Flow Control and Turbulence Group

Education

PhD, University of Newcastle, Australia

MSc Eng, Queen’s University, Canada

BSc Eng, Queen’s University, Canada

Professional Experience

2008 – Present Assistant Professor, University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies;

2006 – 2008 Research Associate, Department Aeronautics, Imperial College London, United Kingdom.

Research Interest

My research lies in the field of turbulence and aerodynamics, primarily from an experimental perspective. I am particularly interested in the study of transitional and turbulent flows, as well as the flow structures and instabilities associated with these phenomena. The focus of my research group is to investigate the fundamental flow dynamics of wall-bounded and separated shear layers and how these can be manipulated to improve flow characteristics. In the context of our work, improved flow characteristics can mean a reduction in skin-friction drag, a decrease in noise emission, or an enhancement of mixing in a combustor or heat exchanger. The overarching aim is to develop novel flow control strategies along with the instrumentation and tools required to implement passive and active control techniques in an experimental framework and real life application, such as aircraft.

The work of this group will rely heavily on experimental data obtained in wind tunnels and water channels using a number of state of the art flow diagnostic methods, including hot-wire anemometry and laser based measurement tools (e.g. PIV). Computer simulations will also make up an important part of the work by complementing and enhancing the experimental work. The group will further be involved in the development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for the purpose of flow control.

Research Opportunities

There are a number of opportunities for motivated students to join my research group at the MSc and PhD levels. Students interested to get involved in the dynamic and exciting field of flow control and turbulence research should contact me with their CV and transcripts. More information about the UTIAS admission requirements and application procedures can be found at the following page (link to admission information page of UTIAS).

Sample Publications and Presentations

1. Lavoie P, Djenidi L, Antonia RA (2007) Effects of initial conditions in decaying turbulence generated by passive grids. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 585:395–420.

2. Lavoie P, Avallone G, De Gregorio F, Romano GP, Antonia RA (2007) Spatial resolution of PIV for the measurement of turbulence. Experiments in Fluids 43:39–51.

3. Morrison JF, Lavoie P, Naguib A (2007) Experimental study of transient growth instabilities. Division of Fluid Mechanics Meeting of the American Physical Society, Salt Lake City, Nov 2007.

4. Lavoie P, Rosenblatt F, Iannucci L, Morrison JF (2007) Development of a touch mode pressure transducer using electroactive polymers. Division of Fluid Mechanics Meeting of the American Physical Society, Salt Lake City, Nov 2007.

5. Burattini P, Lavoie P, Agrawal A, Djenidi L, Antonia RA (2006) On the power law of decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence at low Reynolds number. Physical Review E 73, 066304.

6. Burattini P, Lavoie P, Antonia RA (2005) On the normalized turbulent energy dissipation rate. Physics of Fluids 17:098103.

7. Lavoie P, Burattini P, Djenidi L, Antonia RA (2005) Effect of initial conditions on decaying grid turbulence at low R_. Experiments in Fluids. 39(5):865–874.

8. Lavoie P, Pollard A (2003) Uncertainty analysis of four-sensor hot-wires and their data reduction schemes used in the near field of a turbulent jet. Experiments in Fluids 34(3):358–370.