Research of Thomas J. Hanratty 1951-2008

Hanratty, Thomas J.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/9132 Copy

Description

Title

Research of Thomas J. Hanratty 1951-2008

Author(s)

Hanratty, Thomas J.

Issue Date

2008-09-06

Keyword(s)

fluid dynamics

Abstract

After completing work on MS and PhD degrees at the Ohio State University and Princeton University, I joined the faculty of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1953. Over the period 1953-2007, I had the opportunity to work with 78 MS students, 77 PhD students, and 23 Postdoctoral students/visiting scholars. This manuscript gives an account of their accomplishments. The work was motivated by a desire to improve fundamental understanding of basic problems in fluid dynamics, which are central to understanding chemical engineering operations. Two new techniques which greatly expanded the scope of research during this period were the use of supercomputers to do direct numerical simulations of turbulent fields and the use of optical techniques which provided measurements of velocity fields without interfering with the flow. Collaborations with Prof. John McLaughlin, Clarkson University, and Ronald Adrian, University of Illinois, allowed us to adopt these approaches more gracefully into our research. Progress was greatly aided by the development of several large-scale facilities to test and motivate theory. We are particularly grateful to the Departments of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois for supplying the space, which made this possible. Financial support from the Shell Development Company, the Department of Energy, and the Office of Naval Research was particularly useful. An important aspect of this research is that it impacted the education of undergraduate and graduate students in engineering. See, for example, Paper 46 for a description of a graduate course in fluid dynamics. The research described in this manuscript enabled 47 undergraduate theses and, at least, an equal number of undergraduate projects, which were carried out by groups of two students over a period of one semester. The work described in this manuscript covers a wide range of topics. The writing was, to a large extent, motivated by a desire to present a more cohesive picture of what was accomplished, than would be obtained by glancing over the list of publications that is presented. I hope I have been successful in doing this.

Type of Resource

• image
• text

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/9132

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2008 Thomas J. Hanratty

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