The research of our group at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in the Laboratory for Fluid Physics, Pattern Formation and Biocomplexity (LFPB) focusses on the nature of turbulent flows, in particular, the physics of turbulent thermal convection. This includes the investigation of natural, forced and mixed convection; coherent flow structures, boundary layer structures, scalings of the heat and momentum transport in different configurations, small-scale turbulence in buoyancy-driven flows; the influence of rotation, non-Oberbeck–Boussinesq effects, non-monotonic fluid properties, wall roughness and domain geometry on turbulent convection. Apart from the physics of turbulence itself, we are also interested in the numerical issues and aspects of turbulence simulations.
Research interests in natural and applied sciences and engineering include in particular the large-scale oceanic circulation, wind chill effects in hot and cold regions, supergranulation in the solar upper convective zone, heat and mass transfer in nanofluids, surface-tension-driven convection and vibration-induced convection in low gravity, improvement of the efficiency of technological heating and cooling processes, control of ventilation processes in living quarters and in transport.