Why did you choose to research
mechanistic turbulence?
I research diverse topics, and mechanistic turbulence
has aerodynamical relevance, moreover, is an exciting model with a great
heritage.
What do you study in this phenomenon?
Turbulence is a highly complex process. I like
simplifying models, until even a high-school
student or a freshman can understand them.
The phrase 'mechanistic model for
turbulence' is catchy but does not necessarily refer to a real model of turbulence. Richardson’s cascade model inspired our approach. In Richardson’s
model big vortices divide into two smaller vortices, and so on, down to the smallest scales where the energy finally
dissipates.
Richardson’s model is intuitive, even if it does not fully capture reality. Our model is a mass-spring-damper model. We think of the masses as the vortices, and their mass can be associated
with the frequency or rotational speed of
the vortices. From the largest mass, with two
springs, two lighter masses hang off, referring to the two different frequency
band, creating a nice binary tree-like structure.
Our publications brought new inspirations. I wrote
these papers with Dezső Bendegúz Bak (that time my PhD student,
currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Fluid
Mechanics). My colleague Dr.
Gergely
Kristóf (Associate Professor) came up with the idea initiated the idea
that the mechanistic turbulence model can be applied as a real turbulence
model. We are now working on
this approach.
Other types of mechanistic turbulence models are the so-called shell models. In the shell models, we reduce and
connect processes going on multiple frequency ranges.
How can these results be applied?
The essential part of turbulence is that there is an energy transfer between the different length and time scales.
Turbulence can be applied to help quenching vibrations, to take the energy out of the system.
But there are examples for the opposite: to hold as much vibration in the system as possible. In a bullet-proof vest, the impact of
energy should be dispersed very quickly. Finally, we can design
better systems if we understand the energy flow between the components of the system.
What else do you study?
At Cornell University, which I attended for PhD
studies, and at the beginning of my post-doc period, I was part of the team (lead by Professor Raffaello D’Andrea) dealing with robot soccer. Creation of a
team of soccer-playing robots requires the cooperation of
several fields, IT, mechanical and electric engineering. I was the one
responsible for trajectory generation, namely how a robot can get from one point to another as fast
and efficiently as possible. In the small-sized
league of RoboCup, where robots were playing on table tennis sized field, Cornell did very well, winning two world
championships while I was there.
At
Texas A&M we had projects with drones as well and also built a helicopter, which we
planned to use for autonomous navigation. We are now applied for grants to control drone fleets, and use
them as a sensor network, for example, to detect forest fires, map noise
sources. The stability of the fleet depends on
the
communication of the drones. Such a system is also similar to
mechanical systems, even though the latter communicate with springs or through the flexibility of materials. We also tested drones in a wind tunnel.
The so-called multi-agent problem also came up in
connection with drones. Its classical version, the Travelling Salesman Problem
is about how a travelling salesman can do the shortest route between given
addresses. We examine its refined version, how drone delivery services can perform deliveries for multiple addresses,
on the shortest route, and with the lowest energy usage.
My primary research topic is non-linear dynamics,
which we also use for solving aerodynamical problems, as the vibration of plane
wings, and even virus spreading models. We also use real-world data. I started to
analyse the spreading of pollutants at the Department of Fluid Mechanics, and we have already published some articles
examining turbulent structures.
What are your plans?
I consider research as a joyful activity, and my aim
is that my research group should also enjoy research
as much as I do. It is also a pleasure to work with
excellent colleagues and students. Generally, I like to deal with multiple problems at
the same time. I already have a dozen or even more research topics. I bring
some from the past, but I gladly embrace new challenges as well.
László Benesóczky
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