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Congratulations Laura!

Congratulations to Laura Montano, who has recently submitted her PhD thesis “An experimental study of free-surface dynamics and internal motions in fully aerated hydraulic jumps”; and will be continuing on at WRL as an Engineer within the Projects Team.

During her PhD, under the supervision of Dr Stefan Felder and A/Prof Ron Cox, Laura undertook extensive experiments of air-water flow properties, free-surface parameters and three-dimensional internal motions in hydraulic jumps. Laura employed novel experimental techniques (phase-detection intrusive probes, LIDAR; load cells) enhancing the current understanding of the complex flow processes in hydraulic jumps.

The main contributions of Laura’s research are:

Importance of inflow conditions: The experiments showed a strong effect of the supercritical inflow conditions upstream of hydraulic jumps on the internal and external flow motions and aeration. Laura’s findings highlight that efficient design of energy dissipators must take the inflow conditions into account. 

Laura giving a presentation on her PhD research

LIDAR technology to observe free-surface motions instantaneously: Laura pioneered the use of LIDAR technology in hydraulic jumps providing continuous and instantaneous information on the free-surface motions with high-spatial resolution. Laura’s research linked the free-surface dynamics to the longitudinal jump toe motions which is relevant for engineering design to make sure that the hydraulic jump is contained to the stilling basin. 

First measurements of 3 dimensional internal motions: A new load cell system allowed the simultaneous and instantaneous recording of forces acting upon a submerged sphere inside hydraulics jumps providing unique information about the three-dimensional internal motions of hydraulic jumps. The results provided new insights into the dissipative processes in hydraulic jumps.

During her PhD, Laura also assisted as demonstrator for several water-related undergraduate and postgraduate courses within the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and participated as an academic mentor in a Design Summit in Nepal as part of Engineers Without Borders. During these experiences, Laura used her expertise in hydraulic engineering and her passion for teaching and humanitarian engineering.

  

Hydraulic jump


Publications

Peer-reviewed journal papers:

  • Montano, L., and Felder, S. 2019. ‘An experimental study of air-water flows in hydraulic jumps on flat slopes’, Journal of Hydraulic Research (in print, accepted for publication on 14/6/2019).
  • Montano, L., and Felder, S. 2019 ‘LIDAR observations of free-surface time and length scales in hydraulic jumps’, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (in print, accepted for publication on 14/8/2019).
  • Montano, L., Li, R., and Felder, S. 2018. ‘Continuous measurements of time-varying free-surface profiles in aerated hydraulic jumps with a LIDAR’, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, vol. 93, pp. 379 – 397. 

Peer-reviewed conference papers:

  • Montano, L., and Felder, S. 2019, ‘Measuring internal forces in a hydraulic jump with a load cell’, in Proc., 38th IAHR World Congress, Panama City, Panama, 10 pages.
  • Li, R., Montano, L., Splinter, K., and Felder, S. 2019, ‘Opportunities of LIDAR measurements in air-water flows’, in Proc., 38th IAHR World Congress, Panama City, Panama, 10 pages.
  • Montano, L., and Felder, S. 2018, ‘LIDAR measurements of free-surface profiles and turbulent scales in a hydraulic jump’, in Proc., 7th IAHR International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures, Aachen, Germany, 10 pages.
  • Montano, L., and Felder, S. 2018, ‘Effect of inflow conditions on the air-water flow properties in hydraulic jumps’, in Proc., 21st Australasian in Fluid Mechanics Conference, Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Adelaide, Australia, 4 pages.
  • Montano, L., and Felder, S. 2017, ‘Air-water flow properties in hydraulic jumps on a positive slope’, In 37th IAHR World Congress, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 10 pages. 
  • Li, R., Montano, L., and Felder, S. 2017, ‘LIDAR measurements of free-surface characteristics in a hydraulic jump’, In 13th Hydraulics in Water Engineering Conference, Sydney, Australia, 8 pages.
  • Montano, L., and Felder, S. 2017, ‘Measurements of air-water flow properties in hydraulic jumps in a sloping channel’, In 13th Hydraulics in Water Engineering Conference, Sydney, Australia, 9 pages. 
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