Solid And Fluid Mechanics

Essay

For MSc Mechanical Engineering, Solid and Fluid Mechanics Track, Delft University of Technology

My enthusiasm in materials and fluid mechanics comes from the exciting interplay that exists between the two. The laws of conservation of energy, mass and momentum, the flow of fluids, the dynamics of solids and the way they dissipate energy govern both regimes. These interactions, for instance, in the heat and mass exchange within the turbulent boundary layer, the diurnal variations in the atmospheric dynamics of the troposphere, the aerodynamic drag, the capillary action, the flow through porous media and numerous such phenomena, have intrigued me all throughout my undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering.

I was always specially interested

This mere observation led me to replicate and reproduce the naturally occurring phenomena, and to attempt to manipulate them in an artificial environment in order to realize an intended effect. During the course of my master’s education, I wish to model, simulate and study the behavior of fluid flow consisting of particles at different scales and in various phases, focusing on their trajectories as well as the energy exchanges that take place in dispersed flows. I also wish to study the effects of solid surface morphology, interfacial properties and the heat transfer that occurs across these surfaces on fluid flow characteristics, boundary layers and turbulence. My research in materials has given me insight on the enormous control that we have in orienting properties based on their applications. I now aim to extend this to the study of multiphase flows, as mentioned above. The M.Sc. program of Mechanical Engineering with its Solid and Fluid Mechanics track at TU Delft gives me the opportunity to realize my goals in the best possible manner. Not only does it blend active research in fluid mechanics with pedagogical objectives in

I would like to study the causes of unsteadiness of sprays in atomizers, which is of great consequence for efficient consumption of fuel in this energy starved world. The physical processes that I shall enumerate in this thesis proposal, I would like to model and visualize in my research. This would first include the analysis of linear instabilities that occur in the form of a “flapping motion” in the conical liquid sheet near the mouth of an axisymmetric flow nozzle. These motions lead to the formation of a sequence of “rings”, which breakdown into a spatially varying droplet size concentration. This unsteadiness as a consequence of primary atomization, wavelength