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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FLOWLASER (Manipulation of Flow Characteristics Using Laser Energy Deposition)

Teaser

Summary

The idea of travelling safely from London to New York under three hours or even â€˜access to spaceâ€™ may sound appealing to many people, whether they are travelling for business or tourism. The high-speed civil transports will be able to achieve such flights; however, travelling at high speeds entails overcoming adverse effects, such as regions of high heat transfer and surface pressures, unsteady shock waves, together with the requirement of drag reduction. One method of flow and flight control is laser-based energy addition.
The project aims to reduce drag and weight of high-speed vehicles. As a result of the reduced fuel consumption, the vehicles can be more environmental friendly.
The overall objectives are:
1) Make significant advances and novel contributions in the state of the art by providing new physical insight of the induced interactions, to rectify their adverse effects by employing laser-based deposition systems;
2) Gain the experience, knowledge, and credibility to establish the Fellow as a world class engineer and researcher.
The proposed study utilised laser-based deposition systems for the development of:
a) Mitigation schemes for the avoidance or modification of localised regions of high heat transfer and surface pressure of high-speed vehicles;
b) Methods for controlling local flow field characteristics and the location of shocks e.g., in engine inlets, and wing/body surface.
This fellowship has provided Dr Ukai with support and training in all scientific and engineering aspects concerning the development, realization, characterization, modelling and simulation of laser-based energy deposition systems for flow and flight control.

Work performed

Task 1: Literature survey, design and manufacture of models have been conducted. The static environmental chamber has been designed and manufactured, and the experiments have been performed;
Task 2: Numerical model was developed to allow the simulation of the experiments in Task 1, and the numerical results were compared with the experimental results;
Task 3: For the wind tunnel experiments, literature survey, design of models have been conducted;
Task 4: A state-of-the-art facility, which can evaluate engine performance and high-speed flow in planetary environments to enable the further investigation related to laser energy deposition in space applications. The procurement process of manufacturing has been conducted.
- Overview of research results:
1) Flow structure induced by laser energy deposition in quiescent gas: laser energy was deposited in suspended liquid particles. The effects of liquid impurity on laser-induced gas breakdown were experimentally and numerically investigated. The experimental results showed that laser beam-particle impingement leads to several blast waves that improve laser energy efficiency and provide the large hot plume. It was expected that the large hot plume alters drag reduction efficiency.
2) Flow control by laser energy deposition in a high speed flow: laser beam was focused on a flat plate in a high speed flow with various Reynolds numbers. A hemispherical laser-induced blast wave was generated on the flat plate. The geometrical pattern generated due to the interaction between an oblique shock induced by laser energy deposition and the disturbed boundary layer remained similar to itself as it grew with time as well as at different local Reynolds numbers.
- The 22nd International Shock Interaction Symposium took place in Glasgow. Dr Ukai was member of the organizing committee and in charge of the technical sessions related to energy deposition.
- Publications/presentations in high quality international open access journals, conferences and workshops are being pursued enthusiastically.
- He developed a project web site that is used as a repository for all the publications, talks, software and experimental data that are outputs of the project during its lifetime and beyond. The website is currently being integrated.
- As a result of the new opportunities arose, he is discussing with Prof Kontis the potential of joined EU-Japan proposal.
- Collaboration activities: Prof Olga (Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia) joined our research activities related to laser energy deposition. Mr Tamba (3rd year Ph.D. student from Nagoya University, Japan) spent 6 months at the University of Glasgow to promote joined research activities on the topic under investigation.
- Industrial collaboration and engagement: We had meetings with Dr Shaphar (Rolls-Royce) where Dr Ukai presented his results at workshops in Derby, UK; Dr Ukai and Prof Kontis met with MBDA and Airbus Group on two occasions. Dr Ukai and Prof Kontis contributed to the construction of new facility for a space mission proposed by ESTEC/ESA.
- Together with the PDRAs and graduate students, he gave presentations in UoG open days.
- Training: Scientific training has been provided to develop skills in scientific strategy, management and mentoring, as well as dissemination; Dr Ukai has been actively engaging in the supervision of UoG and Ph.D. students; He has been in charge of the set-up of number of facilities and associated diagnostics and heavily involved in the running of the research group; UoG provided him with early career development program: Ph.D. supervision and research collaboration engagement as well as laser safety training.

Final results

This Fellowship has given Dr Ukai the opportunity to build on his existing technical skills and gained comprehensive mastery in the field of energy deposition systems, flow control and advanced flow diagnostics. The technological nature of research project has attracted the interest of industrial partners and academic collaborators. One of the objectives of this investigation was to identify further groups in society, which may benefit from the findings of this study. The energy sector industries and consultancies have been approached for employing the developed technologies. He was also member of the local organizing committee of the 22nd International Shock Interaction Symposium. As part of the Symposium world-leading experts have been invited to provide feedback and advice, to promote dissemination, exploitation and knowledge transfer activities, and to facilitate collaborations and future exchanges.
Impact is in the design, development and deployment of laser-based flight and flow control systems to high-speed transports and â€˜access to spaceâ€™ vehicles with the following important technology breakthroughs: 1) control of external shock structures to reduce drag, and hence specific fuel consumption and emissions; 2) pressure and heat loads reduction to improve structural integrity and aerodynamic performance; 3) optimization of engine inlet pressures, control of engine internal shocks and jet mixing, and exhaust flow structures to improve engine performance, weight, emissions and noise characteristics. The Fellowship has contributed to the following missions: travelling safely from London to New York under three hours and â€˜access to spaceâ€™ for business or tourism.
The project outcome has helped industrial end-users in the development of future high-speed vehicles, whilst helping in the optimisation and design of the next generation of lighter, more efficient, greener, quieter, and cheaper aircrafts. The aforementioned benefits to each of these organisations have led to the investment in and creation of new technology, bringing with it the opportunity for new jobs and wealth creation.