Dr Leander Claes, a research assistant in the Electrical Measurement Technology (EMT) department at the Paderborn University, has received this year's Lothar Cremer Award from the German Society for Acoustics (DEGA). The award honours young scientists for their outstanding doctoral achievements. Claes receives the prize for his research work on the development of new measurement methods that are relevant to the field of space travel, among other things. The prize, named after Lothar Cremer, one of the leading scientists of the 20th century in the field of technical acoustics, is awarded annually at the Annual Conference on Acoustics.
Claes, who completed his doctoral studies with the highest possible grade, has already received several awards for his outstanding scientific achievements. Among others, the Presidential Board of the Paderborn University recognised him with the award for excellent dissertations. "We are pleased that Mr Claes will continue his successful research and teaching activities in the Department of Electrical Measurement Technology in Paderborn. On behalf of the entire team, I congratulate him warmly on this special honour," emphasises Prof. Dr. Bernd Henning, head of the EMT department at the Paderborn University.
New measurement method for realistic simulations
Aerospace is a constant challenge for science. With his research, Claes wants to make a contribution to ensuring that more precise measurement methods will enable better simulations in the future. If, for example, one wants to predict the flow conditions during the re-entry of missiles into the atmosphere as accurately as possible or influence their flight characteristics in a targeted manner, one needs precise knowledge of all relevant physical quantities in addition to complex mathematical models. This applies in particular to the so-called volume viscosity, which describes the viscosity of liquids and gases. Up to now, this has been a material parameter that is largely impossible or almost impossible to determine by measurement. This often results in quite uncertain predictions.
The aim of Clae's research work was to provide a new approach to measuring volumetric viscosity. This is based on the highly precise evaluation of the absorption or attenuation of ultrasonic waves. The measurement method developed by Claes should enable the experimental determination of the volume viscosity of fluid media over a wide temperature and pressure range, so that simulations can be carried out even more realistically in the future.
Claes conducted his research in cooperation with the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics at the Paderborn University and the Department of Thermodynamics at the Technical University of Berlin.
