Ready for new turbulences

First Max Planck Center for the physics of complex fluid dynamics is inaugurated / Collaboration between two Max Planck Institutes and research groups from the University of Twente

March 01, 2017

The Max Planck Society and the University of Twente in Enschede/The Netherlands are joining forces to set up a groundbreaking centre for the investigation of complex fluid dynamics. The two parties are investing around ten million euros in total to enable this Max Planck - University of Twente Center for Complex Fluid Dynamics to make progress in medical diagnostics, or the operation of wind turbines, for example. It is anticipated that the outstanding research groups and the unique laboratory facilities, which can be used jointly via the Center, will attract scientific talent from all over the world. The inauguration will be celebrated with a symposium at the University of Twente on 3 March with the Presidents of the two institutions, the leading scientists and political guests.

There would be no life on Earth without liquids and gases. The dynamics of fluids determine the thermal budget of the Earth or generate its magnetic field; in our bodies, our lungs and heart keep us alive. Water, gases and oils are transported in pipelines and along tubes. The combustion efficiency in a car engine, for example, or the production of chemicals in large-scale chemical reaction plants depends crucially on the dynamics of the gases and liquids. “These are but a very few examples which show: fluid dynamics governs the world and the universe. And since the mathematics of this field theory are still not understood in detail, and reactions or interactions between fluids and surfaces also throw up fundamental questions, it is definitely high time that physics really got to grips with the fundamentals of this field,” says Eberhard Bodenschatz, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen (MPIDS). He initiated this first Dutch Max Planck Center together with Detlef Lohse, who heads the Physics of Fluids Department at the University of Twente (UT). From the UT, the physics of fluids and BIOS Lab-on-a-Chip research groups are taking on a leading role, while from the Max Planck Society, the participants are not only the MPIDS scientists, but also the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz (MPIP).

Leading international role

The President of the Max Planck Society, Martin Stratmann, considers the scientific field of complex fluids will be strengthened significantly by the new cooperation, on both the European and the international level. “Three leading locations working on the complex behaviour of fluids come together and complement each other in the new Max Planck Center. By bundling their forces, progress in such differing fields as pharmaceutical diagnostics and climate modelling becomes possible.”

Victor van der Chijs, President of the University of Twente, adds: “The Max Planck Institutes are world class organizations. We will be able to carry out groundbreaking research together at the new Center. Moreover, the first siting of a Max Planck Center in the Netherlands will yield research with a high degree of efficiency - from basic research through to application.”

Detlef Lohse, one of two Co-Directors of the Center, emphasizes its importance for the promotion of junior scientists: “Apart from scientific cooperation and the shared use of research infrastructure, what is particularly important to us is the promotion of highly talented junior scientists as well. There will be joint training of highly qualified doctoral students, for example. And this will have a magnetic effect on top talent.”

Synergies in the infrastructure

The other Co-Director, the Göttingen Max Planck scientist Eberhard Bodenschatz, sees the joint use of major equipment as a further key advantage. “Together, we have a globally unique infrastructure to investigate fluid physics. We can observe fluids on scales as different as they can possibly be, i.e. from individual droplets of liquid on the nanoscale through to large-scale turbulence, as occurs in nature in the atmosphere or Earth’s interior,” says Bodenschatz.  The fluid researchers can investigate the turbulent flow between two concentric, rapidly rotating cylinders with the Taylor-Couette system in Twente, for example. An infrastructure established in Göttingen, called the “U-Boot” because of its shape, serves in contrast to investigate highly turbulent thermal transport between a warm base and a cold top plate. The transport properties of turbulent wind and the effect of turbulence on wind turbines are investigated with the high-pressure wind tunnel, which is also located in Göttingen. 

Diverse fields of application

The new Max Planck Center also possesses a high level of expertise in the field of microfluids and nanofluids. One group of Hans-Jürgen Butt, Director at the (MPIP), investigates how the spread of fluids can be controlled by the nanostructure of a surface. The scientists want to use this research to produce biofilms or self-cleaning surfaces or prevent a material from icing-up. On the other hand, the group headed by Katharina Landfester, Director at the Mainz MPIP, takes the opposite route: It investigates how fluids with structured nanoparticles can affect fluid dynamics. This can be used to position biological materials at specific locations on surfaces, for example. The cooperation between the three partners also allows more detailed insight into biological processes with the aid of a component developed in Twente; this so-called Lab-on-a-Chip is a tiny laboratory on a circuit board which will facilitate the on-the-spot analysis of very tiny quantities of a liquid such as blood, for example, in the future.

16 Max Planck Centers around the globe

The 83 institutes and facilities which make up the Max Planck Society conduct basic research in the natural sciences, the life sciences and the Humanities. Since its foundation in 1948, it has produced 18 Nobel Laureates. In addition to five institutes abroad, there are now 16 Max Planck Centers around the globe. There are eight Centers in Europe, including one with the ETH in Zurich, the EPFL in Lausanne or the University College London. Each partner is investing around one million euros per year in the Max Planck Center in Twente. The FOM Foundation and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) are contributing one million euros for the next five years. The Center has been set up for five years initially.

CH/JE

 

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