On March 31, 2026, the First Vice President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Head of the Section of Physical-Technical and Mathematical Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine Vyacheslav Bogdanov, Academician-Secretary of the Department of Mechanics and Machine Science of the NAS of Ukraine, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine Volodymyr Nazarenko, Scientific Secretary of the Sector of Physical-Technical and Mathematical Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences Serhiy Bespalov, and Scientific Secretary of the Department of Mechanics and Machine Science of the NAS of Ukraine, Candidate of Technical Sciences Yevhen Zadvornyi visited the Institute of Hydromechanics of the NAS of Ukraine.
The Director of the Institute, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Hennadiy Voropaiev, presented to the guests the structure of the institution, its scientific schools, personnel potential, and experimental capabilities. The Institute of Hydromechanics of the NAS of Ukraine today, as at the time of its founding in 1926, is the only specialized scientific institution in our country where problems of hydromechanics and hydraulic engineering are comprehensively solved. This approach combines physical, mathematical, and computer modeling of relevant fundamental and applied problems of continuum mechanics.
The Academy's leadership visited the experimental complex for hydrodynamic research, which is a national treasure. It includes a high-speed multipurpose hydrodynamic tunnel and the largest experimental basin in Ukraine, where the seakeeping qualities of modern high-speed vessels with dynamic lift principles are comprehensively studied. In particular, members of the delegation from the NAS of Ukraine Presidium familiarized themselves with the progress of work on creating new high-speed multifunctional unmanned surface vessels in advanced hydro- and aerodynamic schemes.
In the laboratory of modern aerodynamics and interdisciplinary research, methods of intelligent flow control are studied, primarily in the aviation and automotive industries. A unique aerodynamic complex with a low-turbulence wind tunnel was created within national and international projects, as well as thanks to fruitful cooperation with specialists from related disciplines (electrodynamics, radiophysics, ultra-high-frequency technology, biology).
In the filtration laboratory, the guests were shown the following experimental setups:
- an experimental setup for studying the characteristics of airlift liquid lifting and three-phase mixtures;
- a stand for studying the pore structure of geotextile filters by blowing air through a wetted filter;
- an experimental setup for studying mechanical clogging of geotextile filters under dynamic loads.
Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Hennadiy Voropaiev, who also heads the Department of Hydrobionics and Boundary Layer Control, told the guests about the main directions of experimental and theoretical research carried out in the department using two laboratories as examples:
- the hydrodynamic laboratory for determining forces and moments acting on bodies during their unsteady motion (the main direction of this research is the search for methods to reduce resistance in turbulent flow regimes);
- the numerical modeling laboratory (its research covers problems of turbulent flow of viscous incompressible and compressible fluids and gas dynamics of supersonic flows).
Currently, the primary task is modeling the process of transition from deflagration combustion to detonation from the moment of initiation to the exit of combustion products from the combustion chamber and creating a code based on the developed model for calculating the thrust characteristics of a real jet engine.
The meeting participants also visited the Joint Swedish-Ukrainian Educational and Research Laboratory "Energy Technologies for Sustainable Development of Society." Its head from the Institute of Hydromechanics of the NAS of Ukraine, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Yevhen Nykyforovych, spoke about the main directions of the laboratory's work and prospects for cooperation with business structures to expand the practical use of new sources of thermal energy. The scientist presented fundamental research on geothermal energy sources for heating systems. In particular, according to him, the concept of the quantity and quality of geothermal energy was formulated for the first time, and the geothermal energy limit was determined. The results of fundamental research have been implemented in master's courses on renewable energy sources at leading technical universities of Ukraine, and student educational work has been organized. The laboratory's connections with the production association "Ukrinterm Corporation" have been established and are effectively maintained.
Summing up the visit, representatives of the NAS of Ukraine leadership noted that the research topics of the Institute are of fundamental importance while also meeting the urgent needs of martial law, recovery, and post-war reconstruction of our country.
Information from the Institute of Hydromechanics of the NAS of Ukraine
Photo: press service of the NAS of Ukraine
