Dr. Victor Maldonado received a grant from the Office of Naval Research for his research in hydro-acoustic mechanisms.

Dr. Victor Maldonado received a grant from the Office of Naval Research for his research in hydro-acoustic mechanisms and how they can be enhanced by bioinspired micropillars. The desire for cross-domain vehicles is challenged by the difference in viscous force that exists when operating in both sea and air. This projects seeks to gain new understanding of the momentum and energy transfer modes of bioinspired micropillar coatings on underwater, low-frequency flapping blades, and high-frequency rotating blades for aerial use. These blade movement methods will be tested with a micropillar surface, which is the subject of an investigation for drag reduction in quasi-steady two-dimensional flow and ongoing investigation in three-dimensional vortex dominated rotor flows. A major unique aspect of the project is the proposed water tunnel/tank flow and acoustic experiments at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport, and preliminary results from testing have already shown up to 10% electric power reduction.