Introduction

The use of the UK supercomputer by my experimental fluid dynamics group will be mainly directed towards the analysis of large data sets acquired using particle image velocimetry (PIV). PIV uses detailed correlation analysis of images acquired using specialized cameras and laser combinations to determine velocity vector fields. This data reduction process, which is performed by commercial software provided by the PIV system manufacturer as well as statistical analysis of the resulting vector fieldscan be computationally expensive and therefore time consuming when performed on even powerful desktop computers.

Project 1.

The Thermal Protection System (TPS) of a re-entry vehicle is one of the key components of its design. As the materials ablate away they leave an aerodynamically rough surface. These roughness effects, combined with the continuous ejection of pyrolysis gases from the surface create complex turbulent conditions above the surface which are challenging to model. Researchers in my group are examining the properties of this turbulence using high-speed, stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV).

Project 2.

Wing tip vortices are an aviation safety hazard which also have an economic impact. These vortices are known to evolve more rapidly in atmospheric turbulence, yet a lack of understanding of the interaction between these vortices and turbulence is preventing the development of accurate prediction tools which can be used to predict vortex decay. We are studying the long-time vortex evolution using PIV analysis of a vortex produced in a tow tank.
Both projects will use LaVision’s DaVis software to conduct the image analysis and vector field generation, with Matlab used for statistical analysis of the results and TecPlot used to visualize the resulting statistics.

Software:

Matlab
TecPlot

Collaborators:

Dr. Alexandre Martin (UK)
Dr. Michael Winter (UK)
Dr. Chi Shen (KSU)

Students and Staff:

Sean Bailey (Faculty)
Colby Borchetta (grad)
Yong Sheng Lian (Faculty, UofL)
Hari Ghimire (grad)

Garrison C Page, grad, added on LCC cluster 09/02/2022 

Publications

Grants