into a torus near the impellor and bottom is a
visualization of invariant surfaces and
manifolds.
10) Experimental chaos

(1 student, 12 Credit Points)

11) Building agitation
Visualisation of chaotic flows has produced
many beautiful flow images that also offer (1 student, 12 Credit Points)
detailed insight into flow structure and mixing
processes. Mixing is a crucial part of many manufacturing
processes. In food, in biotechnolgy, in
In this project, a new experimental apparatus microfluidic lab-on-a-chip diagnostic devices,
that has been designed and partially built in the etc, mixing produces the transformation of
Monash Engineering workshop will be material properties that is the hallmark of
completed and commissioned with significant successful value-added manufacturing.
input from the student. Once operational, a
series of flow visualisations will be During this project you will have an excellent
undertaken. opportunity to get hands on experience
designing, building and analyzing an industrial
The project aligns with an existing Ph.D. chaotic mixing device and measuring the fluid
project that is computationally based and mechanical mechanisms by which it
would suit a student with good mechanical functions. You will also write, implement, and
 Fluid Mechanics Projects

test various mixing control protocols. The

project is suited to those interested in fluid
mechanics, mechatronics, industrial design,
experimentation, or control.

A video of a similar type of flow device (the

blinking vortex flow) can be seen at:
http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~tsolomon/mpg/bli
nkvortexdye.mpg