December: Till Zürner (HZDR)

Till Zürner is a young scientist in the High Potential Program at the Institute of Fluid Dynamics of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and conducts research in the field of multiphase flows. He already worked with the HZDR during his doctorate at the Technical University of Ilmenau, where he carried out experiments in the Department of Magnetohydrodynamics. He then went to ENSTA Paris (École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées) in Palaiseau, France, as a research assistant before moving to HZDR in 2022. We met Till during our Helmholtz Energy Young Scientist Networking Days and talked to him in an interview about his work and motivation.

Interview:

What are you currently working on?

Till Zürner: I research the structure of water jets that are mixed with air or particles. These are often used in process technology to mix specific components and intensify processes. The addition of bubbles or particles changes the properties of the flow, which needs to be investigated for its effective use in industrial applications. At the moment, my main focus is on the application of froth flotation in mining, a technique for separating valuable minerals from extracted ores. Almost all metals in our daily lives go through this process, which is why an efficient and sustainable design of the technology is of great importance for the energy transition - both in the reduction of energy and resource consumption and in the provision of strategic materials, e.g., rare earths.

What is your personal motivation?

Till Zürner: I am fascinated by complex systems in nature. My aim is to break them down into their basic components and thus understand them. Which system I focus on depends heavily on its potential applications. It is always interesting to exchange ideas with industry partners in order to identify open questions and promising topics.

What kind of challenges are you facing in the near future?

Till Zürner: I am currently in a transition from being a scientist in the lab and actively conducting experiments towards a leading and instructing position. The increasing variety of topics and tasks makes it necessary for me to seek support in the form of student research projects and doctoral students. Of course, this also includes acquiring funding and ultimately starting my own research group.

In terms of content, I want to address the topic of supersonic bubbly jets during next year. By mixing water and air bubbles, the speed of sound can be greatly reduced - from approx. 1.5 km/s in water to down to 23 m/s in a 50-50 water-air mixture. The influence of this effect on the flow properties at the smallest length scales is still almost completely unexplored and could lead to completely new approaches in process technology.

If you could make a wish for something for your research, what would you wish for?

Till Zürner: I hope that the findings from my research will be of great interest for my scientific colleagues and industrial partners. When you finally see new physical correlations in your own measurement data - the personal “eureka” moment - it's a very satisfying experience. However, the appreciation of one's own work from outside and its implementation in specific applications is an even better achievement.

Where do you see your discipline in 5-10 years?

Till Zürner: I think that basic research can make an important contribution to the development of new methods. Even if it is often not at all clear at the beginning what this contribution could be. That is why I would like to expand the topic of multiphase jets into other areas of application, from process technology and the chemical industry to phenomena in nature. The more interdisciplinary contacts you make, the easier it is to find connections between apparently separate areas that you would never have thought of on your own.

ORCID: 0000-0001-6488-6611