| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/T08876/01 |
| Title: |
The fluid dynamics of PIV visualisation in superfluid helium |
| Principal Investigator: |
Barenghi, Professor CF |
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| Department: |
Mathematics and Statistics |
| Organisation: |
Newcastle University |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
13 September 2004 |
Ends: |
12 March 2008 |
Value (£): |
187,394
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| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Progress in low temperature fluid dynamics (liquid helium) has been held back over the years by the lack of direct flow visualisation at temperatures near absolute zero. Recently two american experimental groups have succeeded in implementing the PIV visualisation method in liquid helium. The PIV method, which consists of injecting small tracer particles into the fluid and detecting their motion using a laser, is standard in an ordinary fluid at room tempereture, but its application to the difficult low temperature environment was not trivial. The PIV method has great potential for a breakthrough in our understanding of superfluid hydrodynamics, particularly turbulence. However, in order to apply the method, we urgently need to know the answer to the simple question: what do the tracer particles actually trace ? The difficulty of interpretation arises because the low temperature phase of liquid helium consists of two co-penetrating, independent fluid components, the normal fluid and the actual superfluid, to which the particles respond differently (the former is viscous, the latter has zero viscosity). The aim of this project is to answer this crucial question by performing numerical simulations.In summary, this project addresses an important and urgent issue (how to interpret PIV data) which has the potential of giving the experimentalists a new powerful tool (PIV). The project brings together the expertise of two different physics communities (low temperature physics and fluid mechanics), creating potential of further synergies, and also strengthens the traditional excellence of UK physics in these two areas.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.ncl.ac.uk |