These ‘young punks’ made big waves
Carolina mathematicians Roberto Camassa and Rich McLaughlin launched the Fluids Lab, a unique research space.
In the early 2000s, excavators used too much dynamite to create the foundation of Chapman Hall, blowing out an extra 6,000 square feet two stories underground.
Everyone wanted to get their hands on that extra space, especially applied mathematicians Roberto Camassa and Rich McLaughlin, who were running their fluid experiments in an old kitchen in Phillips Hall.
“When we first saw that space in Chapman Hall, we knew it was ideal for the next-level fluids mechanics research we wanted to do,” Camassa says. “It could fit a long wave tank, and the vibration would be low because it’s underground.”
The chemistry chair at the time called them “young punks,” McLaughlin says, “showing up at every meeting, pounding the tables, yelling for space.” But they persisted and got the funding.
The Fluids Lab in Chapman Hall officially opened its doors in 2007. There, applied mathematicians and interdisciplinary scientists study physical phenomena: ocean circulation, particulate matter, lung function and more.
“Not to brag, but I think this is one of the most unique places in the world,” Camassa says.
The lab houses a 118-foot-long wave tank — longer than an NBA basketball court — a wind tunnel, a water channel, an elliptical flume to study sediment transport, a thermal bath, a water-processing facility and additional tanks for smaller experimental setups.
The Fluids Lab houses a 118-foot wave tank, increasing the ability to study a variety of water-related phenomena like erosion patterns, oil spill effects and energy potential. (Megan Mendenhall/UNC Research)
Making waves
Camassa has used the space to study what happens to underwater ocean waves and circulation when fluids of different densities mix — a phenomenon that can cause currents so intense they threaten watercraft and the lives of the people on them. He can study this by filling the wave tank with fluids of different densities and measuring the size of the waves produced.
“The wave tank has a 3-meter water column that’s allowed us to study the way mixing occurs in a stratified ocean, which is still a big open question,” says Camassa, Kenan Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ mathematics department.
This demo illustrates the lab’s research in stratification and is an example of how oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill became trapped at intermediate depths within the Gulf of Mexico. (Megan Mendenhall/UNC Research)
“It also opens new doors to understanding energy recovery from wave fields, how waves destroy seawalls, and how seagrasses are important in preserving coastlines,” adds McLaughlin, also a professor in the mathematics department.
They began a project on self-assembly in 2017, when a student filled a tank with fluids of different densities to recreate ocean stratification. Overnight some of the particles fused together into a large disc-like shape. The specific combination of gravity and stratification in the student’s experimental setup created a horizontal force between particles sitting at the same heights, causing them to glom onto one another.
“This was probably the most exciting thing I’ve encountered in my career,” McLaughlin says.
The finding has the potential to impact how we clean up oil spills, microplastics and other pollutants in the ocean. Their work was published in Nature Communications in 2019.
Environmental scientists have used the racetrack flume to study how streams filter pollutants and how pollutants affect bank erosion, runoff and water quality. Biologists have used the wind tunnel to learn how hurricane-force winds impact trees. A collaborative team of researchers from the College and the medical and pharmacy schools used the lab to understand how mucus moves in and out of the lungs. And now, they are collaborating with exercise and sport scientist Claudio Battaglini on a project to improve swimmer performance for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
“The Fluids Lab is an applied math space, but we’ve always had an open-door policy,” McLaughlin says. “We want to have people come work in and benefit from the existence of the lab.”
