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Saksham Gakhar

    Saksham Gakhar

    Underwater bedforms in a flow have been shown to cast free-surface signatures that carry important information about these bedforms thus allowing for a novel non-intrusive methodology for bedform i...
    This paper reports a mathematical model for predicting the fluid and heat flow characteristics of a Z-shaped corrugated perforated plate heat sink. Experiments were carried out to validate overall pressure drop as well as heat transfer... more
    This paper reports a mathematical model for predicting the fluid and heat flow characteristics of a Z-shaped corrugated perforated plate heat sink. Experiments were carried out to validate overall pressure drop as well as heat transfer predictions. A two-pronged approach was undertaken to design a corrugated perforated fin geometry: (a) macroscopic packaging, where the flow is distributed into conduits before being fed into perforated plates, and (b) microscopic design, where the pores are sized to maximize heat dissipation. A methodology typically used for predicting flow maldistribution is extended for packaging porous perforated plates in the macroscopic approach. An illustrative study is carried that estimates the optimum number of porous perforated plate fins that can be packaged within a given volume under fixed pressure drop constraint. In the microscopic approach, an order of magnitude analysis was carried out to decide the optimum diameter to maximize the heat transfer rate...
    Abstract Laboratory experiments were carried out in an open-channel recirculating water flume for different bottom treatments and a variety of flow conditions. We acquired overhead images of the free surface downstream of the bottom... more
    Abstract Laboratory experiments were carried out in an open-channel recirculating water flume for different bottom treatments and a variety of flow conditions. We acquired overhead images of the free surface downstream of the bottom features and used these to train convolutional neural network based classifiers. Using these classifiers, we demonstrate that information acquired at the surface alone can be used to differentiate between the physical features that lie at the bottom boundary. We show that although external physical processes, such as winds, can modulate the free surface, they do not necessarily eliminate the free-surface signature of the submerged bottom features. Our results provide strong motivation for future studies that probe the physical processes responsible for transporting information about the bottom of the flow to the surface.
    Results are presented from a laboratory study on the free-surface signal generated over an array of submerged circular cylinders, representative of submerged aquatic vegetation. We aim to understand whether aquatic ecosystems generate a... more
    Results are presented from a laboratory study on the free-surface signal generated over an array of submerged circular cylinders, representative of submerged aquatic vegetation. We aim to understand whether aquatic ecosystems generate a surface signature that is indicative of both what is beneath the water surface as well as how it is altering the flow. A shear layer forms over the canopy, generating coherent vortex structures which eventually manifest in the free-surface slope field. We connect the vortex properties measured at the surface with measurements of the bulk flow, and show that correlations between these quantities are adequate to create a parameterized model in which the interior velocity profile can be predicted solely from measurements taken at the free surface. Experimental surface observations yield a Strouhal number that is twice the most amplified mode predicted by linear stability theory, suggesting that vortices may evolve between generation at the canopy height...
    Underwater bedforms in a flow have been shown to cast free-surface signatures that carry important information about these bedforms thus allowing for a novel non-intrusive methodology for bedform i...