Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Major
Mechanical Engineering
Research Advisor
Vigano, Davide
Advisor's Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Funding Source
OURE, NASA Missouri Space Consortium
Abstract
Turbulence in compressible flows plays a major role in a variety of aerospace applications. However, due to fluctuating thermodynamic quantities, compressible turbulence is challenging to analyze. Of these quantities, density fluctuations are of high importance due to their role in describing turbulence. A method to obtain quantitative measurements of density fluctuations has been developed using the optical technique of shadowgraph imaging. Shadowgraph imaging has frequently been used to obtain qualitative information about density gradients in fluids. However, quantitative application of these methods is much less common. The quantitative shadowgraph method presented here relates the light intensity variations in an image of the flow to the flow’s density and applies statistical techniques to obtain quantitative information about it. Development of this technique allows measurements of compressible turbulence to be performed in the Missouri S&T supersonic wind tunnel.
Biography
Allie Dingfield is a sophomore in mechanical engineering at Missouri S& T. She is involved in the Honors Program, Kummer Vanguard Scholars, and Christian Campus Fellowship, along with her work under Dr. Vigano in the Aerodynamics Research Lab.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Document Type
Presentation
Award
Engineering Oral Session - First Place
Location
Havener Center, Carver Room
Presentation Date
10 April 2024, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Density Fluctuations Measurements in Supersonic Flows
Havener Center, Carver Room
Turbulence in compressible flows plays a major role in a variety of aerospace applications. However, due to fluctuating thermodynamic quantities, compressible turbulence is challenging to analyze. Of these quantities, density fluctuations are of high importance due to their role in describing turbulence. A method to obtain quantitative measurements of density fluctuations has been developed using the optical technique of shadowgraph imaging. Shadowgraph imaging has frequently been used to obtain qualitative information about density gradients in fluids. However, quantitative application of these methods is much less common. The quantitative shadowgraph method presented here relates the light intensity variations in an image of the flow to the flow’s density and applies statistical techniques to obtain quantitative information about it. Development of this technique allows measurements of compressible turbulence to be performed in the Missouri S&T supersonic wind tunnel.
