NSF Award
2407388
The project funds the acquisition of an advanced ultrasound platform for collaborative research in fluid and material science at North Dakota State University (NDSU). Traditional optical measurements encounter significant challenges when dealing with internal characteristics through opaque materials, multiphase fluids, and complex wall boundaries. These challenges arise from issues such as reduced light transmissivity, optical distortion, laser glares, and high particle volume fractions. A research ultrasound system will enable quantitative acoustic measurements through opaque fluids and complex material boundaries, addressing challenges faced in optical experiments. The platform extends to its seamless transition into a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) instrument for investigating internal structures and defects in materials. This capability will have a far-reaching impact on a wide spectrum of research collaborations at NDSU, including but not limited to thermal fluid sciences, materials degradation, electrical systems, energy storage, transportation, and biological sciences. The acquisition will also benefit undergraduate and graduate students at NDSU in terms of research training in thermal-fluid measurements, NDE applications, as well as ultrasound technology basics.<br/><br/>The Verasonics system to be acquired serves as a versatile laboratory research platform designed for the acquisition, storage, display, and analysis of various levels of open data. The primary goal is to enable Echo-PIV (echo particle image velocimetry) for opaque fluids and through non-transparent complex wall boundaries, which represents a fundamental challenge for cardiovascular flow experiments. Echo-PIV will enable acoustic access to internal flow data without the need to simultaneously match the material and optical properties of phantom models, a task that is often difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in cardiovascular flow phantoms. This field currently suffers from a notable scarcity of experimental data, including transient flow velocity, wall shear stress, and fluid-structure interaction inside complex geometries. This deficiency hinders progress in validating computational fluid dynamics simulations and the fundamental understanding of cardiovascular flows. The ultrasound will also benefit research in interfacial dynamics, immiscible fluid transport, complex fluids, fluid-structure interaction, and turbulence transition by providing open access to multiple layers of acoustic data, including raw radiofrequency data, brightness-mode images, and movement-mode data. The instrument will enable a brand-new advanced flow diagnostic technique at NDSU and create valuable training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate researchers across departments and colleges. Additionally, the instrument can be seamlessly integrated into undergraduate laboratory courses and outreach activities to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in STEM education.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
