This project enhances the student's ability to measure fluid motion by the installation of a laser doppler anemometer flow system and by the construction of a new wave tank. In the fluid dynamics laboratory, an introduction to the application of lasers in the field of measurements is presented. The equipment enables the students to measure the velocity profiles for different flows. The laser doppler velocimeter allows a focused measurement of velocity and turbulence in fluid flows, without disturbing the movement of the fluid particles. Experiments illustrate such concepts as flow separation, stall, vortex shedding, drag calculation, turbulence, and shear stress. When students finish their fluid dynamics laboratory, they are ready to expand their capability to conduct more experiments on flow phenomena in the coastal environment using the new wave flume.
