Fluid Dynamics of Wings Encountering Finite Grounds for Drone Applications

This project will augment an AFOSR-funded grant, to understand how maneuvering drone wings interact with obstacles. Small fixed-wing drones could operate in complex environments (disaster sites, forests, indoors) to gather real-time information for search and rescue, scientific studies, etc. However, first we must understand flight near finite-sized boundaries, which can reduce or enhance lift and drag. We simplify the obstacles to rectangular shapes, and study forces and flow patterns using slower, larger wings in scaled water-tank experiments. A small, high-angle maneuvering wing can stall and form swirling vortices, in some cases helping the lift. The undergraduate will study ground effect: how it alters stall as the wing passes a finite-length ground, for different heights and ground lengths. They will build grounds using walls in our tank, employ a transducer to measure forces, record flow interactions via dye visualization, and relate flow and force changes.

The project commitment is nominally for summer 2024. It will be done in-person in Dr. Ringuette's lab, 122 Jarvis Hall, and the student will work with Dr. Ringuette and two of his graduate students who are involved with the project. The graduate students will help with the mentoring process, and aid the undergraduate with detailed training and best practices. The next appropriate conference is Nov. 2024, and it is hoped that the student will continue in the group and present their summer work there via a poster. 

The student will learn how to design an experiment, from the research questions, to planning the parameter space to isolate physical phenomena, the diagnostics, setup fabrication, and run procedures. They will also learn data processing, e.g., identifying and filtering unwanted frequencies in forces. Further, they will gain experience analyzing and interpreting data, such as identifying differences in flow features that change the forces. Also, the student will enhance their communication skills, by creating a clear poster and explaining it to others, ideally presented at the Nov. 2024 APS DFD conference. Lastly, Dr. Ringuette and his graduate students will provide knowledge and mentoring about graduate school and career opportunities. 

For preparation, the student should read the attached, recent AIAA Journal paper from the Ringuette group on the unsteady forces and flow interactions of high-angle-of-attack translating wings encountering finite-obstacles (channels, ceilings, grounds) and write a brief summary (no more than 1 paragraph) on the main findings. 

MAE, aerospace engineering, experimental fluid dynamics, unsteady aerodynamics, vortex dynamics