Henning Struchtrup
Position
Contact
Credentials
MS (Technische Universit瓣t Berlin), PhD (Technische Universit瓣t Berlin), P.Eng
Area of expertise
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases, microscale transport, aerosol coagulation
Research Areas
- Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics
- Kinetic Theory of Gases
- Microscale Transport
- Aerosol coagulation
Research Description
The emphasis of Henning Struchtrup's research lies on the kinetic theory of gases, in particular in the development of continuum models for rarefied gas flow in the transition regime, where the relevant length scales are of the order of magnitude of the mean free path of the gas particles, and the usual continuum models - Navier-Stokes and Fourier equations - are not applicable. Typical problems are the reentry problem of space craft or the flow around very small objects, i.e. micro mechanical devices (MEMS). Applications for quantum gases include the transport of electrons in semiconductor devices, radiative transfer in thin atmospheres, and energy transport through phonons in small solid objects.
The rational derivation of transport models for microscale gasflows is based on the Boltzmann equation, which describes the gas as a set of statistical particles. Equations for macroscopic quantities like temperature or velocity, follow by proper averaging of the Boltzmann equation, and a careful discussion of the order of magnitude of quantities involved.
Only recently, Struchtrup developed a new approach to derive transport equations for rarefied gases from th