Faculty Candidate Seminar

Title:

Multidisciplinary approaches to problems involving fluid mechanics

Speaker:

Dr. Matthew Fu

Affiliation:

California Institute of Technology, Graduate Aerospace Laboratories

When:

Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 2:00:00 PM   

Where:

Host:

Dr. Minami Yoda
minami@gatech.edu

Abstract

Multidisciplinary approaches can provide a unique experimental toolbox for resolving, understanding, and controlling fluid behavior. In this talk, I’ll present two such tools enabled by advancements in micro,nanoscale fabrication and describe how they can be applied to fundamental fluid mechanics research. The first investigation considers the behavior of a new family of surface modifications inspired by the Nepenthes pitcher plant and reveals a novel, passive method of turbulent drag reduction. Both experimental and numerical approaches are used to examine the drag reduction mechanism and the robustness of the modifications under turbulent shear flow. The second investigation describes a selective, strain-based velocimetry technique that utilizes the bending of a free-standing, electrically-conductive nanoribbon under fluid forcing. The sensor behavior is experimentally and theoretically characterized and found to be suitable for a wide range of applications, including medical devices and turbulent flow measurements.


Biography

Matt Fu is a Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate working with Prof. John Dabiri in the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 2018 and B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Caltech in 2013. Before rejoining Caltech, Matt held postdoctoral positions at Stanford University, the University of Melbourne, and Princeton University and remains an Honorary Fellow in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Melbourne. He is also a co-founder of a seed-stage start-up company, Tendo Technologies, Inc., specializing in automated liquid-manufacturing and scalable, high-fidelity flow meters. His research interests include various problems related to turbulence and flow control, focusing on multidisciplinary approaches and instrumentation.

Notes

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