MRI: Development of a hyper-sensed environmentally controlled wind tunnel

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

1626424 - Riffell This Major Research Instrumentation Award will support the development of a wind tunnel system instrumented with multiple sensor types that allow feedback from and control of the environment within the tunnel, thereby allowing detailed examination of physical, chemical, and biological processes in a conventional laboratory environment. Located at the University of Washington, this system will enable critical research advances in environmental flow control and sensory neuroscience, as both fields share deep connections involving the fusion of uncertain data for real-time control in a rich sensory environment. The ability to characterize and control highly dynamic processes that occur over short time are increasingly important in a number of research efforts. The integration of multiple sensor information types (chemical, flow, motion) for environmental control will enable advances in sensory neuroscience - where neural systems rapidly process information to affect motor decisions remains a fundamental open problem - and advances in flow control and robotics. Work enabled by this instrument has significant research and commercialization potential, resulting in novel technology and processes to integrate multiple sensor streams into effective control algorithms; for instance, the acquired knowledge and experience will impact robotics and semiautonomous systems for search and rescue, agricultural inspection, and environmental monitoring. This program will also have positive impact on the STEM workforce by supporting additional course offerings and laboratory modules in undergraduate and graduate engineering and biology courses, as well as at the K-12 level by providing demonstrations to students that provide real-world examples for creative opportunities in engineering and neuroscience. An increasing need exists for a state of the art, multi-sensing wind tunnel to study fluid dynamic transport phenomena while also allowing for real-time closed loop control of the wind tunnel environment. Such a system can provide novel insights into bio-inspired research, such as flight control in flapping insect flight or the sensory basis of mosquito navigation to human blood-hosts - while also providing advances in basic fluid dynamical processes, including development of energy harvesting devices, like wind turbines. Currently no commercially available solution is available that enables multimodal sensing (chemical, flow, motion) for environmental control. The unique capabilities of the hypersensed wind tunnel include: (1) coupled analysis of mass spectrometric and PIV systems to illuminate the reaction timescales and turbulent transport of pollutants; (2) new data techniques and laser development for PIV to improve analysis capabilities of existing PIV systems; (3) creating virtual environments based on neural and behavioral feedback from free-flying insects; and (4) advancing closed-loop turbulence control for energy extraction that will translate to technologies in drag reduction, lift increase, mixing enhancement, and noise reduction with countless applications. The findings and results about and from this facility will be disseminated to the research community through conferences, journal publications and news agencies.