Sabancı University Physics-Mechatronics Seminar
Title: Approach to Nanofluidics: Fundamentals, Experiments, and Applications
Speaker: Kamil Ekinci, Boston University
Date/Time: April 20, 2016 Wednesday at 13:40
Place: Sabancı University, FENS G035
Abstract:
Fluid flows in or around modern nanodevices can attain extreme parameters. In this parameter space, the Navier-Stokes equations, which describe everyday fluid dynamics and are perhaps the most important set of equations in all of engineering, can sometimes fail. The failure of the Navier-Stokes equations in nanodevices can take place via different physical mechanisms: for instance, the continuum hypothesis may break down due to a size effect; or the local equilibrium may be violated due to the high rate of strain. In this talk, I will first introduce the Navier-Stokes equations and describe a framework for understanding how they break down in nanoflows. I will then present our intuitive experiments based on nanomechanical resonators (shown in SEM image), which provide a rigorous test for the fundamental ideas. In the approach to nanofluidics, a single dimensionless scaling parameter, which combines length and time scales in the flow, emerges as the dominant scaling parameter. This parameter may be of relevance for understanding and predicting a number of other nanoflows of technological importance.
Short Bio:
Kamil Ekinci is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. He completed his undergraduate degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering at Bogazici University in Turkey. He subsequently obtained his Ph.D. in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics from Brown University. After his Ph.D., Ekinci performed postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology. In 2002, he joined the faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Boston University. From 2008-2009, Ekinci was a Visiting Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, at the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST). Ekinci’s research focuses on physical phenomena at the nanoscale; he is also interested in developing nanoscale devices and ultrasensitive measurement techniques for a variety of applications. He has published on topics ranging from low temperature physics to turbulence to biomaterials, and has received an NSF CAREER award. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Review of Scientific Instruments (RSI).
Contact: iikaya@sabanciuniv.edu