New England Fluid-Structure Interactions (NEFSI) Symposium 
NEΦΣH  
April 24, 2025

Many pioneering research activities on fluid-structure interactions and closely related fields, particularly fluid mechanics and soft matter, are being conducted in laboratories within the New England region. NEFSI aims at bringing these scientists together on an annual basis in a two-day meeting hosted by one of the Universities in the New England region to enable engaged interactions among these laboratories and promote cutting edge collaborative research. Besides bringing the PIs together, the format of the meeting (with short talks and interactive poster sessions) is designed such that participation of graduate students is streamlined. This will enable students to grow their scientific network and be exposed to ongoing research in other laboratories or research groups with similar general directions. The aim of the meeting is to enable free of charge participation for graduate students (with no registration fee and no lodging costs for up to two graduate students per laboratory or research group) through fundraising efforts. This will minimize the financial burden on the PIs for sending their students to this meeting and therefore enabling maximum participation by students as well as the PIs.

The first NEFSI is planned for April 24 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Organizers:
Yahya Modarres-Sadeghi, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Luca Caracoglia, Northeastern University
Jason Dahl, University of Rhode Islands

Agenda

10:00am REGISTRATION

10:20am OPENING REMARKS

Yahya Modarres-Sadeghi, Chair NEFSI 2025, University of Massachusetts

10:25am SESSION 1 (moderator: Jason Dahl, University of Rhode Island)

10:25am Model Updating for Improved Wake Prediction: Balancing Fidelity and Computational Cost in Offshore Wind Farms, Fabrizio Di Cioccio*, S. Shid-Moosavi, R. Haghi, B. Moaveni, E. M. Tronci, S. Liberatore, E. Hines (Tufts University, Northeastern University)

10:38am Analysis of Extreme Design Wave Load Estimations on a Fixed Monopile Using CFD and Analytical Approaches, Jacob Fontaine*, M. Reza Hashemi, E. Hines (University of Rhode Island)

10:51am Drag Reduction Mechanisms in Collective Swimming Revealed by a Robotic Fish Swimming with a Live School, Yu Pan*, G. V. Lauder (Harvard University)

11:04am Investigating the Collective Dynamics of Free-Oscillating Cylinders in Various Configurations and Their Practical Implications, Daniela Caraeni*, Y. Modarres-Sadeghi (UMass)

11:17am A Method for Identifying the Empirical Wagner Lift Model of a Pitching Airfoil, Yuhui Qin*, L. Caracoglia (Northeastern University)

11:30am A high order 3D multiresolution immersed interface flow solver for flow-body interactions, Xinjie Ji *, Wim M. van Rees (MIT)

11:43am LUNCH and NEFSI 2025 GROUP PICTURE

13:30pm SESSION 2 (moderator: Jason Dahl, University of Rhode Island)

1:30pm Data-driven methods for learning the shape-loading operator of heaving flexible foils, Win van Rees*, Vincent Heynderickx and Hamid Karbasian (MIT)

1:43pm Kirigami Sheets in Non-Uniform Incoming Flow, Adrian Carleton*, Yahya Modarres-Sadeghi (UMass)

1:56pm Multi-Frequency Vortex-Induced Vibrations of Tapered Cylinders, Andreas Mentzelopoulos*, Dixia Fan, Themistoklis Sapsis，Michael Triantafyllou (MIT)

2:09pm Debris-Sensitivity Fragility Analysis of a RC Bridge under High-Velocity Flood Loading, Alok Sharma*, W. Zhang (University of Connecticut)

2:22pm Fluid-Structure Interactions during Water Entry of a Projectile on a Soft Floating Membrane, Lei Yi*, V. Mathai (UMass)

2:35pm The Influence of External Shear on Active Fluid in Multiple Confinement Geometries Joshua H. Dickie*, T. Weng, Y.-C. Chen, Y. He, S. Saxena, R. A. Pelcovits, T. R. Powers, K.-T. Wu (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

2:48pm BREAK and POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Active Wake Control of a Periodically Rotating Cylinder in Flow Sudhansh Tanneru*, Y. Modarres-Sadeghi (UMass)

Bridging Social Vulnerability and Structural Livability: A Predictive Model for Post-Disaster Housing Condition Assessment, Zhiqing Li*, W. Hughes, W. Zhang (University of Connecticut)

Viscoelasticity Enhances Galloping of Flexibly Mounted Square Prism, Han Gong*, Umang N. Patel, Jonathan P. Rothstein and Yahya Modarres-Sadeghi (UMass)

Feasibility Assessment of a Torsional Flutter-Based Wind Energy Harvester: A Preliminary Wind Tunnel Investigation, Tuan-Kiet La*, L. Caracoglia (Northeastern University)

Fluid-Structure Interactions of Vertical Tower Structures Subjected to Downburst Wind Loads by Artificial Neural Network Surrogate Modeling: Preliminary Results, Matteo Polucci*, L. Caracoglia, F. Petrini (Northeastern University)

Measurement of Flow Instability Control with Acoustic Metamaterials, Jensen McTighe*, J. Dahl (University of Rhode Island)

Mechanisms of Dissimilarity in Turbulent Transport of Momentum and Heat in the Roughness Sublayer, Saguta Tarannum*, K. Ghannam (Northeastern University)

4:00pm SESSION 3 (moderator: Luca Caracoglia, Northeastern University)

4:00pm Modeling and Wind Tunnel Tests of a Super-Tall Tower Structure equipped with External Guywire Support, Lei Zhang*, L. Caracoglia (Northeastern University)

4:13pm Studying bluff body flows through Particle Image Velocimetry, Theo Kaeufe *, David Barrett， Michael S. Triantafyllou (MIT)

4:26pm Investigating the Impact of Wake-Induced Turbulence on Tower Fatigue Accumulation in the Block Island Wind Farm, Sina Shid-Moosavi*, F. DiCioccio, R.Haghi, E. M. Tronci, B. Moaveni, S. Liberatore, E. Hines (Northeastern University, Tufts University)

4:39pm Characterizing the Role of Motor Dimerization in Activation Energy of Microtubule-kinesin System, Opeoluwa Balogun*, K.T. Wu (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

4:52pm The Suitability of RANS Approaches for Determining Unsteady Hydrokinetic Turbine Loads for Non-uniform Inflows, Yavar Mohammadi*, B. Knight (University of Rhode Island)

5:02pm CLOSING REMARKS

Jason Dahl, co-Chairman NEFSI 2025, University of Rhode Island

5:30pm SOCIAL DINNER