Research Projects

Project DRIFT (Drag Reducing Ionized Flow Technology) aims to improve aerodynamic characteristics by ionizing the air that flows over an aircraft’s wing.

As a fundamental component in the Aerospace industry, aerodynamic performance and efficiency is the leading contributor to innovation and development. Between the commercial, private, and military sectors of aerospace, a wide array of research has been dedicated to improving aircraft performance for optimization in areas such as fuel consumption, range, and power.

To improve aerodynamics, viscous skin friction and resulting drag will be reduced via the effects of corona discharge, an electrically induced phenomenon that alters the properties of the medium in which it resides. The corona discharge will create a flow with unique ionized properties that may lead to the ability to control aerodynamic characteristics. Similar projects have been pursued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as several other reputable organizations. The available documentation of these projects will serve as an initial research base for this project.

The impacts of various methods of corona discharge induction will be evaluated over a variety of subsonic flow conditions. By inspecting the effects caused by variations in parameters, it will be attempted through an iterative design cycle to optimize the method by which corona discharge is produced. Project DRIFT’s primary deliverable is to develop a proof of concept model that demonstrates the impact of particle ionization in varying subsonic regimes over an airfoil. If successful, this drag reduction technique could be utilized by business, commercial, and military aircraft.