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Fluid and Thermal Engineering

The Fluids and Thermal Engineering Group uses advanced experimental facilities alongside computational modelling to engage in a broad range of research activities in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, combustion, bio- and renewable fuels and low-carbon propulsion.

The Group’s work covers industrially and environmentally relevant projects associated principally with the automotive, aerospace and power industries.

We have excellent experimental facilities that include well-equipped engine test cells; a wind tunnel with moving ground plane; test facilities for combustion; and test facilities for renewable fuel research. Each research area is supported by a strong, complementary analytical and numerical modelling capability.

Current research interests include:

  • Low-carbon propulsion
  • Future renewable fuels
  • Heat transfer enhancement
  • Thermodynamics and properties of new solid and liquid materials
  • Turbulent combustion in supersonic and subsonic flows
  • Fluid-structure interaction
  • A broad spectrum of aerodynamic research from gas turbines and ground vehicles to missiles and space vehicles

Northumbria is a longstanding member of the AVL Advanced Simulation Technologies University Partnership Program and provides students with access to this and other software including Ansys, Star-CCM+, CATIA V5, OpenFOAM, Chemkin and SIMULIA.

Take a tour around our engine facilities, click here

To view a detailed engine test cell facilities equipment list, click here

Wind tunnel facilities, click here

This group is a part of the University’s multi-disciplinary research into the theme of Future Engineering.

Research from this group will be submitted to REF2021 under UoA 12: Engineering.

To view research papers emanating from this group, please click here to view Northumbria Research Link, our open access repository of research output from Northumbria University.

Find out about the Researcher Links UK-Russia Workshop on Scientific and Technical Grounds of Future Low-Carbon Propulsionon here.

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