Welcome at the Institute of Applied Thermo- and Fluiddynamics

The Institute of Applied Thermo- and Fluiddynamics is the competence center at the HTWG for all questions concerning thermodynamics and fluid dynamics. Research and development is carried out across all faculties from process and environmental engineering to energy technology. The results of this work in turn benefit the scientific education in the respective faculties.

Thermal process engineering

Thermal process engineering deals with the change of substances by heat or cold. It is based on the fundamentals of heat transport and mass transfer and the temperature dependence of product properties. In particular, thermal separation technology, i.e. the change in the composition of products through the effect of heat, is an important part of this discipline.

   

The Institute of Applied Thermo- and Fluiddynamics has been working on these topics for more than 15 years, especially their application to biological materials such as food. In particular, the conservation of foods, their quality and their value chains have been investigated.  Several large national and international projects (East Africa, Colombia, Australia) were carried out with partner universities and industrial partners. The results have been documented in several doctoral theses and are used by industry and agriculture. The results are used in teaching and in further projects.

Turbomachinery and power engineering

For research and development work in the field of turbomachinery and power engineering, extensive test rig capabilities are available, from pump and turbine test rigs to fan test rigs. Furthermore, measurements in wind tunnels as well as in ring water tunnels are available. In addition to the fluid dynamic test rigs, there are also test rigs for thermal machines like fuel cells, including an electrolyser for hydrogen production.

   

In addition to the experimantal options within the laboratory, simulations are also carried out, from flow dynamic studies of components with CFD to the modelling of complete energy systems with Modelica.