CDS Progress Meeting "Laser Diagnostics for Reactive and Non-Reactive Fluid Flow"

On May 19, 2026, CDS member Prof. Dr. Frank Beyrau invited participants to the CDS Progress Meeting in Building 10 at the Chair of Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics (specifically Fluid Mechanics & Fluid Dynamics) of the Faculty of Process and Systems Engineering. It was a well-attended event, which, over coffee and biscuits, offered the perfect opportunity to exchange ideas on current work and discuss the results with other CDS members and researchers. This was followed by laboratory tours, which also met with great interest and took place in five groups.

Prof. Dr. Frank Beyrau opened the event on the topic of "Laser Diagnostics of Reactive and Non-Reactive Fluid Flows" by presenting his current research work. Among other things, he introduced the CDS project, which aims to improve the efficiency of separation technologies for plastic recycling. In this project, the behavior of non-spherical particles in turbulent flows is investigated using modern, laser-optical measurement methods. The results serve as benchmark datasets for numerical simulations of such flows and are intended to enable the improved separation of different polymers from waste streams in the future.

 

The project of PhD student Mehmet Besir Aktas, M.Sc. , under the supervision of Prof. Frank Beyrau, focuses on the use of plastic waste as a secondary raw material. Upon collection, mixed plastic waste is shredded into flakes, which must be separated by plastic type prior to reuse. Optimizing the dry plastic separation process requires a thorough understanding of the behaviour of plastic flakes in an air stream, a phenomenon referred to as pneumatic conveying. To investigate this, we experimentally study the transport of non-spherical particles in a horizontal turbulent channel flow. Flow characterization is carried out using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), a technique that relies on tracer particles introduced into the flow. Figure 2 presents the illumination of these particles at the measurement location.