Introduction and Welcome

The Sorby Environmental Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (SEFDL) supports research into the fluid dynamics and sedimentary processes of both natural environments and industrial processes. The SEFDL is one of the leading environmental fluid dynamics laboratories in Europe, and is amongst the best equipped laboratories of its type globally. Our aim is to undertake ground-breaking research across a wide range of problems within Environmental Fluid Dynamics, and to support researchers from across the University of Leeds, the United Kingdom, and internationally to access our facilities and expertise. We welcome you to the SEFDL website, and encourage you to contact us about any aspect of our work, from access to the laboratory, through potential collaborative research projects, to questions about our current and former research projects.

The SEFDL is a cross-faculty facility housed predominantly in the School of Earth and Environment with an additional facility in the School of Geography. The laboratory forms part of the broader Sorby Centre for Fluid Dynamics (SCFD) which also encompasses the Sorby Multiphase Flow Laboratory. The SEFDL has recently undergone a major expansion of its facilities through approximately one million pounds of SRIF funding, which has enabled us to offer an even wider array of flume facilities and measurement techniques.

Over the past 18 years the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has funded much of the laboratory infrastructure, and this has led to the SEFDL becoming a NERC Recognised Facility. As a recognised facility we seek to act as a national resource to support work in Environmental Fluid Dynamics across the United Kingdom. This includes hosting UK based researchers, facilitating the use of the more portable measurement equipment in laboratories outside Leeds, and aiding the training of UK students. We also host international workers from a wide range of countries for both short and longer-term visits. In addition to NERC the laboratory has been supported by funding from a wide array of sources, including public bodies including the EPSRC, the EU, and the Environment Agency, and Industrial partners including Amerada Hess, BG, BHP-Billiton, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, NexiaSolutions, and Yorkshire Water.

The SEFDL encompasses a number of major flume facilities, including three recirculating open-channel flumes, three purpose built gravity current tanks, a large stream table, a flow loop and a facility for the study of jet impingement. The laboratory also hosts an array of flow measurement techniques including a range of PIV’s, LDA, PDA, and UDVP for velocity measurements, and UHCM, and OBS for fluid concentration. To find out more about these techniques and their acronyms, or any other aspect of the facility please use the tags on the left hand side.