Karen Ann J Mulleners

Expertise experimental fluid dynamics, unsteady aerodynamics, vortex dynamics, flow separation Karen Mulleners is an associate professor in the institute of mechanical engineering in the school of engineering at EPFL. She is the head of the unsteady flow diagnostics laboratory (UNFoLD). She is an experimental fluid dynamicist who focuses on unfolding the origin and development of unsteady flow separation and vortex formation. Karen studied physics in Belgium (Hasselt University, previously Limburgs Universitair Centrum) and the Netherlands (TU Eindhoven). She received her PhD in mechanical engineering from the Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany in 2010 for her work on dynamic stall on pitching airfoils that she conducted as a member of the German aerospace centre (DLR) in Göttingen. Before joining EPFL in 2016, Karen was a (non-tenure track) assistant professor at the Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany.Research focus Our lab focuses on the investigation of unsteady vortex dominated flow phenomena. We combine high spatially and temporally resolved flow field measurements with & what we refer to as & a fluid dynamical differential diagnosis. We develop methodologies to help bridge the gap between our observations and understanding of the development and interaction of vortices and technically relevant quantities, such as aerodynamic forces or power output, with applications in biological and bio-inspired flight, wind turbine rotor blade aerodynamics, etc. Teaching & PhD PhD Students Gaétan Raynaud, Lorenzo Ermanni, Thomas Antoine Nicolas Berger, Sahar Rezapour, Alexandros Anastasiadis, Henrike Cornelia Christ, Harshi Bavishi Past EPFL PhD Students Swathi Krishna, Guillaume de Guyon-Crozier, Diego Francescangeli, Sébastien Le Fouest, Alexander Gehrke, Mrudhula Baskaran Courses Aerodynamics ME-445 This course will provide the fluid dynamic background to understand how air flows around two- and three-dimensional wings and bodies and to understand and calculate the aerodynamics forces and moments acting on the objects as a result of the air flow. Measurement techniques ME-301 Theoretical and practical course on experimental techniques for observation and measurement of physical variables such as force, strain, temperature, flow velocity, structural deformation and vibrations, etc.