W.A.T.E.R. stands for Workshop on Advanced measurement Techniques and Experimental Research. It is an initiative started in 2016 by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in cooperation with Experimental Methods and Instrumentation(EMI) committee of the International Association for Hydroenvironment Research (IAHR).
W.A.T.E.R. is aimed to advance the use of experimental techniques in hydraulics and fluid mechanics research. It combines theoretical sessions and hands-on measurement exercises in the laboratory and field. It provides a structured approach for the learning and training workshop series to postgraduate students (aiming specifically at doctoral students), young researchers, and practitioners who are willing to get training in advanced hydraulic measurement techniques. The 9th edition was held at the Institute of Hydro-Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBW-PAN), Gdansk, Poland, and it was co-organized by IBW-PAN and Vrije Universiteit Brussel under the auspices of the Experimental Methods and Instrumentation committee of IAHR.
During the W.A.T.E.R. Summer School a seminar led by Rui Aleixo (IBW PAN) and Massimo Guerrero (University of Bologna) presented the results of the project Turbulence in the times of Da Vinci: A flow forensic analysis using modern experimental techniques funded by the Richard Lounsbery Foundation in the scope of the Leonardo DNA Project.
The seminar presented the different steps and approaches taken during the project to convert the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci into physical models where experiments could be carried out to obtain the same visual results as the ones depicted in the drawings, allowing to confront measurements with Leonardo da Vinci’s illustrations.
The results from the experiments carried out at IBW PAN and at the University of Bologna, derived from the analysis of Leonardo da Vinci drawings of the plunging jet flow and flow around a bridge pier, allowed not only to showcase the application of modern measurement techniques in fluid mechanics but also to established a dialogue between fluid mechanics and the drawings of the great Renaissance master.
From the obtained results of the flow around the bridge pier, and the turbulence properties of the flow field a speculative guess could be made regarding Leonardo da Vinci’s visual acuity.
Finally, the different impacts and outcomes of the project were presented.