ME Professor Awarded DOD Grant

The investigation of such flows is vital because nature provides an example of how a flow may be changed substantially through a small change. It is hoped that studying such flows can help engineers better understand how they may manipulate flows such as those over wings and through turbofans.

The collaboration among the three investigators combines their respective talents. Prof. Naughton has a long history of studying jet flows experimentally and using the data to build models of the flows.

Prof. Stanescu is an expert in simulating such flows on a computer and Prof. Heinz brings expertise in the specific area of turbulence simulation. Such collaborations have been recently encouraged by the university, specifically in the area of computational sciences. Computational sciences have been identified as a Area of Distinction in the 2004-2009 Academic Plan.

Color representation of the intensity of turbulent fluctuations in a jet flow: (a) non-swirling jet, and (b) a swirling jet. The jet is exiting from the left hand side of the figure and the highest fluctuations are indicated by red.



ME Professor Awarded DOD Grant
	The investigation of such flows is vital because nature provides an example of how a flow may be changed substantially through a small change. It is hoped that studying such flows can help engineers better understand how they may manipulate flows such as those over wings and through turbofans. The collaboration among the three investigators combines their respective talents. Prof. Naughton has a long history of studying jet flows experimentally and using the data to build models of the flows. Prof. Stanescu is an expert in simulating such flows on a computer and Prof. Heinz brings expertise in the specific area of turbulence simulation. Such collaborations have been recently encouraged by the university, specifically in the area of computational sciences. Computational sciences have been identified as a Area of Distinction in the 2004-2009 Academic Plan. Color representation of the intensity of turbulent fluctuations in a jet flow: (a) non-swirling jet, and (b) a swirling jet. The jet is exiting from the left hand side of the figure and the highest fluctuations are indicated by red.
Professor Jonathan Naughton
Professor Jonathan Naughton of the Department of Mechanical Engineering along with Professors Dan Stanescu and Stefan Heinz of the Department of Mathematics have recently been awarded a grant from the Air Force to investigate turbulent jets. This three year grant was among 27 proposals funded from 108 submitted proposals to the 2005 Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research that is designed to expand research awards in states that have received the least federal support for university research. The research proposed by Naughton, Stanescu, and Heinz considers a combined computational/experimental investigation of the turbulence found in swirling jets. The turbulence in swirling jets is of interest because it differs substantially from that found in non-swirling jets. As shown in the next column, the turbulent fluctuations near the jet exit are much higher in the swirling jet and decay faster than in a corresponding non-swirling jet.