Dr. Wen Wu: November 8, 2024 at 12:30 P.M. – ASE Grad Seminar Series
November 1, 2024
Title: Insights on Turbulent Separating Flows
Location: Walker Engineering 320
MS Teams link: Join virtually (Meeting ID: 279 767 406 402; Passcode: dbZKvR)
Affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Mississippi
Abstract: “Separation” is the phenomenon that occurs when a fluid particle is slowed down, cannot follow the shape of the surfaces, but detaches from it, generally creating a region of recirculation. Separation has several negative effects on the aerodynamic drag and sound emission, for instance. Thus, it is critical to predict its occurrence and possibly control it. Despite extensive studies on the wakes of bluff bodies, diffusers, wings, and turbine blades, flow separation remains difficult to predict, even for simple flows like plane turbulent boundary layers. In this talk, findings from numerical investigations of several complex separating flows will be presented. These include cases where separation is either reduced or promoted by surface roughness, a separating flow in a rotating system influenced by the Coriolis force, and a geometry-independent three-dimensional flow separation. These results were obtained by high-fidelity direct numerical simulations or wall-resolved large-eddy simulations, revealing great details of the interactions between motions over a wide range of scales of motion in turbulence. Insights on the quantification and control of flow separation and even the potential of thrust generation through flow separation will be discussed.
Bio: Dr. Wen Wu has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Mississippi (UM) since 2020. Before joining UM, he completed his Ph.D. at Queen’s University, Canada, and conducted postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University. He also served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Center for Turbulence Research at Stanford during the summer of 2022 and 2023. Dr. Wu combines high-fidelity simulations and theoretical analysis for his research, with an emphasis on the multiscale and non-equilibrium aspects of turbulence. His recent research has focused on vortex-dominated flows, flow separation, and surface roughness.