MRI: Development of a Large-Scale Refractive-Index Matched Flow Facility

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助的。先进的光学技术(如PIV、LIF和LDV)代表了实验记录流动物理的最好的和最准确的手段，然而，由于光学通道不足，许多科学和工程领域的实际复杂流动尚未得到严格的探索，包括复杂地形上的流动(例如，与空气动力学和地球物理现象相关)，复杂几何结构内的流动(在多孔介质和珊瑚礁、涡轮机等中的流动)。以及在颗粒存在的情况下(泥沙输送、养分输送、污染物和气溶胶扩散等)。缺乏高质量的实验数据必然会限制为这些重要流动设计有效的模型、预测工具和/或控制策略。建议通过开发一种大型流动装置来改变对这种流动的实验研究，该装置将通过允许工作流体的折射率(RI)被定制以匹配所研究的固体(或颗粒)来缓解这些衰弱问题。这种RI匹配(RIM)流动设备将允许伊利诺伊州的研究人员在浸入工作流体时使复杂的固体模型和/或颗粒变得光学透明，从而最大限度地减少反射和扭曲，并促进彻底的非侵入性实验。该设备的独特性包括其大的空间尺度(0.45m×0.45m×2.5m测试截面)，允许研究相关尺度上的流动和高时间和空间分辨率的雷诺数，以及要容纳的工作流体的类型。

0923106Christensen"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."Advanced optical techniques (such as PIV, LIF and LDV) represent the most well-resolved and accurate means of experimentally documenting the physics of flows, yet there exist a wealth of practical complex flows spanning many fields of science and engineering that have yet to be rigorously explored due to inadequate optical access, including flows over complex topography (relevant to aerodynamics and geophysical phenomena, for example), within complex geometries (flow in porous media and coral reefs, turbines, etc.) and in the presence of particulates (sediment transport, nutrient transport, pollutant and aerosol dispersion, etc.). This lack of high-quality experimental data necessarily limits the design of effective models, predictive tools and/or control strategies for these important flows. It is proposed to transform the experimental study of such flows by developing a large-scale flow facility that will alleviate these debilitating issues by allowing the refractive index (RI) of the working fluid to be tailored to match that of the solid (or particulates) under study. This RI-matched (RIM) flow facility will permit Illinois researchers to render complex solid models and/or particulates optically transparent when immersed in the working fluid, thereby minimizing reflections and distortion and facilitating thorough non-intrusive experimentation. The uniqueness of this facility includes its large spatial scale (0.45 m × 0.45 m × 2.5 m test section), allowing the study of flows at relevant scales and Reynolds numbers with high temporal and spatial resolution, as well as the types of working fluids to be accommodated.