GERMAN SOCIETY OF HUMBOLDTIANS

On 17.01.2019, Dr.-Ing. Francesca Lupi, wiss. Francesca Lupi, research associate at the Chair of Wind Engineering and Fluid Mechanics and former Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellow, was elected as spokesperson for the Ruhr Area Regional Group of the German Humboldt Society (DGH) together with Berndt Proft (Venator, Uerdingen).

The "Deutsche Gesellschaft der Humboldtianer e.V." unites former Humboldt fellows in Germany, former Feodor Lynen fellows, active Humboldt fellows in Germany, Humboldt hosts, persons with close ties to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and has 352 members throughout Germany (as of 2018), who are currently organized in 20 regional groups. The Society provides interdisciplinary regional forums of encounter for "Humboldtians" in Germany, personal exchange among themselves and assistance, support for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in its social mission, worldwide dialogue with other alumni associations, participation in social dialogue in Germany.

The next meeting of the DGH regional spokespersons will take place in Erfurt from April 5-7, 2019. Once a year, the DGH invites all its members to a general meeting as part of an annual conference.

Picture: Visit of the zoo Bochum, May 2017

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Solar Tower research power plant in Aswan/Egypt (project partners: Bergische Universität Wuppertal (lead), Ruhr-Universität Bochum/WiSt, University of Aswan/Egypt).

In the course of the current energy transition and the move away from fossil fuels, research into new systems for energy conversion is very important. In this context, the generation of energy from solar radiation is of particular interest. For several years, the working group has been scientifically engaged in the development of so-called solar updraft power plants, which can be used in particular in sunny regions of the earth. The power plant basically consists of a very large reinforced concrete chimney of up to 1500m height, which is surrounded by a glass roof of several square kilometers. The air under the glass roof heats up due to solar radiation and flows to the chimney, in the foot area of which there are turbines that then convert the kinetic energy of the air flow. Despite advanced planning and calculations on a theoretical basis, many construction and operational aspects of such a power plant are still unexplored. Within the framework of a German-Egyptian project, a research power plant has now been planned and built on a smaller scale in Egypt, near the city of Aswan, since 2013 under the leadership of the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Chair of Statics and Dynamics of Structures, Prof. Dr.-Ing. R. Harte, and in cooperation with the University of Aswan, Egypt.

SEMINAR MODELLING VORTEX RESONANCE

On 15.12.2017 a seminar on "Modelling Vortex Resonance" was organized by Prof. Dr.-Ing. R. Höffer, Dr.-Ing. F. Lupi and Prof. Dr.-Ing. H.-J. Niemann with the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The seminar counted over 20 participants, with 7 international guests from Denmark, Czech Republic, Belgium and Holland.
4 presentations were given:

• A model extension for Vortex Induced Vibrations (Dr. Francesca Lupi, Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
• Code model of Vortex Induced Vibrations for safe design (Dr. Svend Ole Hansen, Svend Ole Hansen ApS, Copenhagen)
• Stability of the generalized Van der Pol system under additive excitation (Prof. Jiří Náprstek, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague)
• Experimental evidences of high frequency and short wavelength on long stay cables (Prof. Vincent Denoël, University of Liège)

RESEARCH FELLOW OF THE ALEXANDER-VON HUMBOLDT FOUNDATION

At the beginning of the year, Dr.-Ing. Francesca Lupi started a two-year research stay at the faculty within the framework of a research grant from the AvH Foundation. She received her master's degree from the Università Degli Studi di Firenze in 2009 and passed her doctorate in engineering with distinction in 2013 as part of an international graduate program of the German Research Foundation. The topic of her PhD thesis is "A new aerodynamic phenomenon and its effects on the design of ultra-high cylindrical shells". The doctoral thesis was supervised by Prof. Dott.-Ing. Claudio Borri, Prof. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Udo Peil and Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Hans-Jürgen Niemann.
While writing her dissertation, IABSE (International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering) and IASS (International Association for Shell and Spacial Structures) awarded her the "Outstanding young engineer contribution award" for the publication "Non-conventional wind loading on ultra-high towers in solar updraft power plants".

MARIE-SKLODOWSKA-CURIE-WORKSHOP (21.-23.MÄRZ 2016)

Thema: "Full Scale Testing and Structural Identification", präsentiert von der AG "Windingenieurwesen und Strömungsmechanik"

Der Workshop wurde im Rahmen von "Aeolus4Future" organisiert, einem Forschungsprojekt und internationalen Graduiertenkolleg. Es wird aus dem Forschungs- und Innovationsprogramm Horizon 2020 der Europäischen Union im Rahmen des Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreements finanziert. Es handelt sich um ein multidisziplinäres Ausbildungsnetzwerk, das darauf abzielt, Experten hervorzubringen, die im expandierenden Bereich der Windenergienutzung an vorderster Front stehen werden.

DR.-ING. CORNELIA KALENDER-WEVERS, 2015: WIND-INDUCED PARTICLE TRANSPORT - SYNERGETIC COMBINATION OF PHYSICAL AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION

During her doctoral studies, Dr.-Ing. Cornelia Kalender-Wevers focused on wind-induced particle transport.
Solid particles in our air, primary dusts and aerosols, can originate from anthropogenic and natural sources. Their wind-induced transmission in the ground-level atmospheric boundary layer occurs over varying distances and concentrations to the immission area, depending on the size and density of the particles. Particularly respirable particles with diameters of 3 to 0.1 µm have a hazardous effect on human health.

RELOCATION OF THE BOUNDARY LAYER WIND TUNNEL TO THE TEST HALL IBN

For many years, wind tunnel tests have been among the most important decision-making aids in solving complicated aerodynamic tasks. Originally, they were developed for applications in aircraft and vehicle aerodynamics.
The research group Wind Engineering and Fluid Mechanics (WISt) operates the boundary layer wind tunnel of the Institute of Structural Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität
Bochum, which was built in 1977 under the leadership of the then owner of the research group,
Prof. Dr.-Ing. H.-J. Niemann, and has been successfully maintained and expanded since then, see picture. In the 10th and 11th week 2014, the large-scale research equipment has been moved to its new location in the experimental hall IBN to the top floor.

DR.-ING. ANINA SARKIC, 2014: VALIDATED NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTIONS OF BRIDGE GIRDERS IN TURBULENT WIND FIELDS

The English-language dissertation "Validated numerical simulation of fluid-structure interactions of bridge girders in turbulent wind fields" by Dr.-Ing. Anina Sarkic, Belgrade/Serbia, deals with the scientifically and technically extremely demanding and complex subject area of fluid-structure interactions. In her work, she investigates the very complex aeroelastic behavior of vibrating bridge superstructures and identifies critical instability points.

DR.-ING. STEFAN LACHMANN, 2014: CONTINUOUS MONITORING FOR DAMAGE TRACKING ON SUPPORT STRUCTURES OF WIND TURBINES

Dr.-Ing. Stefan Lachmann, Oer-Erkenschwick, completed his doctorate in the first quarter of 2014. In his dissertation "Continuous monitoring for damage tracking on support structures of wind turbines", he deals with service life estimation and forecasting the remaining service life of the support structure of wind turbines. Especially in the focus of the ongoing expansion ("revamping") of wind turbines in the next years, but also for the continued operation of older turbines that have already reached their useful life or will reach it in the next years, this research project has a high importance.