Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics
Encyclopedia
The von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics
is a non-profit educational and scientific organization which specializes in three specific fields: aeronautics and aerospace, environment and applied fluid dynamics, turbomachinery and propulsion. Founded in 1956, it is located in Sint-Genesius-Rode
, Belgium
.
and aerospace
, environment and applied fluid dynamics, turbomachinery
and propulsion
.
The VKI provides education in these specific areas for students from all over the world. A hundred students come to the Institute each year to study fluid dynamics, for a PhD programme, a research master in Fluid Dynamics, a final year project and also to gather further knowledge while doing a work placement in a specific area.
Each year, Lecture Series and events are being organized inside and outside of the organization. These events emphasize on topics of great importance such as aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer with application to aeronautics, space, turbomachinery, the environment and also industrial fluid dynamics. The Institute has built an international renown in these domains. Students who study these fields, researchers, industrials and engineers want to follow these Lecture Series. The information presented is accurate and reliable.
proposed with his assistants the establishment of an institution devoted to training and research in aerodynamics which would be open to young engineers and scientists of the NATO nations. It was strongly felt that this form of international undertaking would fulfil the important objective of fostering fruitful exchanges and understanding between the participating nations in a well-defined technical field.
The von Karman Institute was established in October 1956 in the buildings which formed what then was the aeronautical laboratory of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Belgian Ministry of Communications.
The history of the laboratory goes back to 1922 when, on farmland purchased by the Belgian Government, the first building was erected to house the STAé (Service Technique de l'Aéronautique), i.e. the technical services of the Civil Aviation Authority then under the Ministry of Defence. The building was designed to accommodate a large low speed wind tunnel of the Eiffel
type with an open return circuit and open-jet test section of 2 m diameter, as well as offices and shops. It still exists and has been refurbished internally after removal of the low speed tunnel to make room for modern turbomachinery and high speed facilities. A second building was added in 1935 to house offices and laboratories. It is now the Institute's administrative building. The last addition was made after the war, in 1949, with the construction of a large building specially designed to house a supersonic tunnel and a multi-configuration low speed facility.
It is interesting to recall what had been recommended by the AGARD Study Group of 1955 in terms of training and research: “The Institute should aim toward a training which, apart from its direct and obvious ties with aeronautical industries, would be of value in wider areas such as industrial or scientific research where the application of experimental techniques of aerodynamics would be profitable.
A wide spectrum of facilities and computational tools covers the flow range from the low-speed regime of commercial aircraft to the supersonic and hypersonic regime of atmospheric space entry. The department focuses in particular on the modeling, simulation and experimental validation of atmospheric entry flows and thermal protection systems (TPS), including transition to turbulence and stability. The experimental studies are carried out in its top level Mach 14, Mach 6 and Induction Coupled Plasma windtunnels, for which dedicated measuring techniques have been developed e.g. involving spectroscopic laser techniques. On the computational simulation side the department has developed an extendable software pllatform Coolfluid
for high performance computational flow simulation which incorporates the research on numerical algorithms, advanced physico-chemical and plasma models as well as fluid-structure interaction and conjugate heat transfer.
The Turbomachinery
and Propulsion
department specializes in the aero-thermal aspects of turbomachinery components for aero-engines and industrial gas turbines, space propulsion units, steam turbines and process industry compressors and pumps. It has accumulated wide skills in high speed wind tunnel testing and related measurement techniques development and application. The department has acquired a world recognised expertise on steady/unsteady aerodynamic and aero/thermal aspects of high pressure, including cooling, and low pressure turbomachinery components through the design, development and use of a number of unique wind tunnels.
On the computational side, the department has over 20 years of experience in the analysis of flow in turbomachines, and in the design techniques and multi-disciplinary optimization methods or their components.
The Environmental
and Applied Fluid Dynamics
(EA) department covers all kinds of activities complementary to the other two departments related to fluid dynamics in the academic and industrial world. It has a large expertise in the study of aeroacoustics, multiphase flows, vehicle aerodynamics, biological flows and environmental flows (including the study of interaction between atmospheric winds and human activities). The department is also involved in the modeling of turbulence and in the development of advanced measurement techniques for fluid dynamics. The department has acquired a unique expertise in the study of fluid dynamics in industrial processes, with the development and construction of experimental facilities dedicated to the study of industrial processes and also in the simulation of industrial flows using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) codes.
, aerospace
, aerodynamics
, propulsion
, aero engine, aeroacoustics
, biological flows, large eddy simulation
.
Each year, the VKI also organises thematic conferences in collaboration with belgian & foreign universities and research institutes.
These courses have gained worldwide recognition. Subjects are chosen carefully and the lecturers are well-known for their professionalism and excellency in specific fields.
Fluid dynamics
In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...
is a non-profit educational and scientific organization which specializes in three specific fields: aeronautics and aerospace, environment and applied fluid dynamics, turbomachinery and propulsion. Founded in 1956, it is located in Sint-Genesius-Rode
Sint-Genesius-Rode
Sint-Genesius-Rode is a municipality located in Flanders, one of three regions of Belgium, in the province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the town of Sint-Genesius-Rode only. On January 1, 2008, the town had a total population of 18,021...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
About VKI
The von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics is a non-profit international, educational and scientific organization which is working in three specific fields: aeronauticsAeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
and aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
, environment and applied fluid dynamics, turbomachinery
Turbomachinery
Turbomachinery, in mechanical engineering, describes machines that transfer energy between a rotor and a fluid, including both turbines and compressors. While a turbine transfers energy from a fluid to a rotor, a compressor transfers energy from a rotor to a fluid...
and propulsion
Vehicle propulsion
Vehicle propulsion refers to the act of moving an artificial carrier of people or goods over any distance. The power plant used to drive the vehicles can vary widely. Originally, humans or animals would have provided the propulsion system, later being supplemented by wind power...
.
The VKI provides education in these specific areas for students from all over the world. A hundred students come to the Institute each year to study fluid dynamics, for a PhD programme, a research master in Fluid Dynamics, a final year project and also to gather further knowledge while doing a work placement in a specific area.
Each year, Lecture Series and events are being organized inside and outside of the organization. These events emphasize on topics of great importance such as aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer with application to aeronautics, space, turbomachinery, the environment and also industrial fluid dynamics. The Institute has built an international renown in these domains. Students who study these fields, researchers, industrials and engineers want to follow these Lecture Series. The information presented is accurate and reliable.
History
In the course of 1955, Professor Theodore von KármánTheodore von Karman
Theodore von Kármán was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He is responsible for many key advances in aerodynamics, notably his work on supersonic and hypersonic airflow characterization...
proposed with his assistants the establishment of an institution devoted to training and research in aerodynamics which would be open to young engineers and scientists of the NATO nations. It was strongly felt that this form of international undertaking would fulfil the important objective of fostering fruitful exchanges and understanding between the participating nations in a well-defined technical field.
The von Karman Institute was established in October 1956 in the buildings which formed what then was the aeronautical laboratory of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Belgian Ministry of Communications.
The history of the laboratory goes back to 1922 when, on farmland purchased by the Belgian Government, the first building was erected to house the STAé (Service Technique de l'Aéronautique), i.e. the technical services of the Civil Aviation Authority then under the Ministry of Defence. The building was designed to accommodate a large low speed wind tunnel of the Eiffel
Eiffel
-Engineering:* Eiffel Tower in Paris, designed by Gustave Eiffel in motif as twin to the Eifel ridge, re-dubbed Maria Pia Bridge, previously built in o Porto, Portugal - The Twin Towers of Eiffel...
type with an open return circuit and open-jet test section of 2 m diameter, as well as offices and shops. It still exists and has been refurbished internally after removal of the low speed tunnel to make room for modern turbomachinery and high speed facilities. A second building was added in 1935 to house offices and laboratories. It is now the Institute's administrative building. The last addition was made after the war, in 1949, with the construction of a large building specially designed to house a supersonic tunnel and a multi-configuration low speed facility.
It is interesting to recall what had been recommended by the AGARD Study Group of 1955 in terms of training and research: “The Institute should aim toward a training which, apart from its direct and obvious ties with aeronautical industries, would be of value in wider areas such as industrial or scientific research where the application of experimental techniques of aerodynamics would be profitable.
Structure
There are three departments which are hosted at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, from the older to the younger:- Aeronautics and Aerospace
A wide spectrum of facilities and computational tools covers the flow range from the low-speed regime of commercial aircraft to the supersonic and hypersonic regime of atmospheric space entry. The department focuses in particular on the modeling, simulation and experimental validation of atmospheric entry flows and thermal protection systems (TPS), including transition to turbulence and stability. The experimental studies are carried out in its top level Mach 14, Mach 6 and Induction Coupled Plasma windtunnels, for which dedicated measuring techniques have been developed e.g. involving spectroscopic laser techniques. On the computational simulation side the department has developed an extendable software pllatform Coolfluid
Coolfluid
COOLFluiD is a component based scientific computing environment that handles high-performance computing problems with focus on complex computational fluid dynamics involving multiphysics phenomena....
for high performance computational flow simulation which incorporates the research on numerical algorithms, advanced physico-chemical and plasma models as well as fluid-structure interaction and conjugate heat transfer.
- Turbomachinery & Propulsion
The Turbomachinery
Turbomachinery
Turbomachinery, in mechanical engineering, describes machines that transfer energy between a rotor and a fluid, including both turbines and compressors. While a turbine transfers energy from a fluid to a rotor, a compressor transfers energy from a rotor to a fluid...
and Propulsion
Air propulsion
Air propulsion is the generation of thrust during flight by an aircraft or a creature such as a bird, bat or insect.-Aircraft:An aircraft propulsion system must serve two purposes. First, the thrust from the propulsion system must balance the drag of the airplane when the airplane is cruising...
department specializes in the aero-thermal aspects of turbomachinery components for aero-engines and industrial gas turbines, space propulsion units, steam turbines and process industry compressors and pumps. It has accumulated wide skills in high speed wind tunnel testing and related measurement techniques development and application. The department has acquired a world recognised expertise on steady/unsteady aerodynamic and aero/thermal aspects of high pressure, including cooling, and low pressure turbomachinery components through the design, development and use of a number of unique wind tunnels.
On the computational side, the department has over 20 years of experience in the analysis of flow in turbomachines, and in the design techniques and multi-disciplinary optimization methods or their components.
- Environmental and applied Fluid Dynamics
The Environmental
Environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...
and Applied Fluid Dynamics
Fluid dynamics
In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...
(EA) department covers all kinds of activities complementary to the other two departments related to fluid dynamics in the academic and industrial world. It has a large expertise in the study of aeroacoustics, multiphase flows, vehicle aerodynamics, biological flows and environmental flows (including the study of interaction between atmospheric winds and human activities). The department is also involved in the modeling of turbulence and in the development of advanced measurement techniques for fluid dynamics. The department has acquired a unique expertise in the study of fluid dynamics in industrial processes, with the development and construction of experimental facilities dedicated to the study of industrial processes and also in the simulation of industrial flows using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) codes.
Lecture series
The VKI organises up to twelve different one-week Lecture Series with about 50 to 60 participants on specialized topics every year on various fields: industrial applications, turbomachineryTurbomachinery
Turbomachinery, in mechanical engineering, describes machines that transfer energy between a rotor and a fluid, including both turbines and compressors. While a turbine transfers energy from a fluid to a rotor, a compressor transfers energy from a rotor to a fluid...
, aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
, aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
, propulsion
Vehicle propulsion
Vehicle propulsion refers to the act of moving an artificial carrier of people or goods over any distance. The power plant used to drive the vehicles can vary widely. Originally, humans or animals would have provided the propulsion system, later being supplemented by wind power...
, aero engine, aeroacoustics
Aeroacoustics
Aeroacoustics is a branch of acoustics that studies noise generation via either turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic forces interacting with surfaces. Noise generation can also be associated with periodically varying flows...
, biological flows, large eddy simulation
Large eddy simulation
Large eddy simulation is a mathematical model for turbulence used in computational fluid dynamics. It was initially proposed in 1963 by Joseph Smagorinsky to simulate atmospheric air currents, and many of the issues unique to LES were first explored by Deardorff...
.
Each year, the VKI also organises thematic conferences in collaboration with belgian & foreign universities and research institutes.
These courses have gained worldwide recognition. Subjects are chosen carefully and the lecturers are well-known for their professionalism and excellency in specific fields.
See also
- Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO)
- NATO Research and Technology OrganisationNATO Research and Technology OrganisationThe NATO Research and Technology Organisation promotes and conducts co-operative scientific research and exchange of technical information amongst 26 NATO nations and 38 NATO partners...
(NATO-RTO) - European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(Europa) - European Space AgencyEuropean Space AgencyThe European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
(ESA)