The UK Turbulence Consortium

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Understanding, predicting and controlling turbulent flows is of central importance and a limiting factor to a vast range of industries: naval, aeronautical, automotive, power generation, process, pharmaceutical, meteorological and environmental. Many of the environmental and energy-related issues we face today cannot possibly be tackled without a better understanding of turbulent flows. The UK Turbulence Consortium (UKTC) is a group of UK researchers committed to undertaking high quality, world leading turbulence simulation and scientific research using high performance computing systems. Funded in 1995, the UKTC has been through six highly successful iterations, with significant growth, from 5 original members to 70 members from nearly 30 UK institutions for the present bid, with an inclusive approach to developing and serving the community. Our view is that the key to advances in turbulence is by sustaining and stimulating interaction among researchers. It is essential that a diverse range of viewpoints, opinions, strategies and methods are brought together in an efficient and constructive manner. The essence of the UK Turbulence Consortium is to provide the central core of a needed critical mass activity considering the big challenges posed by turbulence. In the last 25 years, the UKTC has (i) demonstrated its ability to convert access to national High-End Computing (HEC) resources into internationally leading research, (ii) established its international competitiveness, (iii) helped its members to leverage and secure multi-million pound grants from governmental funding bodies and industries, (iv) allowed the discovery of new fluid flow phenomena which have led to new ways of improving beneficial effects and reducing negative effects of turbulent flows and (v) facilitated the design of more sophisticated turbulence models redefining industry standards.