12/14/2023 Debra Levey Larson
Written by Debra Levey Larson
Theresa Saxton-Fox received a grant to purchase equipment, which, when combined with present laboratory capabilities, will allow her to create a one-of-a-kind measurement system for detailed fluid-structure interaction measurements. The equipment will ultimately enable a deeper understanding of the interactions between aerodynamic flows and high-performance metamaterials for aerodynamic control.
Saxton-Fox said, this new laser doppler anemometry system will add to the particle tracking velocimetry system and enhance her current research capabilities.
“The laser doppler system is unique because it is capable of creating time-resolved 3D measurements of fluid motion very near a surface and it is noninvasive so it will allow us to characterize the fluid response to the structural dynamics of a metamaterial without altering the fluid-structure interaction physics,” said Saxton-Fox, an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The equipment will be purchased with funding from a Department of Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, which grants awards to build vital research infrastructure so academic institutions like UIUC can conduct cutting-edge research and nurtures the development of the nation’s next generation of the STEM workforce.
The program is administered through a merit competition by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office, and Office of Naval Research.