ERC Starting Grant for Marios Kotsonis

Marios Kotsonis 
Aerodynamics, Wind Energy, Flight Performance & Propulsion | Faculty of Aerospace Engineering
Research: Spatio-temporal measurement and plasma-based control of crossflow instabilities for drag reduction

GlowWing

Anyone who has ever purchased carbon offsets for a flight knows that plane travel contributes a considerable amount of pollution into the air. Improving the efficiency of planes can reduce emissions and fuel consumption. One under-studied area is the development of crossflow (CF) instabilities.

The research groups, led by Marios Kotsonis, have achieved two prior breakthrough: the first spatio-temporal measurement and first plasma flow control of crossflow instabilities. For this ERC project the researchers will use these concepts to conduct a full spatio-temporal characterisation and modelling of CF instabilities. They also want to develop a novel holistic plasma flow control system that can successfully delay transition on swept wings. The delay of laminar-turbulent flow transition on aircraft wings can potentially reduce aerodynamic drag up to 15%. The main cause of laminar-turbulent transition on commonly used swept wings is the development of CF.