Separation Control using Resonant Metamateirals

This talk presents our recent efforts in designing control intervention strategies to mitigate the negative effects of flow separation in massively separated flows, using resonant metamaterials. We work with the prototype geometry of a turbulent flow over a backward facing step (BFS) and seek to reduce the size of a separation bubble and intensity of turbulent fluctuations in the separated shear layer. The effort involves three integrated thrusts: Particle Image Velocimetry experiments of the BFS model, Direct Numerical Simulations of the matching computational prototype, and metamaterial design to yield the frequency response characteristics to mitigate the dominant unstable modes as identified from the fluid flow experiments and simulations. We conclude by presenting the roadmap for further investigations of fluid-metamaterial interactions in a fully coupled manner.