
Institute of Thermomechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences
General description
Institute of Thermomechanics is a research organisation conducting core research in fluid and thermal sciences (fluid dynamics, thermodynamics), solids and mechanical systems (dynamics and vibration of solid structures and systems, impact and waves in solids, opto-acoustic methods for material characterization) and electrical engineering (electric drives, rotating machines, power electronics). Thanks to this multidisciplinarity, the institute can also take on number of interdisciplinary topics such as electrophysics, fluid-structure interaction, biomechanics etc. Institute of Thermomechanics is a holder of the European HR Excellence in Research Award.
Key Research Facilities, Infrastructure and Equipment
Wind tunnels:
- Modular wind tunnel for transonic flows
- Cascade wind tunnel for transonic and supersonic flows
- Subsonic wind tunnel
- Wind tunnel for studying atmospheric boundary layer flows
- Blowdown facility for measurement of mass transfer characteristics on the exposed walls
Water tunnels:
- Closed circuit water tunnel for optical measurements of velocity and temperature fields
- Vertical gravitational water tunnel
Measurement equipment:
- Mach-Zehnder interferometer
- Planar and point laser anemometry
- Time-resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV)
- Laser-Doppler Anemometry (LDA)
- Flame Ionisation Detector (FID)
- Hot-film anemometry
- Transonic calibration facility for multi-hole pressure probes
- Pressure and temperature sensitive paints
Contact person
Contact us to know more about our location and work environment. Please use the main contact for questions related to administrative matters. Please contact the supervisors/group leaders of respective research groups regarding feasibility of your research proposal with regard to the research group activities.

Your future supervisors

Štěpán Nosek

Štěpán Nosek
Since 2014, I have been the head of the Laboratory of Environmental Aerodynamics. My research interests include atmospheric turbulence, atmospheric dispersion processes, urban air quality, and physical modeling of turbulence in wind tunnels. I specialize in studying coherent structures of turbulence and their role in pollutant transport in the atmospheric surface layer.
The postdoctoral researcher will join the research team in the Laboratory of Environmental Aerodynamics, which studies the atmospheric boundary layer to better understand and predict the transport of hazardous substances, smoke or dust particles near the Earth’s surface. The laboratory uses physical modeling methods in a wind tunnel (cross-section 1.5 m × 1.5 m). The team’s main research equipment includes planar and point laser anemometry and the Fast Flame Ionisation Detector.
The fellow may also work with the international cooperation partner, the Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, as part of an international secondment.
Given the focus of our research team, the expected outcomes of the fellowship are publications in peer-reviewed journals, new collaborations with industry/public sector and joint research projects.

David Šimurda

David Šimurda
As the head of the Laboratory of Internal Flows, I focus on research on transonic and supersonic flows in closed and curved channels of machines. Recently, our team has been studying transonic flutter in a compressor blade cascade, effect of geometry on efficiency and dynamics of governing steam valves, and the aerodynamics of turbine and compressor profile cascades applied e.g. at the last stage rotor blades of large-output steam turbines. Research is done in cooperation with the leading companies in the field of turbomachinery.