ICTR/EuHIT
The "Ilmenau Barrel" is one of the experimental facilities for the investigation of turbulent convection flows in the European research network "International Collaboration for Turbulence Research" (formerly "European High Performance Infrastructures in Turbulence"). This network bundles experimental, numerical and theoretical research activities on the dynamics of particles in turbulent flows and makes these resources accessible to both members and outsiders. At the same time, the network promotes the exchange of scientists and students and makes available an open-access database of the findings and data obtained.(www.ictr.euhit.org)
DFG Priority Program SPP 1881 "Turbulent Superstructures
The working group at the Ilmenau barrel is involved in this priority program with the project "Evolution and properties of dust devils in convective boundary layers - comparative investigations using DNS/LESand laboratory experiments". Physicists, engineers and mathematicians from several German universities and research institutions have joined forces to investigate so-called "turbulent superstructures" - these are long-lived, coherent flow structures in a fully turbulent environment. The programme is coordinated by Ilmenau University of Technology and runs until 2022. (www.tu-ilmenau.de/turbspp)
Cooperation with ENS Lyon, France
There is a long-standing partnership relationship between the working group "Ilmenau Barrel" and the working group "Non-linearities and Hydrodynamics" of the ENS Lyon, which is reflected in joint research activities as well as in the exchange of students and scientists. For example, several joint research projects have investigated thermal convection on rough surfaces. There was also a lively exchange of students and scientists who were able to spend research, teaching and study periods at the respective partner institution within the framework of the ERASMUS or PROCOPE programme.
Cooperation with the Institut Neel Grenoble, France
Also with the group of P.-E. Roche at the Institut Neel Grenoble a close cooperation in the field of research on turbulent flows has existed for many years. The group is specialized in experiments with cryogenic helium and has been doing intensive research in the field of thermal convection flows for many years. A special expertise of the group is the development of highly specialized measurement techniques which, although primarily developed for measurements at extremely low temperatures, are used in the Ilmenau barrel at room temperature. Joint projects have also been carried out with this group and there is an exchange of scientists and students.
Cooperation with the City University of London, UK
For several years, the two working groups at the "Ilmenau Barrel" and the "Aeronautics and Aerospace Research Centre" have been jointly researching the development of a method for measuring the wall shear stress in comparatively slow, thermal convection flows in air. The technical feasibility and application of such a system, which is based on a Dandelion-Pappus sensor, has been demonstrated in two projects. In a planned research project, this system is now to be further developed and used for fundamental measurements in the "Ilmenau barrel".
Cooperation with Leibniz University Hannover
Within the framework of a joint DFG project, the "Ilmenau Barrel" working group is conducting research together with colleagues from the Institute of Meteorology and Climatology at the University of Hanover into the formation and specific properties of dust devils. These special atmospheric phenomena, which occur particularly during strong solar radiation, are responsible in particular for dust and aerosol transport between the Earth's surface and the lower layers of the Earth's atmosphere. The project was launched in 2018 and will run until the end of 2021.
Cooperation with New Mexico Tech, Socorro, USA
The partnership with this institute is relatively new and has only existed since the beginning of 2019. As part of this partnership, the group in New Mexico is developing theoretical models to describe convective heat transfer on various model flows. For one of these models, for turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection, the Ilmenau group contributes knowledge and data from its previous research activities.
