Collaborative Research: Three-Dimensional Vorticity Dynamics in Vortex-ring Wavy-wall Interactions

Vortex rings are swirling fluid structures that appear in many natural and engineering flows. Applications include the way the heart moves blood to how jets cool hot surfaces and control airflow over vehicles. How these vortices interact with a surface determines how heat is transferred, how fluids mix, and how forces develop. Most of our current understanding of this process comes from studies of vortex rings interacting with flat or smoothly curved surfaces. In many real applications, vortex-wall interactions often occur over surfaces with significant geometric corrugations. The effects of these local surface features on vortex behavior remain largely unexplored. This project investigates how specially designed wavy surfaces influence vortex behavior. The research investigates whether surface shape can be used to guide and control flow outcomes. The results will provide new knowledge for designing surfaces. Applications include improved cooling and reduce energy losses in advanced manufacturing energy and transportation systems. The project will also train students in experimental and computational methods and engage K–12 audiences through hands-on demonstrations of fluid motion. The research will examine how local variations in the shape of a surface and the timing of incoming vortices work together to influence flow behavior. Carefully controlled experiments and computer simulations will be used to study these interactions. Vortex deformation, stretching, and interactions will be tracked as they encounter wavy surfaces. The study will measure how surface features affect pressure, flow separation, and the formation of new swirling structures near the wall. Single and repeated vortex interactions will be compared. The project will identify patterns that determine when vortices remain stable, reconnect, or break down. The research will generate high-quality datasets. These datasets can support the development of data-driven models and artificial intelligence tools. The results will support design principles for using surface shape and timed flow forcing to improve heat transfer in several applications. The results could impact microelectronics, turbine cooling, enhance mixing in additive manufacturing and chemical processing. The results could impact control of airflow over aircraft wings to reduce drag and noise. The results could provide direct guidance for engineering surface design in manufacturing, energy, and transportation systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2610846 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Vrishank Raghav | Institution: Auburn University, AUBURN, AL | Award Amount: $350,000 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2610846 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2610846.html