INDEX A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Department of Aerospace Engineering

Advanced Flow Diagnostics and Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory

Areas of Interest:

1). Fundamental studies on challenging thermal-fluids problems:

  • Laminar flow separation and transition on low-Reynolds-number airfoils.
  • Bio-inspired aerodynamic designs for micro-air-vehicle (MAV) applications.
  • Icing physics, aircraft icing, wind turbine icing and power cable icing.
  • Micro-flows and micro-scale heat transfer in microfluidics.
  • Vortex flow and flow-structure interaction in tornado-liked winds.
  • Film cooling and trailing edge cooling of turbine blades.

2). Advanced flow diagnostics and instrumentations:

  • Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Stereoscopic PIV techniques.
  • Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) and Laser Induced Phosphorescence (LIP).
  • Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) and Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP).
  • Molecular Tagging Velocimetry (MTV) and Molecular Tagging Thermometry (MTT).
  • Quantum Dot imaging and Molecule-based microscopic flow diagnostic techniques

Funding Sources:

Major equipment available for advanced flow diagnostics:

  • A double-pulsed Nd:Yag laser system with 200mJ/pulse@532nm or 50mJ/pulse@266nm, (Gemini 200 -NewWave) for LIF, PIV, µ-PIV and stereoscopic PIV measurements.
  • A high-energy pulsed Nd:Yag laser with 400mJ/pulse@532nm, 100mJ/pulse @ 355nm or 90mJ/pulse@ 266nm (Surelite III-10- Continuum) for molecular tagging measurements.
  • Three high-resolution 12-bit CCD cameras (Sensicam QE and Pixelfly - Cooke Corp).
  • A two-component LDV system (Dantec) with translation mechanism.
  • A research-grade inverted epi-fluorescent microscope (Leica-DM-IL).
  • Digital delay generators with picoseconds-resolution (SRS-DG535, and BNC-565-8C).
  • Optical tables with various camera lens, optics, mirrors, filters, beam splitters and associated mounts.
  • Host computer/workstations for image acquisition and processing with image-processing software.
  • Various electronic devices such as high-voltage power supplies and oscilloscopes for digital signal analyzing and instrumentation.

Other major facilities available in the Lab:

  • A closed-circuit subsonic wind tunnel (1ft ×1ft section) with 180mph capacity.
  • An open-circuit subsonic wind tunnel (3.0 ft × 2.5 ft section) with 180 mph capability.
  • A close-loop water flume (12in × 6in section) with 0.5 m/s capacity.
  • A close-loop water tunnel (4in ×4in section) with overflow systems to maintain constant water head.
  • An experimental rig for the studies of molecular mixing in turbulent gaseous flow.
  • An experimental rig for the studies of wake aerodynamics of rotorcraft in maneuvering.
  • Various conventional wind tunnel testing equipment such as force balances, digital pressure transducers, and hot wires probes.