Structure and Control of the Wall Region in a Turbulent Boundary Layer

Abstract

Abstract : In the past decade, our group at Cornell has developed a new approach to turbulent flows. This approach uses low dimensional dynamical models to better understand the time dependent behavior of large scale, or energy dominated, features in turbulent and other complex flows. We have applied our approach to the problem of controlling the turbulent boundary layer, with substantial progress. Our objectives as we continue with this effort are: (1) To explore further the control of the boundary layer in turbulent channel flow, refining the control algorithm and bringing more information from the low-dimensional models to bear on the problems of state estimation and control. (2) To make an extensive evaluation of the potential of compliant surfaces for turbulent drag reduction through the use of low-dimensional models and direct simulations of turbulent flow over a compliant surface.