Daniel Chung – University of Melbourne has recently been appointed as an editorial board member of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. To celebrate, Daniel participated in a Q&A with the Journal.
Daniel Chung: I don’t know. Maybe it is the visual beauty of fluid mechanics. Somehow, I am drawn to animations/movies of fluid motion, made by equations/nature. It’s mechanics. I find it fascinating. I was pretty proud of my first turbulent flow simulation as a graduate student. I played that animation many times, and showed it to everyone. Growing as a researcher, I’ve also come to appreciate the art of solving simpler, approximate equations. The art of how to do it is addictive. A bonus is I get to do fluid mechanics with awesome colleagues.
JFM: Among current research, what papers do you most look forward to reading?
DC: When I learn something new. When authors care to take the time to present their research to outsiders. There are some authors who are very good at that. Also, I like papers where I learn something new every time I read it, not just the first time. They are not necessarily easy to read, but they are deeply satisfying. Recently I read Luchini and Charru 2019 On the large difference between Benjamin’s and Hanratty’s formulations of perturbed flow over uneven terrain, vol. 871, pp. 534-561. I think I read it more than 50 times, and I am still learning something new.
JFM: What are you currently working on that you’d like to tell us about?
DC: Currently, I’m working on riblets. Riblets are tiny flow-aligned ribs on a wall that reduce drag in turbulent flow. Riblets are smaller than turbulence, and so, they keep the turbulence out, while allowing laminar-like flow to pass between the ribs, creating a slip effect. It is quite an old topic, but riblets are only now finding application. There are lots of questions related to their practical use and whether we can improve on current designs. The beauty of riblets is that addressing these questions requires advances at the fundamental level. For example, the mechanism or mechanisms that set their optimal size still eludes researchers. But now, we have access to full three-dimensional time-resolved data, so I hope we can do something about it. Understanding riblets also informs us about wall turbulence, its response to interventions, and other drag-altering technologies. I’m also looking at moving wavy surfaces.
JFM: In which areas of Fluid Mechanics research do you expect to see growth in the next ten to twenty years?
DC: Where there is a need. For example, the fluid mechanics of energy and sustainability. Also, health, sports, manufacturing, maybe more. In many of these applications, there are walls or interfaces, where there is often turbulence that transfers momentum, mass and heat. For me, I’m interested to see how we can control or manage what happens there.
In general, there have been many models of fluid phenomena over the years, but only now are we able to routinely access detailed data through simulations and experiments, and so we should look inside the “engine room” of the models to see if all is as hypothesised. As a result of these kinds of investigations, we should see a step change in our predictive capability, not only through model improvements but model extensions and applicability.
JFM: What are some of the challenges facing the field today?
DC: Because fluid mechanics is an old topic, lack of new/innovative ideas is a challenge. (Though I also think that new for the sake of new is not helpful.) It is easy, or perhaps there is pressure, to become complacent and churn out boring research. I read JFM papers from the 1950s and 1960s and I wonder how authors of that time developed their innovative ideas, especially without the computing and experimental facilities of today. Because the field is old, easy progress is not a given. The training of our young researchers should be rigorous and grounded in timeless principles. On the flip side, the field only attracts the most dedicated and passionate researchers. From what I’ve seen, our field regularly attracts the top students.
JFM: What drew you to Journal of Fluid Mechanics, or how will your experience and expertise impact the journal?
DC: I have been reading JFM since my undergraduate days. It is the style, I guess. Of doing fluid mechanics not only properly but also intuitively and creatively (in the style of Taylor, von Karman, Batchelor). Of setting up and formulating the problem, designing the experiment/simulation, and analysis, and generalising. Not many journals approach it this way. The other day I heard Editor in Chief Prof Caulfield used the word “definitive”.
I’m not sure how my experience and expertise will impact the journal, to be honest. I think the dedicated referees have been and will continue to be a main source of impact in terms of journal quality.
JFM: Why should authors publish in JFM?
DC: I think all authors in the field aspire to publish in JFM. It is held in the highest esteem, a recognition of research excellence. A milestone for first-time authors. I think everyone wants that, to do something excellent.
JFM: In your opinion, what are the top 3 papers that were published in JFM last year?
DC: Sorry, I hope nine is OK. In general they are quite innovative or bring new insights.
Journal of Fluid Mechanics is the leading international journal in the field and is essential reading for all those concerned with developments in fluid mechanics. It publishes authoritative articles covering theoretical, computational and experimental investigations of all aspects of the mechanics of fluids. Each issue contains papers on the fundamental aspects of fluid mechanics and its applications to other fields such as aeronautics, astrophysics, biology, chemical and mechanical engineering, hydraulics, materials, meteorology, oceanography, geology, acoustics and combustion.
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