Hydraulic laboratory of the Chair of Fluid Mechanics

The laboratory is used for tutorials and measurements for several courses. Within the first cycle studies, the presentation of hydraulic phenomena and measurements is intended for the students of Hydromechanics and Hydraulics (study programs Civil Engineering and Water Science and Environmental Engineering). Demanding experiments of unsteady phenomena are part of the second cycle studies, within the course Hydraulic Modelling, and later on, when students finalize their master and doctoral studies.

Important is also extra-curricular work by student groups, for example within the program »Creative path to knowledge«. Thus, within the project Modelling of hydraulic standing wave for the purposes of water sport (http://projektmsws.wixsite.com/msws) a group of students successfully designed and presented to the wider public a water structure that could allow water sport, such as surfing.

For the previous study programmes, the experimental work was part of scientific master theses and doctoral theses. For the present Bologna study programmes, the focus of research is on doctoral theses, although it is done also for scientific master theses, mainly dealing with hydromechanical equipment on water structures, optimization of primary sedimentation tanks for waste water treatment, with hydrodynamic cavitation (e.g. ballast water treatment), etc.

To improve the research conditions, our laboratory equipment (e.g. pumping stations) and measuring equipment have been renovated und modernized. Owing to excellent cooperation with the Laboratory for Water and Turbine Machines from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, new experimental stations have been established, new measuring devices and methods introduced and developed, etc. Thus, for the teaching process and research activity the following equipment is available:

• Experimental station for the simulation of cavitation phenomena, with the possible modification to replace the research object
• Experimental station for the simulation of turbine machine functioning and for defining its characteristics
• Experimental station for river confluences in torrential regime of water flow
• Experimental station of primary sedimentation tank (with visualization method)
• Renovated station (of hydraulic shock) in pipeline with surge tank
• Modernized pumping station with flow regulation, including frequency converter
• Measuring equipment (rapid camera, laser scanner, ultrasound and EM meters, etc.).

The whole equipment is computer software supported (e.g. LabView, etc.).