Research
Current Research Projects
Wall Turbulence Control and Skin-Friction Drag Reduction using Novel Surface Microstructures
(Sponsor: National Science Foundation)
Skin-friction drag is responsible for energy loss for ships, aircraft, and the trucking industry. This project explores innovative methods of reducing skin-friction drag using computations and experiments to reduce these losses. One of the promising methods for reducing skin-friction drag is to dampen wall turbulence passively using surface microstructures. The primary aim of this project is to provide a fundamental understanding of the underlying physics of the novel surface microstructures and show that they can provide systematic control of wall turbulence to minimize skin-friction drag.
Internal Flow Convection Heat Transfer Enhancement with Piezoelectric Actuators
(Sponsor: University of Mississippi & Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers & Surveyors)
The primary objectives of the research are: 1) to develop a small form-factor Piezoelectric fan actuation (PFA) that can be embedded in small-scale convection heat transfer channels; 2) to obtain a fundamental understanding of steady and unsteady flow physics with different operational conditions of PFA; 3) to understand the time-dependent correlations between the induced flow physics and convection heat transfer enhancement; and 4) to find optimum operational conditions of PFA under various channel-flow conditions. The successful completion of the project will provide fundamental and practical knowledge for developing active air heat sink technologies that can be used in thermal management systems of various thermal engineering applications.
Flow Separation Control with High-Frequency Translational Surface Actuation (HFTSA)
(Sponsor: AFOSR - DURIP)
The proposed research is the fundamental investigation of steady and unsteady flow separation phenomena manipulated by the HFTSA in the low Reynolds number flow regime. The primary objectives of the proposed research are: 1) to realize and demonstrate the HFTSA mechanism as a new active flow control method for low Rec regime aerodynamic systems; 2) to obtain fundamental understanding of steady and unsteady flow separation physics with the HFTSA; 3) to develop a high fidelity numerical simulation method for minimizing experimental efforts; and 4) to optimize operational conditions of the HFTSA for flow separation control.