This award is to support a cooperative research by Dr. Ahmed Naguib, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing, Michigan and Dr. Abdel-Aziz Abul-Fotoh, National Research Center (NRC), Cairo, Egypt. They plan to undertake an experimental investigation of the characteristics of the flow structures (vortices) in a semi-confined jet flow impinging on an oscillating plate, with particular focus on the aerodynamic loading (mean and oscillating surface pressure) on the impingement plate. The study is motivated by the significance of impinging jets for potential applications relevant to agriculture and textile industry in both countries. The project will involve the design and construction of a jet facility at NRC, development of the impingement plate, integrated with microphone arrays for measuring the unsteady surface pressure at MSU, training of the Egyptian scientists on the use of the microphone array and other research instrumentation at MSU, integration of all instrumentation into the experimental apparatus, and taking measurements. Initially, the spatio-temporal signature of the surface pressure acquired simultaneously with flow-velocity data will be used for investigating the flow without oscillation of the impingement plate. The oscillating-plate case will be examined during the latter part of the project. Junior scientists will conduct all research activities under the supervision of the PI's.
Intellectual Merit: This work is expected to result in scientific contribution to fluid dynamics research. In particular, this study pioneers by including an array of microphones for resolving the wall-pressure field in space and time in an impinging jet. It also involves externally imposed oscillation of the impingement plate. The PI and the Egyptian collaborator possess the expertise necessary to ensure the success of this project, and the laboratory equipment and facilities required to conduct the investigation are either available at MSU and NRC or will be acquired using funding from this project.
Broader Impact: The potential benefits of the proposed work include: 1. training of US and Egyptian junior scientists; 2. helping expand a research infrastructure in this field at NRC; 3. initiation of an international research partnership between a US university and a major Egyptian research organization; 4. benefiting a wide range of engineering applications including textile, steel and electronics industries in the two countries.
This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.
