Principal Investigator Dick Yue
Project Website http://mit.edu/vfrl/www/
The Vortical Flow Research Lab (VFRL) is a research lab committed to the study of all manners of flows found in nature. This lab is a part of the Department of Ocean Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. Studies include large-eddy simulations, fish hydromechanics and wave-wave and wave-body interactions.
Research Areas include: (1) Nonlinear mechanics of wave-wave and wave-body interactions * Dynamics of steep and breaking waves * Extreme loads and large motions of ships and offshore platforms * Reconstruction, assimilation and prediction of nonlinear wavefield evolutions including effects of winds and currents * Hydrodynamics of rogue waves * Dynamics of wave-bottom interactions, resonant wave reflection/ refraction and wave localization * Nonlinear ship waves and ambient ship-wave interactions * Nonlinear forces and control of near-surface submarines * Water-entry and impact dynamics * Stability of standing waves
(2) Free-surface vortical and turbulent flows * Mechanics of the coupled air-sea boundary layers * Interaction of vortices with a free surface * Structures and mechanisms of free surface turbulence * Near-surface turbulent diffusion and transport of dissolved substances * Viscous and turbulent flows around ship hulls * Dynamics of spray, jets, and wave breaking * Surfactant hydrodynamics; resonant interaction of dilatational (surfactant) and transverse waves * DNS, LES and RANS modeling of steep breaking waves
(3) Unsteady propulsion and hydrodynamics of fish like swimming * Vorticity control * Fish propulsion * Effect of moving boundaries on turbulent and separated flow * Fluid mechanics of flapping foils
(4) Education in marine hydrodynamics * Custom and dynamic delivery of web-based materials * Web-based laboratory, simulations and teaching modules