research areas in the Center for Fluid physics 
Boundary Layer Fluid Dynamics | Atmospheric Fluid Dynamics | Ocean Fluid Dynamics | Magnetohydrodynamics & Plasma Dynamics | Biological Fluid Dynamics | Flows of Complex Fluids, Interfaces and Polymers | Vorticity Dynamics | Nonlinear Waves & Stratified Flow | Stability, Convection & Pattern Formation
Boundary Layer Fluid Dynamics
The turbulent flow created via mechanical shear owing to the presence of a solid surface is called a turbulent boundary layer. (Note that air flow turbulent boundary layers also exist over liquid surfaces such as the ocean.) Because such a flow configuration is so common, boundary layers are ubiquitous and their dynamics play a critical role in many important applications. Processes and devices dependent on the behavior of the turbulent boundary layer include gas exchange at the atmosphere/ocean interface, benthic processes, atmospheric dispersion of chemical plumes, and flow over the external surfaces of aircraft and submarines.
Boundary layer research at the CFP includes: revealing and characterizing the dynamical mechanisms intrinsic to wall-bounded turbulent flows, determining the scaling behaviors of these flows relative to variations in the governing parameters (such as Reynolds number), exploring possibilities for boundary layer control (including drag reduction) and developing and testing mathematical and physical models of boundary layer physics.
Atmospheric Fluid Dynamics
(Written by John McHugh.)
Oceanic Fluid Dynamics
Encompassing an immense range of temporal and spatial scales, the fluid dynamics of the world's oceans plays a pivotal role in weather and climate, the dispersion of pollutants (e.g. spilled crude oil) and transport of chemicals, and the distribution and proliferation of biota. Over sufficiently large scales, ocean dynamics are constrained by the Earth's rotation and by the evolving interior density stratification, giving rise to a complex mosaic of inertia--gravity waves, intense jets and coherent vortices. A central challenge in physical oceanography is to understand the two-way coupling between these large-scale, 2D features and small-scale, fully 3D processes including Ekman boundary layer instabilities, surface and internal wave propagation, Langmuir circulation and thermal convection. UNH researchers are investigating these issues by studying canonical problems, aimed at revealing the fundamental physical mechanisms involved, using novel multiscale asymptotic and numerical methods.
Magnetohydrodynamics & Plasma Dynamics
(Written by Amitava Bhattacharjee.)
Biological Fluid Dynamics
UNH researchers are interested in a range of fundamental problems in biological fluid dynamics, including both zoological and physiological applications. Topics of particular interest in the former category include blood flow around deformable cells, bioconvection in the upper ocean, and the interaction between coastal ocean currents and fish populations. In the latter category, UNH researchers are studying the nonlinear oscillations of capillary networks and, more generally, flow, transport and Taylor dispersion in these networks. Another focus area is fluid/structure interactions in biological systems, particularly in mammalian lungs. One fundamental question of great clinical significance being addressed by UNH fluid dynamicists is how the structural stability of a large network of deformable pulmonary alveoli is controlled by the competition among surface tension (associated with the thin liquid film lining the alveolar septa), tissue elasticity and gas pressure. A combination of laboratory experiments, numerical simulations and asymptotic analysis is being used to investigate these various topics, with input from physiologists, clinicians and imaging experts.
Flows of Complex Fluids, Interfaces and Polymers (Profs: Chini, Gupta, White)
The focus of the group is to study and understand the fundamental physics that govern flows of complex fluids, interfaces and polymers. Flows of these types are encountered in a variety of technologies and are of interest for both practical and fundamental purposes. Our specific interests include the effects of surface tension gradients on free surface flows, turbulent drag reduction of dilute polymer solutions, particle laden turbulent flows, physiological flows, and the effects of elasticity on the motion of fluid particles in confined domains.
Vorticity Dynamics
(Written by Joe Klewicki.)
Nonlinear Waves & Stratified Flow
(Written by John McHugh.)
Stability, Convection & Pattern Formation
When driven away from a structureless equilibrium state, forced--dissipative hydrodynamic and magneto-hydrodynamic systems frequently exhibit spatially-extended patterns of roll vortices, convection cells, or plumes and jets. These coherent flow structures greatly enhance transport and mixing and, thus, are the focus of numerous scientific and technological studies. Using a complement of dynamical systems theory and high-performance scientific computing, UNH researchers are investigating the underlying instability mechanisms that spawn the patterns and govern their subsequent nonlinear evolution. Both eigenmode and non-modal stability theories are used to interpret the dynamics of full numerical simulations. Instability phenomena of particular interest to UNH researchers include Langmuir circulation, Rayleigh--Benard convection, Ekman instability modes and plasma instabilities. A central focus of UNH studies is to obtain simplified descriptions of the dynamics of strongly nonlinear convection states using multiscale asymptotic methods, phase diffusion and mean-field approaches.