Aerospace Engineering assistant professor studies flow-induced vibrations of 3D structures
Aerospace Engineering
By Dustin Duncan
Nek Sharan, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, seeks to understand how 3D geometries vibrate when exposed to fluid flows.
Through his $300,000 National Science Foundation project, “Three-dimensional Geometry Effects on Flow-induced Vibrations,” Sharan will conduct simulations to investigate 3D structural vibrations, identify links between shapes and vibration behaviors and develop methods to modify shapes for vibration control.
“There is growing interest in drones delivering packages in urban areas, where environments are often chaotic due to buildings, cars and other disturbances,” Sharan said. “These aerial vehicles must withstand severe winds and gusts. So, what geometric modifications can enhance their stability and robustness?”
Sharan’s research can improve the design of structures vulnerable to vibration from wind or precipitation and enhance energy harvesting technologies that convert unstable vibrations — such as ocean waves — into electricity.
The groundbreaking aspect of Sharan’s work is a new computational method to accurately simulate flow over moving 3D geometries.
While 2D structures like circular cylinders have been well studied, 3D geometries remain underexplored due to high computational costs and limited simulation accuracy.
“Typically, thousands of processors are needed to run these simulations, often taking days or weeks, making them cost-prohibitive,” Sharan said. “We’ve developed high-order methods that can handle complex geometries at a much lower computational cost.”
Researchers