Numerical, theoretical and experimental study of the effect of a gap on the boundary layer transition

• Grant number: 25/04062-8
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Regular Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering - Aerodynamics
• Principal Investigator: Marcello Augusto Faraco de Medeiros
• Grantee: Marcello Augusto Faraco de Medeiros
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Carlos

Abstract

This project aims to improve the experimental and computational infrastructure of the Ae-roacoustics, Transition, and Turbulence Group (GATT) to carry out better and more completeexperiments and theoretical/numerical studies than those recently carried out by the group. Thisproposal deals with the transition to turbulence in the boundary layer. This topic could benefitthe aircraft's drag reduction and is also a fundamental research topic. The proponent rese-arch group has experience in this area, having received funding from FAPESP, CNPq, Boeing,AFOSR (for almost 20 years), and, more recently, Israel. The group brings together experimen-tal and numerical/theoretical activities and considers this to be an important differentiator. Thegroup has been researching the impact that two-dimensional gaps have on the transition, havingrecently completed a FAPESP project. This project, as well as other initiatives by the group, in-dicated important points in the parametric space that could not be investigated with the previousexperimental model. Given this, this project aims to adapt the experimental model to allow theparametric space covered to be extended. In addition, improvements in the instrumentation andexperimental procedures were recognized as a way to improve the quality of the experiments.Finally, there is computational work being done by the group on this subject, including super-sonic flow. The group has remote access to several computers but needs more storage space.With this project, we hope to better understand 3 of the 4 regimes of gap impact on boundarylayer transition identified in the previous FAPESP project. In addition, the aim is to explore the4th transition regime, asymmetric gaps, and improvements in the controlled reproduction of thenatural transition. Ultimately, the project includes a first step into the supersonic regime. (AU)