Research stay at the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg by SFB 1313 Doctoral Researcher Ali Chaudhry

Ali Chaudhry from the Forschungszentrum Jülich is a doctoral researcher (research project C05) and member of the SFB 1313 Integrated Research Training Group "Interface-Driven Multi-Field Processes in Porous Media". He visited the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg in May 2025.

Among the newer institutions at the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, the Institute of Geo-Hydroinformatics (GHI) pioneered by Prof. Dr. Nima Shokri tackles current global challenges concerning water, soil and the environment. One focal point of the institute lies in investigating the hydrodynamic processes involved in evaporation of saline water from porous media.

Through the expansive network of the SFB 1313, our discussions on the problem of soil salinization and solute transport in porous media with Prof. Shokri gained momentum that resulted in this collaborative research stay. By using the modular wind tunnel system available at the GHI institute we were able to build upon work that I had performed previously in my doctoral studies i.e. investigating sub-surface distribution of NaCl for fully saturated porous media undergoing saline evaporation using sodium magnetic resonance imaging.

With this new experimental setup, we were able to control the evaporation conditions for multiple columns of different media simultaneously and observe the time to salt crust formation with surface-imaging. The aim was to show that time to salt crust is faster for high permeability media in comparison to low permeability when allowed to evaporate under fully saturated conditions. For consistency, we were able to use our previously tested sands in our wind tunnel setup and repeat experimental trials to show reproducibility.

Tasks involved coordinating hardware fabrication and installation at different institutions and working with the teams there provided fun moments and good memories. Lunch time discussions with Dr. Aminzadeh, Ms. Jannesarahmadi and Prof. Shokri were both light hearted and insightful. The research stay combined with Hamburg’s cosmopolitan atmosphere provided a great opportunity for not only academic exchange but a wholesome experience worth valuing.