Dutch researcher Jeroen Bominaar has developed a new measurement technique based on following molecules in a (turbulent) airflow. Its main advantage is that no measuring instruments or small particles, such as glass beads, need to be inserted into the flow. These techniques fail if, for example, the particle density is too low or the measurement techniques influence the flow. Bominaar’s research was part of a project funded by Technology Foundation STW.

Jeroen Bominaar set out to improve the new measurement technique, apply it and study its effect. The method involves directing a focused laser beam in a single line in an airflow, which results in some of the nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the line being converted into nitric oxide molecules. Shortly afterwards the line of new molecules is irradiated with a second laser and this causes the molecules to fluoresce. As these molecules move with the airflow, the speed of the airflow can be accurately measured.

The technique can be used in situations where current particle techniques fall short of the mark, for sample, in accurate speed measurements in wind tunnels, on satellite engines or in the wake of moving objects. ILA GmbH, NMi, Philips Research and NLR were industrial partners in the research project.

Milliseconds can mean the difference between triumph and defeat in the world of Olympic sports, leading more trainers and athletes to look toward technology as a tool to get an edge on the competition.

A fluids mechanics professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., is using experimental flow measurement techniques to help American swimmers sharpen their strokes, shave seconds from their lap times, and race toward a gold medal in Beijing this summer.

Professor Timothy Wei, head of Rensselaer’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering and acting dean of the university’s School of Engineering, helped develop top-secret, state-of-the-art equipment and mathematical techniques that USA Swimming coaches have been using to help train Olympians.

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