MetaWing · Metamaterials for Laminar Flow Control on a Wing

Achieving extensive laminar flow can reduce aircraft drag by up to 15%, offering breakthrough potential for curbing polluting emissions in aviation and other energy-intensive sectors. To achieve this, wave-like flow instabilities growing in laminar boundary layers need to be controlled and attenuated, to delay transition from laminar to turbulent flow. However, their complex, multi-scale, and broadband nature makes these instabilities extremely challenging to control.In MetaWing I propose a new disruptive concept for flow control, first born in classical wave physics: Metamaterials. These are engineered composite structures, invoking dispersive wave phenomena to gain exotic properties that go beyond what is considered possible in Nature. The main such property I want to explore is the bandgap, a range in which waves are suppressed when interacting with the Metamaterial. My team and I have recently found key evidence of dispersive wave suppression in boundary layers. However, wave-like flow instabilities have key differences from classical waves, forming a new regime of dispersive wave interactions. Thus, the nature of bandgaps in boundary layer flows remains unclear and unexplored. I aim to reveal and understand the formation of bandgaps in transitional fluid flows and use them to suppress wave-like boundary layer instabilities, thus delaying laminar-turbulent transition. To achieve this, I propose the first holistic intersection of Metamaterials and Laminar Flow Control using theory, numerical simulations, novel fabrication methods and state-of-art experimental measurements. The combined results will uncover the complex dynamic behaviour of flow instabilities under dispersive interaction with Metamaterials and will help us understand and fully exploit bandgap mechanisms in transitional flows. MetaWing will create a new class of Metamaterials for flow control and pave the way to ultra-low drag wings for the next generation of emission-free aviation.