Rajat Mittal
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Engineering
When air or water moves past a surface, the surface's shape and texture determine how much drag it causes and how the flow swirls. Both projects use large computer simulations to understand flows over complex surfaces.
- Fields
Engineering
Physics
Biology
- Topics
fluid mechanics
turbulence
surface roughness
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Jun 2029
What they work on
- Extend the Force Partitioning Method, which splits drag into vortex, viscous and shear contributions, to turbulent flow over smooth, transitionally rough, fully rough and patchy walls using direct numerical simulations.
- Identify scaling laws for mean and fluctuating drag on rough walls and build generalized morphology-based drag models, combining simulations with Southampton experiments and roughness databases.
- Model the aerodynamics and structural bending of individual feathers, including porosity, using simulations calibrated with micro-CT imaging, micro-tensile tests and wind-tunnel data.
- Simulate airflow interactions among multiple feathers and the flapping flight of feathered-wing models, using feather kinematics extracted from birds in flight.
More about the research
One focuses on rough engineered surfaces such as ship hulls and pipelines. The other focuses on the feathered wings of flapping birds.
Why it matters
More reliable drag predictions for rough surfaces could cut fuel use in shipping and improve pipeline and turbomachinery efficiency and atmospheric flow forecasting. Understanding feathered wings could guide lighter, quieter and more efficient drones and improve knowledge of flow over porous surfaces in aeronautics and biomedicine.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Leonardo Chamorro
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL·Engineering
Test whether matching rotor thrust and induced power coefficient reproduces vortex wake turbulence and stability across scales, using inverse blade design and Large Eddy Simulation with actuator lines.
Danesh Tafti
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, VA·Engineering
Develop 3D assessment metrics covering technical feasibility, economic viability and socio-environmental acceptability to screen ocean wave energy converter concepts and down-select 2–3 leads for remote coastal communities.
Samik Bhattacharya
University of Central Florida, FL·Engineering
Measure how rapid pitch-up motions of the wing and tail change lift and drag on 3D-printed bird models near the ground, using a force sensor to capture instantaneous forces during simulated takeoff and landing.
The school
Johns Hopkins University: 100 labs on PI Pages, $4.1B a year on research, 622 research doctorates a year.
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