My Work

From ErnstWiki

Introduction

Most of the work that I have done in the realm of fluid dynamics is of a fundamental nature, that is: not directed at solving any particular problem but rather trying to advance our understanding of the physics that drives fluids. However, I always feel strongly motivated by potential applications of the work we do. For example, much of the work on two-phase flow had the potential to improve drug delivery techniques, drag reduction on ships, efficiency improvements in reactors and pumps, etc. The work on humpback whale flippers as applications in windturbine blade design, airplane wing design, hydrofoil and sail design, etc. And the work that I currently do had potential applications ranging from enhanced oil recovery and detergency, to glass sheet production, industrial foam production, plate coating, etc. etc. I'm even hopeful that some of the work on surface tension dominated flows will have an impact on something as awesome as solar power panel production; whether it be thin film or Si.

Research Topics

• Surface tension
  • thin liquid films on a substrate, e.g. plate coating flows, Landau-Levich films.
  • thin free films, e.g. soap films, float glass.
  • wetting with chemistry, e.g. detergency, enhanced oil recovery.
  • imbibition in granular media, e.g. staining, chromotography

• Aerodynamics
  • the role of bumps on humpback whale flippers

• Colloids at Interfaces
  • (ellipsoidal) particles at the air/water interface

• Two-phase flow
  • "surfing bubble" in a horizontal, spinning, tube of liquid
  • controlling bubbles: understanding fundamental forces that act on them

Publications

2008

• E.A. van Nierop, B. Scheid, H.A. Stone, "On the thickness of soap films: An alternative to Frankel's Law", J. Fluid Mech. 602 119 (2008) (PDF)
• E.A. van Nierop, S. Alben, M.P. Brenner, "How bumps on whale flippers delay stall: An aerodynamic model", Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 054502 (2008). (PDF)
  • This work was featured in
    • Nature Research Highlights (pdf)
    • MIT's Technology Review.

It seems that it won't take too long before windmills, large ventilators, and some aircraft wings resemble bumpy humpback whale flippers... which is very amusing.

2007

• E.A. van Nierop, S. Luther, J.J. Bluemink, J. Magnaudet, A. Prosperetti & D. Lohse, "Drag and lift forces on bubbles in a rotating flow", J. Fluid Mech. 571 439 (2007). (PDF)

2006

• E.A. van Nierop, A. Ajdari & H.A. Stone, "Reactive spreading and recoil of oil on water", Phys. Fluids 18 038105 (2006). (PDF)

2005

• E.A. van Nierop, M.A. Stijnman & S. Hilgenfeldt, "Shape-induced capillary interactions of colloidal particles", EuroPhys. Lett. 72 671 (2005). (PDF)
• J.J. Bluemink, E.A. van Nierop, S. Luther, N.G. Deen, J. Magnaudet, A. Prosperetti & D. Lohse, "Asymmetry-induced particle drift in a rotating flow", Phys. Fluids 17 072106 (2005). (PDF)