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Team 57

Team Members

Faculty Advisor

Ryan Bisi

Dr. Osama Bilal

Sponsor

We-Xite Laboratory

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Flow Control By Curved Subsurface Metamaterials

The goal of this project is to design a curved metamaterial subsurface capable of passive flow control. Attenuating unstable disturbances in fluid flow has significant practical applications, particularly in delaying the transition from laminar to turbulent flow, which can substantially reduce drag on vehicles moving through a fluid. While metamaterial-based flow control has been numerically and experimentally validated for flat surfaces, real-world applications will require adaptation to curved geometries. This challenge serves as the motivation for this project. The project involves two key analyses. First, dispersion analysis of the flat metamaterial geometries are considered to understand what behavior in these materials leads to flow stabilization behavior. Then, 2-way fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations are used to further analyze and understand how these metamaterials work in flow control scenarios. The FSI model is based on past experimental data for a flat metamaterial case, ensuring its accuracy. Additionally, curved geometries were directly analyzed to show how the addition of curvature significantly changes how these materials interact with waves and vibrations, which will need to be taken into consideration for the practical design of a curved subsurface metamaterial. With continued development, curved metamaterial subsurfaces have the potential to enable faster, more efficient, and longer range travel for both underwater and airborne vehicles, offering exciting applications across multiple industries.