EAGER: Development of a Novel Rotating Wind Tunnel for 3D Study of Turbulent Flow

旋转热流体系统中的湍流在从工程(例如旋转机械、推进发动机)到地球物理(例如洋流、大气流、气候系统)到天体物理(例如围绕白矮星和新形成的恒星的吸积盘)的广泛领域中发挥着关键作用。然而，旋转对作用在流体颗粒和湍流上的力(即科里奥利力和离心力)、平均流动特征和固体边界之间的相互作用的影响还不是很清楚。研究中的这种差距从根本上归因于缺乏足够的实验设施。该项目的主要目标是开发旋转实验设备和先进的体积流动诊断工具，以研究湍流物理并促进新湍流模型的开发/验证。该项目还将包括重要的STEM教育和推广活动，包括多个本科生研究项目和高级设计项目，新课程的开发，以及妇女和少数族裔学生的研究领导机会。该项目的目标是开发新的实验设施和仪器，以研究旋转流，并为地球科学和工程界产生基准数据集。我们的具体目标是(1)设计和制造安装在普渡大学现有大型旋转平台上的闭环风洞，(2)集成机载层析粒子图像测速系统，用于旋转湍流的体积三维测量。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Turbulent flows in rotating thermal-fluid systems play a key role in a wide variety of fields, from engineering (e.g., rotating machines, propulsion engines) to geophysics (e.g., ocean currents, atmospheric currents, climate system) to astrophysics (e.g., accretion disks around white dwarfs and freshly formed stars). Yet the effect of rotation on the interplay among forces (i.e., Coriolis force and centrifugal force) acting on fluid particles and turbulence, mean flow features, and solid boundaries is not well understood. This gap in research is fundamentally attributed to the lack of adequate experimental facilities. The principle aim of this project is to develop a rotating experimental facility and advanced volumetric flow diagnostics tools to investigate turbulence physics and facilitate the development/validation of new turbulence models. The project will also encompass significant STEM education and outreach activities, including multiple undergraduate research projects and senior design projects, new curricula development, and research leadership opportunities for women and minority students.This goal of this project is to develop new experimental facilities and instrumentation to study rotating flows and produce benchmark data sets for the geosciences and engineering communities. Our specific aims are to (1) design and manufacture a closed-loop wind tunnel to be mounted on an existing large rotation platform at Purdue University and (2) integrate an onboard Tomographic particle image velocimetry system for volumetric three-dimensional measurements of the rotating turbulence.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.