Presented By: Aerospace Engineering
AE585 Graduate Seminar Series - Defying Nature
F. Javier Diez, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Defying Nature: Beyond Bio-Inspired to Combine Flight and Swimming
F. Javier Diez
Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Bio-inspired research is leading the way in the quest to combine full underwater and air navigation capabilities in an autonomous vehicle. But realizing such vehicle is proving elusive. Many swimming and flying mechanisms have been discovered through the study of animal locomotion, but there are few species that combine both. Animal evolution has shown us that, at most, species have mastered one type of locomotion first, and added a secondary locomotion later, highlighting that in nature one mechanism dominates over the other. For instance, aquatic birds can fly for long periods of time, but swim underwater for only sort periods, and flying fish can swim continuously but cannot remain airborne for extend times. This suggests that an alternative beyond bio-inspired is needed. As part of this work we built and tested the first vehicle that operates in air and underwater with rapid transition between both mediums, fruit of three main advances. The first combines in a vehicle design the main locomotion attributes from both birds and fish. The second is the discovery of a seamless air/underwater transition mechanism. This involves a dual propeller configuration that generates lift continuously during the transition. The third is the design of an efficient multi-medium propulsion system for air and underwater. The result is a disruptive technology with many civil and military applications including air/water search and rescue, inspection and repair of structures (ships, piers, oil platforms), survey for erosion, oil spills and pollution dispersion, and extreme weather operation among others.
About the speaker...
Professor F. Javier Diez is the head of the Applied Fluids Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rutgers University. He is an author of over 100 journal articles, conference papers, and technical publications, and has given over 20 invited lectures, in the areas of flow control, experimental fluids, and unmanned vehicles. He has also served as a reviewer of multiple journals and government evaluation panels. Dr. Diez’s primary research interests lie in the areas of aerodynamics and propulsion. These include UAV/UUV platform development, fluidic sensors and actuators, active flow control, turbulent flows, laser flow diagnostics and multiphase flows, all of which have important and diverse applications. His research has been funded by industry and government agencies such as NSF, ONR, NASA, FAA, DARPA, and AFOSR among others.
Dr. Diez is also the CEO/founder of SubUAS LLC, that commercializes the Naviator, (a hybrid air/underwater drone) for both military and commercial applications.
Education
Saint Louis University, Aerospace Engineering, B.S. 1995
Saint Louis University, Aerospace Engineering, M.S. 1997
University of Michigan, Aerospace Engineering, Ph.D. 2002
University of Michigan, Experimental Fluids Topics, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2/2002-7/2005
F. Javier Diez
Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Bio-inspired research is leading the way in the quest to combine full underwater and air navigation capabilities in an autonomous vehicle. But realizing such vehicle is proving elusive. Many swimming and flying mechanisms have been discovered through the study of animal locomotion, but there are few species that combine both. Animal evolution has shown us that, at most, species have mastered one type of locomotion first, and added a secondary locomotion later, highlighting that in nature one mechanism dominates over the other. For instance, aquatic birds can fly for long periods of time, but swim underwater for only sort periods, and flying fish can swim continuously but cannot remain airborne for extend times. This suggests that an alternative beyond bio-inspired is needed. As part of this work we built and tested the first vehicle that operates in air and underwater with rapid transition between both mediums, fruit of three main advances. The first combines in a vehicle design the main locomotion attributes from both birds and fish. The second is the discovery of a seamless air/underwater transition mechanism. This involves a dual propeller configuration that generates lift continuously during the transition. The third is the design of an efficient multi-medium propulsion system for air and underwater. The result is a disruptive technology with many civil and military applications including air/water search and rescue, inspection and repair of structures (ships, piers, oil platforms), survey for erosion, oil spills and pollution dispersion, and extreme weather operation among others.
About the speaker...
Professor F. Javier Diez is the head of the Applied Fluids Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rutgers University. He is an author of over 100 journal articles, conference papers, and technical publications, and has given over 20 invited lectures, in the areas of flow control, experimental fluids, and unmanned vehicles. He has also served as a reviewer of multiple journals and government evaluation panels. Dr. Diez’s primary research interests lie in the areas of aerodynamics and propulsion. These include UAV/UUV platform development, fluidic sensors and actuators, active flow control, turbulent flows, laser flow diagnostics and multiphase flows, all of which have important and diverse applications. His research has been funded by industry and government agencies such as NSF, ONR, NASA, FAA, DARPA, and AFOSR among others.
Dr. Diez is also the CEO/founder of SubUAS LLC, that commercializes the Naviator, (a hybrid air/underwater drone) for both military and commercial applications.
Education
Saint Louis University, Aerospace Engineering, B.S. 1995
Saint Louis University, Aerospace Engineering, M.S. 1997
University of Michigan, Aerospace Engineering, Ph.D. 2002
University of Michigan, Experimental Fluids Topics, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2/2002-7/2005
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