GRF1

RGC Ref No. 16214624

RESEARCH GRANTS COUNCIL
General Research Fund
Application Form for 2024/25 (GRF1)
(Please submit your application through RGC Electronic System)

Please ensure you read the Scheme Overview and Guidance Notes (Guidance Notes)
carefully before completing this form. Section 2 of the Guidance Notes mirrors the
application form structure, so will provide you with step-by-step advice on completion.

To safeguard the interests of the researcher and the university, the awardee university
bears the primary responsibility for prevention, detection and investigation of research
misconduct, including but not limited to misuse of funds, data falsification, plagiarism
and double-dipping. The university is strongly encouraged to vet the grant applications
using anti-plagiarism software before submitting them to the RGC.

PART I: SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION

[To be completed by the applicant(s)]

1. Particulars of the Project

(a) Name and Academic Affiliation of Principal Investigator (PI):

Name Post Unit/ Department/ University
Dr WU, Buchen Research Assistant Dept of Mechanical and Aerospace
Professor Engineering/The Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology

(b) Is the PI a new appointee within 2 years of full-time paid appointment to his/her first
substantive position as an academic staff in a university at the time of submission of the
proposal?

Yes No

(c) Number of hours per week to be spent by the PI in the proposal: 15 hour(s)

(d) Title of Project: A high-fidelity numerical framework for simulating moving objects
with superhydrophobic surfaces and its application for biological self-propulsion

(e) Project Duration: 36 Months*

Page 1
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
* for project with duration exceeding 36 months, please explain in Part II (4) why the
proposed research cannot be completed within the normal span of 36 months.

(f) Total Amount Requested: $ 1,488,000

(g) Nature of Application

New Re-submission Continuation

(h) (i) If this is a re-submission or largely similar to a proposal that has been submitted to
but not supported by the UGC/RGC or another funding agency, or a continuation
application, please give details here:

Reference No(s). [for UGC/RGC projects only.]:

Name of funding agency(ies) and the funding programme(s):
Project title(s):

Date(month/year) of application:
Outcome:

(ii) If this application is the same as or similar to the one(s) submitted but not supported
previously, what were the main concerns / suggestions of the reviewers and how have you
changed the project in response? Maximum of 500 words

2. Research Areas and Project Team

(a) Primary Field: Fluid & Code 2403

Secondary Field: Others - Mechanical, Production & Industrial Engineering
(Computational fluid dynamics)& Code 2499

(b) Project Keywords (maximum of 5):

1) Superhydrophobic surfaces
2) Immersed boundary method

Page 2
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
3) Biological self-propulsion
4) Computational fluid dynamics
5) Vortex dynamics

(c) Project Abstract (comprehensible to a non-specialist)

Attached 1 page(s) as follows.

Page 3
ABSTRACT

Superhydrophobic surfaces, inspired by nature's lotus leaf, have gained attention as passive
biomimetic flow control methods. These surfaces can effectively reduce skin-friction drag in
both laminar and turbulent flow conditions. For next-generation autonomous underwater
vehicles (AUVs), the application of superhydrophobic coatings holds great potential for energy
conservation and emission reduction. These surfaces can be described using the Navier slip
model, where local shear rate determines slip velocity. This research proposal addresses the
complex challenges associated with simulating moving objects with superhydrophobic coatings
in fluid environments. Traditional computational fluid dynamics with body-fitted meshes
struggle to model the intricate interactions involving vortex dynamics, surface velocity slip,
solid objects' nonlinear vibrations, and large deformations. To tackle these challenges, we
propose the following novel numerical methodologies.
The proposal introduces a novel implicit boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary
method (IBM) that aims to accurately satisfy the Navier slip boundary condition on irregular
surfaces. This new IBM features full implicitness to precisely enforce the boundary condition
and utilizes interpolation and spreading schemes that do not compromise global accuracy. The
IBM achieves third-order spatial accuracy, preserving overall high-order accuracy.
The proposal couples the novel IBM with a high-order generalized differential quadrature-
lattice boltzmann flux solver (GDQ-LBFS) to construct a high-fidelity numerical framework.
The GDQ-LBFS ensures global spectral accuracy and evolves macroscopic equations directly.
This framework is used to simulate the interaction between the moving superhydrophobic
surfaces with the incompressible flow. It presents a novel approach for simulating the dynamic
responses of solid objects with superhydrophobic coating in fluid environments, crucial for
investigating the effects of superhydrophobic surfaces on natural swimmer propulsion.
In the project's third component, the proposal hybridizes the finite difference method (FDM)
with the novel high-fidelity numerical framework. This hybrid approach accurately captures
the dynamic responses of elastic slender structures, such as fish fins with superhydrophobic
coatings. By modeling large deformations, this component addresses the complex interactions
between flexible biological structures and the surrounding flow.
Moreover, this project plans to deploy the high-fidelity numerical framework to simulate
various physical and engineering problems, such as biological self-propulsion, autonomous
underwater vehicles (AUVs), and ship manufacturing technology. The effects of the
superhydrophobic surfaces on biological self-propulsion will be investigated, shedding light on
how superhydrophobic surfaces impact the hydrodynamic performance of natural swimmers.
The research findings will contribute to the design and optimization of next-generation AUVs
with superhydrophobic coatings, enhancing their energy efficiency and reducing emissions.
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624

(d) PI and Co-Is

(i) Investigator(s) Information:

Please list the details for the PIs and Co-Is involved in the application in the table (add
additional rows if necessary)

Role in Name with Post Unit/ Department/ ORCID iD Current Name

the Title University Member of of UGC
project UGC / RGC / RGC /
(e.g. PI, / Panel / Panel /
Co-I, Committee Commit
etc.) (as at tee
application
deadline)?
(Yes or No)
PI Dr WU, Research Dept of Mechanical 0000- No
Buchen Assistant and Aerospace 0002-
Professor Engineering/The 0098-8659
Hong Kong
University of
Science and
Technology
Co-I(s) Prof FU, Assistant Dept of Mechanical 0000- No
Lin Professor and Aerospace 0001-8979-
Engineering/The 8415
Hong Kong
University of
Science and
Technology

(ii) CV(s) and Publication List for PI and all Co-Is

(iii) Project team and Plan of Collaboration

The PI, Dr. Buchen Wu, and Co-I, Prof. Lin Fu, will jointly manage the entire project,
including hiring postgraduate students with necessary background, monitoring the
budget, and guaranteeing the progress. More specifically, Dr. Wu will design the research
plan, develop the numerical algorithm as well as the corresponding code, present research
findings in internationally recognized conferences and publish research articles in
premier journals. In addition, Dr. Wu and Prof. Fu will supervise students and ensure
qualified journal publications with postgraduate students. Other activities include the
interaction with other groups/institutes and the training of undergraduate students or

Page 4
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
visiting fellows with shared interests.

Page 5
(i) Name: Dr. Buchen Wu

(ii) Academic qualifications:

Ph.D., National University of Singapore, Singapore (2023)
M.Eng., Harbin Institute of Technology, P.R. China (2019)
B.Eng., Central South University, P.R. China (2017)

(iii) Previous academic positions held:

Postdoctoral Fellow (advisor: Chang Shu), Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore, July. 2023 - Oct. 2023

(iv) Present academic position:

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Oct. 2023 -

(v) Previous relevant research work:

Dr. Wu’s research involves fundamental study of biofluid physics including advanced
numerical modelling development and bi logical self-propulsion investigation. His research
dedicates to an improved understanding of the interaction between complex moving
boundaries and surrounding fluids and contributes to optimizing the design of advanced
autonomous underwater vehicle. He has published more than 10 journal papers on JCP, AMM,
IJMS, PoF, JFS, etc. He is the reviewer of several premier journals.

(vi) Publications:
Section A - Five most representative publications in the last five years
1. Buchen, Wu; Jinhua, Lu; HsuChew, Lee; Chang, Shu; Minping, Wan; An explicit
boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary-reconstructed thermal lattice
Boltzmann flux solver for thermal–fluid–structure interaction problems with heat flux
boundary conditions, Journal of Computational Physics, 485 (2023): 112106.
2. Buchen, Wu; Chang, Shu; Minping, Wan; An implicit immersed boundary method
for Robin boundary condition, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, (2023):
108694.
3. Buchen, Wu; Jinhua, Lu; HsuChew, Lee; Chang, Shu; Minping, Wan; An efficient
explicit immersed boundary-reconstructed lattice Boltzmann flux solver for isothermal
fluid-structure interaction problems with large deformations and complex geometries,
Applied Mathematical Modelling, 114 (2023): 627-645.
4. Buchen, Wu; Jinhua, Lu; HsuChew, Lee; Chang, Shu; Minping, Wan; An explicit
immersed boundary-reconstructed thermal lattice Boltzmann flux solver for thermal
fluid-structure interaction problems, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences,
235 (2022): 107704.
5. Buchen, Wu; Chang, Shu; HsuChew, Lee; Minping, Wan; Numerical study on the
hydrodynamic performance of an unconstrained carangiform swimmer (Featured
article), Physics of Fluids, 34(12) (2022): 121902.

Section B - Five representative publications beyond the recent five-year

1. Buchen, Wu; Chang, Shu; HsuChew, Lee; Minping, Wan; The effects of caudal fin’s
bending stiffness on a self-propelled carangiform swimmer, Physics of Fluids, 34(4)
(2022): 041901.
 2. Buchen, Wu; Chang, Shu; Minping, Wan; Yan, Wang; Shiyi, Chen; Hydrodynamic
performance of an unconstrained flapping swimmer with flexible fin: A numerical
study, Physics of Fluids, 34(1) (2022): 011901.
3. Buchen, Wu; Shujin, Laima; Experimental study on characteristics of vortex-induced
vibration of a twin-box girder and damping effects, Journal of Fluids and Structures,
103 (2021): 103282.
4. Buchen, Wu; Geng, Xue; Jie, Feng; Shujin, Laima; The Effects of Aerodynamic
Interference on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Twin-Box Girder, Applied
Sciences, 11(20) (2021): 9517.
5. HsuChew, Lee; Buchen, Wu; Peng, Dai; Minping, Wan; Andrei, N. Lipatnikov;
Turbulent burning velocity and thermodiffusive instability of premixed flames,
Physical review E, 108(3) (2023): 035101.

(vii) Others (Awards & Scholarships):

2023
Extraordinary Potential Prize of 2022 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-
financed Students Abroad (20 people per year worldwide)
China Scholarship Council (NO. 2022-A018)

2019-2023
NUS Research Scholarship
National University of Singapore

2018
National scholarship
Chinese Ministry of Education

2016
National Encouragement scholarship
Chinese Ministry of Education
(i) Name: Dr. Lin Fu

(ii) Academic qualifications:

Ph.D., Technical University of Munich, Germany (2017)
MPhil, Northwestern Polytechnical University, P.R. China (2013)
B.Sc., Northwestern Polytechnical University, P.R. China (2010)

(iii) Previous academic positions held:

CTR Postdoctoral Fellow (advisor: Parviz Moin), Center for Turbulence Research, Stanford
University, Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2021
Postdoctoral Fellow (advisor: Nikolaus Adams), Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Technical University of Munich, Sep. 2017 - Dec. 2017

(iv) Present academic position:

Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, The Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology, Mar. 2021 -
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology, Mar. 2021 -

(v) Previous relevant research work:

Prof. Fu’s research involves fundamental study of flow physics including turbulence,
transitional flows, multi-phase flows, and fluid-structure interactions (FSI). His research is
dedicated to an improved understanding of these complex fluids and contributes to optimizing
the engineering quantities of interest, e.g., drag, heat transfer, etc. He has published about 60
journal papers in PNAS, JFM, PRF, JCP, CMAME, etc. He has been invited to give about 40
seminar talks and participated in more than 50 international conferences. He is the reviewer
of more than 30 internationally recognized journals. He was recognized with an Early Career
Award by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong. He is the Youth Editorial Board
Member of journal Advances in Aerodynamics (AIA), Springer Nature.

(vi) Publications:
Section A - Five most representative publications in the last five years
1. Cheng, Cheng; Fu, Lin*; Linear-model-based study of the coupling between velocity
and temperature fields in compressible turbulent channel flows, Journal of Fluid
Mechanics, 964 (2023): A15.
2. Gao, Tianrun; Qiu, Huihe; Fu, Lin*; Multi-level adaptive particle refinement method
with large refinement scale ratio and new free-surface detection algorithm for complex
fluid-structure interaction problems, Journal of Computational Physics, 473 (2023):
111762.
3. Gao, Tianrun; Qiu, Huihe; Fu, Lin*; A Block-based Adaptive Particle Refinement
SPH Method for Fluid-Structure Interaction Problems, Computer Methods in Applied
Mechanics and Engineering, 399 (2022): 115356.
4. Griffin, Kevin P.; Fu, Lin*; Moin, Parviz*; Velocity transformation for compressible
wall-bounded turbulent flows with and without heat transfer, Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 118 (2021):
e2111144118.
5. Fu, Lin; Karp, Michael; Bose, Sanjeeb; Moin, Parviz; Urzay, Javier*; Shock-induced
heating and transition to turbulence in a hypersonic boundary layer, Journal of Fluid
Mechanics, 909 (2021): A8.
Section B - Five representative publications beyond the recent five-year
1. Fu, Lin; Hu, Xiangyu*; Adams, Nikolaus; A new class of adaptive high-order targeted
ENO schemes for hyperbolic conservation laws, Journal of Computational Physics,
374 (2018): 724-751.
2. Fu, Lin; Hu, Xiangyu*; Adams, Nikolaus; Targeted ENO schemes with tailored
resolution property for hyperbolic conservation laws, Journal of Computational
Physics, 349 (2017): 97-121.
3. Fu, Lin; Hu, Xiangyu*; Adams, Nikolaus; A physics-motivated Centroidal Voronoi
Particle domain decomposition method, Journal of Computational Physics, 335 (2017):
718-735.
4. Fu, Lin; Hu, Xiangyu*; Adams, Nikolaus; A novel partitioning method for block-
structured adaptive meshes, Journal of Computational Physics, 341 (2017): 447-473.
5. Fu, Lin; Hu, Xiangyu*; Adams, Nikolaus; A family of high-order targeted ENO
schemes for compressible-fluid simulations, Journal of Computational Physics, 305
(2016): 333-359.

(vii) Patent:
1. Method and system for generating a mesh. Hu, Xiangyu; Fu, Lin (first author as a
Ph.D. student and major contributor); Han, Luhui; Adams, Nikolaus. International
Application No. PCT/EP2017/063328, Publication Number WO/2017/211684.

(viii) Others (Awards & Scholarships):

• Early Career Award (2022)
Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong
• Invited speaker for the 4th WLA Young Scientist Forum (29 Oct. to 1 Nov., 2021)
The World Laureates Forum Organizing Committee, Shanghai
• Mathematical workshop travelling award (2018)
ICERM of Brown University
• CTR Postdoctoral fellowship (2018-2021)
Stanford University
• Ph.D. thesis award of Summa Cum Laude (2017)
Technical University of Munich
• China Scholarship Council (CSC) scholarship (2013-2017)
China Scholarship Council (NO. 201206290022)
• National scholarship (2008-2009)
Chinese Ministry of Education
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
(e) Does this application involve special application? If yes, please tick here and attach
the relevant additional document under Appendix 4.

Clinical Research Fellowship Scheme (please attach the relevant additional

document under Appendix 4 and this option is only available for
applications under Biology and Medicine Panel)

Support for Individual Research (research time) (only available for

applications under Humanities and Social Sciences Panel and Business
Studies Panel)

Page 6
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
PART II: DETAILS OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

3. Project Objectives

1. We first dedicate ourselves to developing a novel inverse distance weighting

interpolation based implicit immersed boundary method (IBM) to enforce the Navier slip
boundary condition on moving object in flow environment. The novel implicit IBM is
derived from the original Navier slip boundary condition, indicating that boundary errors
can be eliminated by a precise linear system. Based on the inverse distance weighting
interpolation scheme, the accuracy degradation effects introduced by the traditional
discrete Dirac function can be suppressed.
2. We will establish a high-fidelity unified numerical framework by integrating the
novel IBM scheme with the high-order generalized differential quadrature-lattice
boltzmann flux solver (GDQ-LBFS). This framework aims to achieve high-order accuracy
in solving complex problems involving superhydrophobic surfaces and moving boundaries.
3. Furthermore, the finite difference method (FDM) will be introduced into the high-
fidelity numerical framework to capture the dynamic responses of the solid objects. This
enhancement allows for precise modeling of nonlinear vibrations and large deformations
in moving superhydrophobic surfaces interacting with surrounding fluids.
4. Based on the high-fidelity numerical framework, we will investigate the effects of
superhydrophobic surfaces on the hydrodynamic performance of natural swimmers, with a
particular focus on the 3D Robot Tuna model. This investigation aims to uncover the
synergy between the slip properties of superhydrophobic surfaces and the propulsion
mechanisms of natural swimmers. Additionally, the scaling laws that connect slip
properties to propulsive parameters will be investigated. The research findings will
provide valuable insights for optimizing autonomous underwater vehicle designs and
related applications.

Other Information

Page 7
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
4. Research Project Statement
(This is to be maximum of 10 A4 sides in Research Project Statement and should include
five elements)
(i) Research context, (ii) Research questions, and (iii) Research Methods

Attached 7 pages(s) as follows

(iv) A one-page Project timetable / Gantt Chart showing the research activities

Attached 1 pages(s) as follows

(v) A maximum of two non-text pages of attached diagrams, photos, charts and table etc,
if any.

Attached 2 pages(s) as follows

5. Pathways to Impact Statement

Attached 2 pages(s) as follows

6. Reference (a maximum of three pages for references is allowed for listing the
publications cited in Section 1-2. All full references should be provided, including all
authors of each reference.)
7. Output Dissemination Plan

Target timing of Output type (Journal / Name of journal, conference or other

dissemination Conference / Others) dissemination means
(quarter/year)
Q3 / 2025 Conference International Congress on Industrial and
Applied Mathematics
Q4 / 2025 Journal Journal of Computational Physics
Q4 / 2026 Conference Annual Meeting of the American Physical
Society Division of Fluid Dynamics
Q4 / 2026 Journal Journal of Computational Physics
Q3 / 2027 Conference International Congress on Industrial and
Applied Mathematics
Q4 / 2027 Journal Physical Review Fluids

Page 8
A Research context
Inspired by the lotus leaf, see Figure 1(a), superhydrophobic surfaces represent a passive
biomimetic flow control method for widespread application in reducing skin-friction drag
across laminar and turbulent flow regimes. For next-generation autonomous underwater vehicle,
the application of superhydrophobic coating holds significant promise for advancing energy
conservation and emissions reduction [1]. On a macroscopic scale, superhydrophobic surfaces
can be described by the Navier slip model depicted in Figure 1(b), where the slip velocity is
proportional to the local shear rate of fluid [2]. The successful and efficient design of next-
generation underwater vehicle with superhydrophobic coating relies heavily on the availability
of high-fidelity numerical simulation method capable of simulating the behavior of moving
objects with superhydrophobic coating in fluid environment. However, this necessitates the
deconstruction of the intricate interplay among factors, including surrounding vortex dynamics,
surface velocity slip, nonlinear vibrations of solid objects, and large deformations. These
complexities pose significant challenges for traditional computational fluid dynamics
approaches that rely on body-fitted meshes. Thus, the development of a robust and adaptable
numerical framework that comprehensively accounts for all these factors holds substantial
value for the scientific and engineering communities.

B Research question
B.1 Numerical and modeling challenges for high-fidelity prediction of moving objects with
superhydrophobic coating in fluid
Numerous numerical approaches have been proposed to accurately predict the behavior of
moving objects in a fluid environment. Typically, dynamic responses of solid objects are
addressed through Lagrangian-based methods, while flow behaviors are resolved using
Eulerian mesh-based techniques. The coupling between the solid and fluid domains plays a
pivotal role in simulating objects in motion within a fluid. Over the past few decades, various
methods, such as the arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) approach [3][4][5][6] and the
immersed boundary method (IBM) [7][8][9][10][11], have been developed to establish the
relationships between the solid and fluid phases. However, the ALE approach is associated with
certain drawbacks, such as the re-meshing process at every time step, which not only increases
computational time but also complicates implementation. Moreover, the ALE method relies on
high-quality unstructured body-fitted meshes for accurate solutions, demanding precise mesh
generation technology. Consequently, the ALE method is not suitable for simulating objects
with complex geometries in fluid environment. In contrast, IBM allows the exchange of
boundary information between solid domain and fluid domain, imposing various boundary
conditions at the interface between the solid and fluid phases. Consequently, IBM circumvents
the need for grid regeneration when simulating flexible structures or moving objects, making it
superior to conventional numerical methods in terms of efficiency. Thus, this project aims to
propose a more flexible and robust approach within the framework of the diffused interface
IBM.
However, the numerical methodology for simulating moving objects with superhydrophobic
surfaces differs significantly from those for objects with no-slip boundary conditions. Several
new challenges need to be addressed in developing a high-fidelity numerical approach for
predicting the mutual interaction between moving objects with superhydrophobic surfaces and
surrounding fluids. These challenges can be summarized as follows: (I) accurately modeling
the Navier slip boundary condition on solid surfaces with complex geometries, in which the
Navier slip boundary condition depends on the local tangential velocity gradient; (II)
addressing moving objects with extensive motion throughout the computational domain, which
poses a significant challenge for numerical methods based on body-fitted meshes; (III)
precisely modeling the interaction between solid deformations and surrounding flow behaviors;
(IV) constructing a high-order accuracy numerical framework for coupling solid and fluid
solvers. In the traditional IBM framework, first-order accuracy discrete delta functions are
employed in the interpolating and spreading processes, causing accuracy degradation effects on
the overall accuracy of the numerical framework. The development of a high-order accuracy
numerical framework requires to propose novel interpolation and spreading schemes for the
IBM.

B.2 Existing methods and their drawbacks

The numerical approaches for simulating moving objects in a fluid environment can be
categorized into three groups: the ALE method [3][4][5][6], the IBM method [7][8][9][10][11],
and the smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) method [12][13][14][15]. The ALE method
represents the traditional approach within computational fluid dynamics (CFD), depending on
the quality of body-fitted meshes and complex mesh regeneration process. Consequently, the
inherent limitations of the ALE approach hinder its suitability for simulating moving objects in
fluid. In contrast, SPH methods have been widely used to simulate complex problems involving
moving objects. However, the low-order accuracy of SPH schemes might produce non-physical
phenomena. Furthermore, SPH methods are purely Lagrangian schemes, demanding a large
number of Lagrangian points that consume significant virtual memory and computational time.
Among these numerical approaches, IBM appears to be the most attractive method for resolving
complex problems with moving boundaries, due to its simplicity and flexibility. There are many
IBMs being widely used in literature, such as the penalty forcing scheme
[16][17][18][19][20][21], the direct forcing method [22][23][24], the multi-direct forcing
scheme [25][26][27][28], the feedback forcing scheme [29][30][31], the momentum exchange
scheme [32][33], the implicit velocity-correction scheme [34][35][36][37][38][39] and the
explicit velocity correction scheme [40][41][42][43]. However, these mentioned IBM variants
are designed to enforce the no-slip boundary condition on solid surfaces and cannot be extended
to enforce the Navier slip boundary condition. In contrast to the no-slip boundary condition,
which has a fixed velocity, the velocity on superhydrophobic surfaces depends on the local
tangential velocity gradient and geometry. Therefore, developing an IBM that accurately
imposes the Navier slip boundary condition on superhydrophobic surfaces is a much more
challenging issue. To the best of the applicant's knowledge, there is only one IBM designed for
enforcing the Navier slip boundary condition [44]. However, this IBM explicitly updates the
shear stress, preventing the accurate fulfillment of the Navier slip boundary condition and
resulting in non-physical flow behavior and incorrect aerodynamic/hydrodynamic forces.

B.3 Pilot studies and preliminary results by the PI

The following pilot studies relevant to this proposed project have been conducted or are being
explored, including: (1) the development of several novel immersed boundary methods (IBMs)
for tackling Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin boundary conditions; (2) the development of high-
fidelity numerical frameworks for simulating the dynamic responses (nonlinear vibrations and
large deformations) of solid objects in a fluid environment; (3) the investigation of the scaling
laws governing the hydrodynamic performance of carangiform swimmers and the effects of the
caudal fin's flexibility on their hydrodynamic performance.
(1) Development of novel IBMs for complex boundary conditions
The applicant has developed several novel IBMs for tackling Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin
boundary conditions [41][42][43][45]. For Dirichlet boundary condition, the applicant
proposed an explicit IBM to accurately enforce the no-slip boundary condition and constant
temperature boundary condition on moving objects. Note that the explicit IBM proposed by the
applicant not only achieves high computational efficiency but also maintains a level of accuracy
similar to the original implicit scheme. For the Neumann boundary condition, the applicant
derived a second-order approximation through error analysis using Taylor series expansion,
which overcomes the intrinsic limitations associated with traditional IBMs, such as the large
correlation matrix assembling and its inversion. Within the framework of the diffuse interface
IBM, the applicant proposed a novel IBM to accurately enforce the Robin boundary condition,
which shows a higher accuracy in satisfying the Robin boundary condition when compared to
the ghost cell IBM (sharp interface IBM). These pilot studies have provided the applicant with
substantial experience in IBM numerical modeling.
(2) Development of high-fidelity numerical frameworks to simulate moving objects in
fluid
The applicant has developed a novel high-fidelity numerical framework for simulating moving
objects in a fluid environment, encompassing scenarios like fluid-particle interactions, vortex-
induced vibrations, and the flapping flexible plates, as illustrated in Figure 2. These simulations
involve nonlinear vibrations and significant deformations [41]. Additionally, the applicant has
proposed an innovative high-fidelity numerical framework for simulating moving objects in
thermal flows, which can provide accurate solution for a fully coupled thermal-fluid-structure
multi-physics system [42]. Based on these experiences, the applicant possesses a strong
foundation for constructing high-fidelity numerical frameworks.
(3) Investigations of hydrodynamic performance of natural swimmer
The applicant has investigated the hydrodynamic performance of natural swimmer and revealed
some important scaling laws behind the propulsive behaviors [46]. Especially, the applicant
generalizes the previous scaling law proposed in Nature physics and demonstrates that the
effects of the wavelength on the propulsive performance cannot be neglected at high Reynolds
number. Moreover, the applicant also investigated the effects of the flexible biological
structures on the self-propulsive performance of natural swimmer [47][48], as shown in Figure
3, where the correlation between the surrounding vortex dynamics and the hydrodynamic
performance are analyzed. These pilot studies have equipped the applicant with comprehensive
analytical methods for investigating the hydrodynamic performance of biologically propelled
systems.

C Research plan and methodology

In this proposal, our objectives are (1) the development of a novel high-fidelity numerical
framework for simulating moving objects with superhydrophobic coatings, integrating a novel
immersed boundary method and the high-order generalized differential quadrature-lattice
Boltzmann flux solver, and (2) the application of this novel numerical framework to investigate
biological self-propulsion with superhydrophobic surfaces.
C.1 Development of implicit boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary method
for superhydrophobic surfaces (Addressing challenges I, II and IV)
To accurately satisfy the Navier slip boundary condition on moving irregular surface, a diffused
interface IBM will be proposed. This new IBM should have two distinctive features: Firstly,
the IBM should be fully implicit to ensure that the boundary condition is precisely enforced.
Secondly, the interpolation and spreading schemes should not pollute the global accuracy. To
simulate the flow behavior, the mass and momentum conservation equations for fluid flows can
be written as:
∂𝜌
+ ∇ ⋅ 𝜌𝐮 = 0,
∂𝑡
∂𝜌𝐮
+ ∇ ⋅ (𝜌𝐮𝐮) = −∇𝑝 + 𝜇∇ ⋅ [∇𝜌𝐮 + (∇𝜌𝐮)𝑇 ] + 𝐟,
∂𝑡
where 𝜌, 𝒖, 𝜇, 𝑝, 𝐟 denote the fluid density, the flow velocity, the dynamic viscosity and the
restoring forcing term evaluated by IBM. If the density variation is small and Mach number is
low, the above Navier-Stokes equations can be applied to simulate incompressible flows. In the
methodology of this novel IBM, the fractional step method is employed to decompose the
Navier-Stokes equation.
In the predictor step, without the inclusion of solid objects, the intermediate velocity 𝐮∗ is
obtained through solving the following equations:
∂𝜌
+ ∇ ⋅ 𝜌𝐮 = 0,
∂𝑡
∂𝜌𝐮
+ ∇ ⋅ (𝜌𝐮𝐮) = −∇𝑝 + 𝜇∇ ⋅ [∇𝜌𝐮 + (∇𝜌𝐮)𝑇 ].
∂𝑡
In the corrector step, the boundary effects induced by the solid objects are considered to
enforce the Navier slip boundary condition. The updated velocity can be calculated by the
following relationship:
𝐮𝑛+1 = 𝐮∗ + Δ𝐮,
where Δ𝐮 denotes the velocity corrections on the Fluid points. Hence, the restoring forcing
Δ𝐮
term in the momentum equation can be given as 𝐟 = 𝜌 .
Δ𝑡
As shown in Figure 4(a), the flow past an irregular bluff body with superhydrophobic
surfaces depends on the local tangential velocity gradient. Therefore, to incorporate the velocity
slip boundary conditions into the IBM framework, interpolation points are necessary for the
calculation of velocity derivatives and thus the slip velocity. Figure 4(b) presents the schematic
of the novel implicit boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary method for Navier slip
boundary conditions, where the interpolation point O at the normal direction is introduced. The
general Navier slip boundary condition can be expressed as:
𝜕𝐮
𝐮𝑛𝐵 = 0, 𝐮𝜏𝐵 = 𝑙𝑠 ,
𝜕𝑛
where 𝑙𝑠 denotes the slip length. Therefore, the tangential velocity gradient can be discretized
𝜕𝐮 𝐮𝜏𝑂 −𝐮𝜏𝐵
as 𝐮𝜏𝐵 = 𝑙𝑠 = 𝑙𝑠 .
𝜕𝑛 𝑑𝑂
As the velocity is composed of intermediate velocity and velocity correction, the velocities
on the solid and interpolation points can be expressed as:
𝛽 𝛽∗ 𝛽
𝐮𝛼 = 𝐮𝛼 + 𝛿𝐮𝛼 ; 𝛼 = 𝐵, 𝑂; 𝛽 = 𝜏, 𝑛.
To remove the accuracy degradation effects induced by the discrete Dirac delta function in
the traditional IBM, the applicant plans to propose a novel IBM that employs the inverse
distance weighting interpolation scheme in the interpolation and spreading operations. The
intermediate velocity on the solid and interpolation points can be obtained through:
𝐮∗ (𝑿𝑝 ) = ∑ 𝑤𝑝𝑘 𝐮∗ (𝒙𝑘 ) = ∑ 𝑤𝑝𝑞 𝐮∗ (𝒙𝑞 ),
𝑘 𝑞
𝑒
𝑤𝑝𝑘 , 𝑑𝑝𝑘 ≤ 𝑅, 𝛾𝑝𝑘 𝑅 − 𝑑𝑝𝑘
𝑤𝑝𝑞 = { 𝑤𝑝𝑘 = , 𝑑𝑝𝑘 ≤ 𝑅, 𝛾𝑝𝑘 = ( ) .
0, 𝑑𝑝𝑘 > 𝑅, ∑𝑘 𝛾𝑝𝑘 𝑅𝑑𝑝𝑘
Therefore, the Navier slip boundary condition can be precisely enforced by the following
two fully implicit linear systems as:
∗
−𝐮𝑛𝐵 = ∑ 𝑤𝑝𝑞
𝐵 𝐵
(∑ 𝑤𝑞𝑝 𝛿𝐮𝑛𝐵 ),
𝑞 𝑝

𝑙𝑠 ∗ 𝑙𝑠 𝜏 ∗ 𝑙𝑠 𝑙𝑠
(1 + ) 𝐮𝜏𝐵 − 𝐮𝑂 = 𝑂
(∑ 𝑤𝑝𝑞 𝐵
(∑ 𝑤𝑞𝑝 𝛿𝐮𝜏𝐵 )) − (1 + ) (∑ 𝑤𝑝𝑞
𝐵 𝐵
(∑ 𝑤𝑞𝑝 𝛿𝐮𝜏𝐵 )) .
𝑑𝑂 𝑑𝑂 𝑑𝑂 𝑑𝑂
𝑞 𝑝 𝑞 𝑝
.
The velocity corrections on Eulerian points can be obtained by spreading the velocity
corrections on the Lagrangian points. In the following section C.2, we demonstrate that this
novel IBM can achieve high-order spatial accuracy and has great potential to simulate complex
problems of moving objects with superhydrophobic coating in fluid.

C.2 Development of high-fidelity numerical framework by coupling this novel IBM with
the high-order generalized differential quadrature-lattice Boltzmann flux solver
(Addressing challenge IV)
While the novel IBM without accuracy degradation is proposed, constructing a high-fidelity
numerical framework requires a high-order flow solver. Therefore, this project adopts the high-
order generalized differential quadrature-lattice Boltzmann flux solver (GDQ-LBFS) to
simulate the incompressible flow [49]. There are three reasons for choosing this numerical
solver: (i) its ability to preserve global spectral accuracy, (ii) direct evolution of recovered
macroscopic equations without the need for storing density distribution functions, and (iii)
simultaneous evaluation of viscous and inviscid fluxes through local lattice Boltzmann equation
(LBE) reconstruction. Though Chapman–Enskog (C-E) expansion analysis, the governing
equations of LBFS (the macroscopic form) recovered from LBE can be written as:
∂𝜌 𝑒𝑞 ∂𝜌𝐮 𝑒𝑞 1 𝑛𝑒𝑞
+ ∇ ⋅ (∑ 𝑓𝛼 𝐞𝛼 ) = 0, + ∇ ⋅ (∑ [𝑓𝛼 + (1 − ) 𝑓𝛼 ] 𝐞𝛼𝛽 𝐞𝛼𝛾 ) = 0,
∂𝑡 ∂𝑡 2𝜏
𝛼 𝛼
𝑒𝑞 𝑛𝑒𝑞
where 𝑓𝛼 , 𝑓𝛼 and 𝐞𝛼 denote the equilibrium distribution function, the nonequilibrium
distribution function and the particle velocity along the 𝛼 th direction, respectively. The
governing equations can recover the Navier-Stokes equations. In the GDQ-LBFS, the high-
order GDQ framework is used for spatial discretization. In one-dimensional space, based on the
functional values 𝑓𝑗 = 𝑓(𝑥𝑗 ) , the first and second-order derivatives of 𝑓(𝑥𝑗 ) can be
approximately evaluated by the polynomial-based GDQ method [50][51] as follows:
𝑀(1) (𝑥𝑖 )
𝐾+1 , 𝑖 ≠ 𝑗,
∂𝑓 (𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥𝑗 )𝑀(1) (𝑥𝑗 )
𝑓 ′ (𝑥𝑖 ) = | ≈ ∑ 𝑎𝑖,𝑗 𝑓𝑗 , 𝑖 = 0,1, … , 𝐾 + 1; 𝑎𝑖,𝑗 = 𝐾+1
∂𝑥 𝑥𝑖
𝑗=0 − ∑ 𝑎𝑖,𝑘 , 𝑖 = 𝑗,
{ 𝑘=0,𝑘≠𝑖
1
𝐾+1 2𝑎𝑖,𝑗 (𝑎𝑖,𝑖 − ) , 𝑖 ≠ 𝑗,
2
∂ 𝑓 𝑥 𝑖 − 𝑥𝑗
𝑓 ′′ (𝑥𝑖 ) = 2 | ≈ ∑ 𝑏𝑖,𝑗 𝑓𝑗 , 𝑖 = 0,1, … , 𝐾 + 1; 𝑏𝑖,𝑗 = 𝐾+1
∂𝑥 𝑥
𝑖 𝑗=0 − ∑ 𝑏𝑖,𝑘 , 𝑖 = 𝑗,
{ 𝑘=0,𝑘≠𝑖
where 𝑀(1) (𝑥𝑘 ) = ∏𝐾+1𝑚=0,𝑚≠𝑘 (𝑥𝑘 − 𝑥𝑚 ). For multi-dimensional problems, the GDQ method
∂𝐪
can be extended as the tensor product of 1D equations. Considering this conservation law +
∂𝑡
∇ ⋅ 𝐅 = 0 as an example, the semi-discretized forms of 3D conservation laws can be written as:
𝐾+1 𝐾+1 𝐾+1
̂𝑖𝑗𝑘
𝑑𝐪 −1
= −𝐽𝑖𝑗𝑘 (∑ 𝑎𝑖,𝑙 𝐅̂̃𝜉,𝑙𝑗𝑘 + ∑ 𝑎𝑗,𝑚 𝐅̂̃𝜂,𝑖𝑚𝑘 + ∑ 𝑎𝑘,𝑛 𝐅̂̃𝜁,𝑖𝑗𝑛 ) , 𝑖, 𝑗, 𝑘 = 1,2, … , 𝐾,
𝑑𝑡
𝑙=0 𝑚=0 𝑛=0
where 𝐪, 𝐅 and 𝐽−1 dente the conserved variable, flux function and the inverse of the Jacobian
matrix determinant, respectively. The numerical flux 𝐅 can be evaluated by the local LBE
reconstruction (the equilibrium and non-equilibrium distribution functions) as follows:
𝑒𝑞 𝐞𝛼 ⋅ 𝐮 (𝐞𝛼 ⋅ 𝐮)2 − (𝑐𝑠 |𝐮|)2
𝑓𝛼 (𝐱, 𝑡) = 𝜌𝑤𝛼 [1 + 2 + ],
𝑐𝑠 2𝑐𝑠4
𝑛𝑒𝑞 𝑒𝑞 𝑒𝑞
𝑓𝛼 (𝐱, 𝑡) = −𝜏[𝑓𝛼 (𝐱, 𝑡) − 𝑓𝛼 (𝐱 − 𝐞𝛼 𝛿𝑡, 𝑡 − 𝛿𝑡)] + 𝒪(𝛿𝑡 2 ).
To assess the accuracy of this novel high-fidelity numerical framework, which couples the
novel IBM and the high-order generalized differential quadrature-lattice Boltzmann flux solver,
a pilot study involving flow around a stationary circular cylinder with superhydrophobic
coating is conducted. As shown in Figure 5, the normal velocity components are effectively
suppressed to satisfy the impermeability boundary condition. Furthermore, the tangential
velocity components calculated by this novel numerical framework exhibit strong agreement
with those derived from the Navier slip model. Note that the velocity errors in both normal and
tangential directions are confined to 𝒪(ℎ3 ), demonstrating that this novel numerical framework
achieves third-order spatial accuracy. In contrast to traditional diffuse interface IBMs, this novel
IBM maintains an overall high-order accuracy level.

C.3 Hybrid the finite difference method (FDM) with this novel high-fidelity numerical
framework to accurately capture the dynamic responses of elastic slender structures
(Addressing challenge III)
In this project, the applicant plans to investigate the effects of superhydrophobic surfaces on
the propulsion of natural swimmers. The swimmer’s fins play a crucial role in the self-
propulsion, such as modulating wake vortex configurations, promoting propulsive speed and
efficiency and enhancing wake symmetry preserving ability [52][53]. To model the dynamic
interaction between the three-dimensional flexible fish fins with superhydrophobic coating and
the surrounding flow field, it is crucial to accurately predict the large deformations of these fins.
Given the elastic and slender nature of fish fins, a three-dimensional flexible plate is employed
to represent them, and the governing equations can be written as:
2
∂2 𝐗 ∂ ∂𝐗 ∂2 2
𝑏 ∂ 𝐗
𝜌𝑠 2 = ∑ [ (𝜎𝑖𝑗 )− (𝑘 )] + 𝑭𝐻 ,
∂𝑡 ∂𝑠𝑖 ∂𝑠𝑗 ∂𝑠𝑖 ∂𝑠𝑗 𝑖𝑗 ∂𝑠𝑖 ∂𝑠𝑗
𝑖,𝑗=1
𝑏
where 𝜌𝑠 and 𝑘𝑖𝑗 denote the area density of the 3D flexible plate and bending or twisting
∂𝐗 ∂𝐗 1, if 𝑖 = 𝑗
coefficients. 𝜎𝑖𝑗 is defined as 𝜎𝑖𝑗 = 𝜑𝑖𝑗 ( ⋅ − 𝑇𝑖𝑗0 ), where 𝑇𝑖𝑗0 = { is the initial
∂𝑠𝑖 ∂𝑠𝑗 0, if 𝑖 ≠ 𝑗
unstretched condition and 𝜑𝑖𝑗 is the tension or shearing coefficients. 𝑭𝐻 denotes the
hydrodynamic forces exerted on the plate, which can be evaluated by the restoring forcing term
in IBM. The 3D flexible plate can be simplified as several parallel flexible filaments along the
streamwise direction, and these filaments are connected along the spanwise direction. Therefore,
the force components along the streamwise direction are internal force terms and the other force
terms are regarded as external force terms 𝑭𝑒𝑥 . A predicted position 𝐗 ∗ = 2𝐗 𝑛 − 𝐗 𝑛−1 is
introduced to simplify the process of updating the position.
∂𝐗 ∂𝐗
With the inextensibility condition ∙ = 1, the tension stress can be obtained by the
∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠1
Poisson equation as follows:
∂𝐗 ∂2 ∂𝐗
⋅ 2 (𝑇 )
∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠1
1 ∂2 ∂𝐗 ∂𝐗 ∂2 𝐗 ∂2 𝐗 ∂𝐗 ∂ ∂2 𝐵
∂2 𝐗
= ( ⋅ ) − 𝜌𝑠 ⋅ − ⋅ [ (𝑘 ) + 𝑭𝐻 + 𝑭𝑒𝑥 ].
2 ∂𝑡 2 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑡 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑡 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠12 11 ∂𝑠12
Based on the tension force, the updated position can be solved by the second-order finite
difference scheme as:
𝐗 𝑛+1 − 2𝐗 𝑛 + 𝐗 𝑛−1 ∂ 𝑛+2 ∂𝐗
1 𝑛+1
∂2 ∂2 𝐗 ∗
= (𝑇 𝐵
) − 2 (𝑘11 ) + 𝑭𝑒𝑥 (𝐗 ∗ ) + 𝑭𝑛𝐻 .
Δ𝑡 2 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠1 ∂𝑠12

C.4 Investigation of biological propulsion with superhydrophobic surfaces.

To further extend the application of the new high-fidelity numerical framework for scientific
investigations and practical engineering problems (e.g., natural swimmer’s propulsion,
autonomous underwater vehicle design, and ship manufacturing technology), we will employ
this novel high-fidelity numerical framework to investigate the effects of superhydrophobic
surfaces on the biological self-propulsion, which can provide new light onto the role of the
superhydrophobic surfaces in self-propelled biological systems and may provide some
inspirations to autonomous underwater vehicle design. In this project, we will focus on the
three-dimensional Robot Tuna [46][47] with superhydrophobic coating. To the best our
knowledge, this project represents the first numerical investigation of how superhydrophobic
coatings affect the hydrodynamic performance of natural swimmers. The 3D Robot Tuna’s
body can be divided into two parts: the body trunk and the lunate fin. The fish body trunk can
be described with the following equations:
𝑧𝑙 (𝑥𝑙 ) = ±0.152tanh(6𝑥𝑙 + 1.8), −0.3 ⩽ 𝑥𝑙 ⩽ 0.1,
{ 𝑧𝑙 (𝑥𝑙 ) = ±[0.075 − 0.076 tanh(7𝑥𝑙 − 3.15)], 0.1 ⩽ 𝑥𝑙 ⩽ 0.35,
𝑧𝑙 (𝑥𝑙 ) = ±[1.749tanh(𝑥𝑙 ) − 3.331tanh(2𝑥𝑙 )+1.976 tanh(3𝑥𝑙 )], −0.35 ⩽ 𝑥𝑙 ⩽ 0.7,
where 𝑥𝑙 denotes the local coordinate along the swimmer’s body. The sections of the body trunk
are ellipse with an aspect ratio being 1.5. The leading edge and trailing edge of the profile are
defined as:
𝑥 (𝑧 ) = 39.543|𝑧𝑙 |3 − 3.685(𝑧𝑙 )2 + 0.636|𝑧𝑙 | + 0.7, −0.15 ⩽ 𝑧𝑙 ⩽ 0.15,
{ 𝑙 𝑙 𝐿𝐸
𝑥𝑙 (𝑧𝑙 ) 𝑇𝐸 = −40.74|𝑧𝑙 |3 − 9.666(𝑧𝑙 )2 + 0.77, −0.15 ⩽ 𝑧𝑙 ⩽ 0.15,
where the subscripts LE and TE denote the leading edge and trailing edge of the caudal fin,
respectively. 𝑧𝑙 is the local coordinate along the vertical direction. The chord-wise sections of
the caudal fin employ the NACA 0040 profile. Based on the above profile equations, the 3D
Robot Tuna can be generated and visualized in Figure 6(a).
The undulatory motion of the 3D Robot Tuna is described by a traveling wave with different
local amplitudes. In the local coordinate system, the backbone motion is determined by the
following undulatory governing equations:
𝑦𝑙 (𝑥𝑙 , 𝑡) = 𝑎(𝑥𝑙 )sin(𝑘𝑤 𝑥𝑙 − 𝜔𝑡), 𝑎(𝑥𝑙 ) = 𝑐1 𝑥𝑙 + 𝑐2 𝑥𝑙2 , −0.3 ⩽ 𝑧𝑙 ⩽ 0.7,
{
𝜃 = 𝛼sin(𝑘𝑤 𝑥𝑙𝑝 − 𝜔𝑡 + 𝜓),
where 𝑘𝑤 and 𝜔 are the wavenumber and circular frequency, respectively. As shown in Figure
6, the 3D vortex structures around the Robot Tuna are presented, demonstrating the generation
of a coherent jet stream by the reverse Karman Vortex Street to provide the thrust force. This
preliminary study highlights the applicant's capability to explore intricate biological self-
propulsion issues involving superhydrophobic surfaces.
Based on this bionic fish model, we plan to investigate the following physical problems,
including: (i) analyzing the hydrodynamic performance of the self-propulsive Robot Tuna with
superhydrophobic surfaces, with a focus on understanding the correlation between slip length
and enhancements in propulsive speed, propulsive efficiency, and cost of transport; (ii)
investigating the underlying fluid mechanisms that govern propulsive behavior, which
encompasses the interaction between boundary vortices and slip boundaries, the transition from
stability to instability in wake symmetry, and the scaling laws between the propulsive
parameters and the superhydrophobic properties.
Moreover, based on our research findings, we will explore the feasibility and potential
applications of superhydrophobic surfaces in enhancing propulsion across various domains,
including autonomous underwater vehicles, underwater robotics, and bio-inspired design.
These advancements hold significant promise for substantially improving the energy efficiency
and maneuverability of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), resulting in extended
operational durations, reduced energy consumption, and a more environmentally friendly
technology.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The proposed project mainly involves two research stages and will take three years in total.
During the first stage, the development of the high-fidelity numerical method will be conducted.
During the second stage, the biological self-propulsion of natural swimmer with
superhydrophobic surfaces will be investigated by the developed high-fidelity numerical
method. The time schedule is shown as below.

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Tasks Manpower
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Stage 2: Development of high-fidelity Stage 1 : Implicit immersed

superhydrophobic surfaces

O1: Develop implicit

boundary method for

immersed boundary
method for
superhydrophobic
surfaces
2PG

O2: Test the developed immersed boundary method

for superhydrophobic surfaces
numerical framework for moving objects

O3: Test the high-order targeted

with superhydrophobic coating

essentially non-oscillatory (TENO) flow

solver

O4: Develop a coupling manner by

incorporating the novel immersed
2PG boundary method and the high-order
targeted essentially non-oscillatory
(TENO) flow solver

O5: Test the high-fidelity numerical

framework for moving objects with
superhydrophobic coating
Stage 3: Hybrid the finite difference
method (FDM) with the novel high-

O6: Develop the finite difference

method (FDM) for the dynamic
fidelity numerical framework

responses of slender structures

O7: Hybrid the finite difference method

(FDM) with this novel high-fidelity
2PG numerical framework to accurately
capture the dynamic responses of
slender structures

O8: Test the high-fidelity numerical

framework for moving flexible objects
with superhydrophobic coating
Applications
Stage 4:

O9: Investigation of biological propulsion with

2PG
superhydrophobic surfaces

Final project outputs

1. To develop a novel implicit boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary method for superhydrophobic surfaces.
2. To develop a high-fidelity numerical framework by incorporating this novel IBM scheme with the high-order targeted essentially non-oscillatory (TENO) flow solver.
3. To develop a high-fidelity numerical framework for moving flexible objects with superhydrophobic surfaces.
4. Utilizing this novel high-fidelity numerical framework to investigate the biological propulsion with superhydrophobic surfaces.
Figure 1: (a) Droplet beading on lotus leaf, where superhydrophobic surfaces can maintain a
contact angle higher than 150 degrees [1]; (b) Schematic diagram of velocity slip on
superhydrophobic surfaces [2].

Figure 2: (a) The instantaneous vortical structures around the 3D flexible plate, where a
hairpin-like structure is accurately captured in the wake region, see [41]; The (b) drag
coefficient and (c) lift coefficient of the 3D flexible plate, accurately depicting the nonlinear
dynamic characteristics of the 3D flexible plate, see [41][42]. These published papers signify
our comprehensive studies of modeling techniques for moving objects in incompressible
flow.

Figure 3: The instantaneous vorticity field around the self-propulsive carangiform swimmer
with the flexible caudal fin at different bending stiffnesses, see [47]. These preliminary studies
showcase our extensive experience in addressing biological self-propulsion problems.
Figure 4: (a) Sketch of flow past an irregular bluff body with superhydrophobic surfaces. (b)
Schematic of the novel implicit boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary method for
Navier slip boundary conditions.

Figure 5: (a) The distribution of instantaneous tangential velocity on the circular surface, where
the numerical results agree well with the Navier’s slip model. (b) The tangential velocity errors
on the circular surface are within 𝒪(ℎ3 ), with ℎ = 10−2 . (c) The distribution of instantaneous
normal velocity on the circular surface, where the impermeability boundary condition is
accurately satisfied. These preliminary results indicate that the novel IBM can achieve
high-order spatial accuracy.

Figure 6: (a) The 3D profile of the Robot Tuna. (b) 3D vortical structures around the 3D bionic
fish from a perspective view, (c) side view, and (d) top view. These preliminary results
demonstrate our capability to investigate complex biological self-propulsion problems
involving superhydrophobic surfaces.
Pathways to Impact Statement

The problem of drag reduction has been a key issue that has long been concerned by the
scientific and engineering communities, and has an important impact on both civil and military
engineering. Superhydrophobic surfaces, as a passive drag reduction strategy inspired by the
water-repellent properties of many surfaces in nature, have been widely used for drag reduction
in both laminar and turbulent flow regimes. However, existing numerical approaches are mostly
developed with body-fitted meshes for stationary objects with superhydrophobic surfaces, and
cannot be extended to investigate the moving superhydrophobic boundaries.
To advance the CFD-based flow prediction capability in flow problems with moving
superhydrophobic surfaces, based on the inverse distance weighting interpolation scheme, a
novel implicit boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary method will be proposed. The
boundary errors can be accurately eliminated by the proposed IBM scheme, and the interactions
between the superhydrophobic surfaces and surrounding fluids can be accurately captured.
Comparing with the traditional numerical methods, this novel IBM scheme will greatly promote
the computational efficiency and reduce the computational complexity in simulating moving
superhydrophobic surfaces. Moreover, this novel IBM scheme will be integrated with the high-
order flow solver based on the skew-symmetric splitting scheme to form a high-fidelity scale-
resolving numerical framework.
This new high-fidelity scale-resolving numerical framework will allow researchers and
engineers to investigate the drag reduction performance of superhydrophobic surfaces in a wide
domain of fluid problems. In the following sections, we will describe how this work will make
impacts outside of the academic community.

1. Extension to industrial applications

For practical engineering problems, such as energy conservation and emission reduction of
ships, promoting speed of underwater vehicles, and extension of oil pipeline transportation,
many issues are closely related to drag reduction. Superhydrophobic surfaces show good drag
reduction performance in different flow regimes. In addition, superhydrophobic surfaces also
have excellent properties such as anti-chemical corrosion, anti-biological adhesion, non-
toxicity, and non-pollution. Accordingly, we propose the following long-term plans towards
technology transfer and possible commercialization: (1) improve our numerical framework to
the industry standard, and apply for a patent with the assistance of HKUST technology transfer
department; (2) disseminate the present research outcome in industry-oriented conferences and
workshops in addition to academic journals; (3) collaborate with companies and together apply
for the government-supported ITF (Innovation and Technology Fund) projects to solve their
practical engineering problems; and (4) nurture undergraduates and graduates for industry
partners based on our new numerical platform.

2. Scientific engagement with students

Based on the proposed research, a new section, superhydrophobic surfaces numerical
modelling, will be added to the advanced fluid mechanics in the MAE and MATH departments
of HKUST. The existing fluid courses in our university only introduce the numerical
approaches for flow past no-slip boundaries and our graduates lack the practical knowledge in
solving fluids problems with moving superhydrophobic surfaces. The proposed project will
touch the frontier of superhydrophobic surfaces research and therefore provide unique teaching
materials for the course of advanced fluid mechanics.

3. Dissemination to general public

 We will utilize the university public media to disseminate the proposed research to the
general public. We will demonstrate the potential applications of our methodology in, e.g.,
advanced shipping technology and next-generation autonomous underwater vehicle, by
providing accessible videos and posters based on our simulation database. These phenomena
are more generally encountered and our numerical results may attract the interests of students
and more general public.
REFERENCES

[1] Samaha, M. A., Tafreshi, H. V., & Gad-el-Hak, M. (2012). Superhydrophobic surfaces:
From the lotus leaf to the submarine. Comptes Rendus Mécanique, 340(1-2), 18-34.
[2] Rothstein, J. P. (2010). Slip on superhydrophobic surfaces. Annual review of fluid
mechanics, 42, 89-109.
[3] Hirt, C. W., Amsden, A. A., & Cook, J. L. (1974). An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian
computing method for all flow speeds. Journal of computational physics, 14(3), 227-253.
[4] Donea, J., Giuliani, S., & Halleux, J. P. (1982). An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian finite
element method for transient dynamic fluid-structure interactions. Computer methods in
applied mechanics and engineering, 33(1-3), 689-723.
[5] Andersen, A., Pesavento, U., & Wang, Z. J. (2005). Unsteady aerodynamics of fluttering
and tumbling plates. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 541, 65-90.
[6] Jin, C., & Xu, K. (2008). Numerical study of the unsteady aerodynamics of freely falling
plates. Communications in Computational Physics, 3(4), 834-851.
[7] Mittal, R., & Iaccarino, G. (2005). Immersed boundary methods. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech.,
37, 239-261.
[8] Sotiropoulos, F., & Yang, X. (2014). Immersed boundary methods for simulating fluid–
structure interaction. Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 65, 1-21.
[9] Huang, W. X., & Tian, F. B. (2019). Recent trends and progress in the immersed boundary
method. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of
Mechanical Engineering Science, 233(23-24), 7617-7636.
[10] Mittal, R., & Bhardwaj, R. (2021). Immersed boundary methods for thermofluids
problems. Annual Review of Heat Transfer, 24.
[11] Verzicco, R. (2023). Immersed boundary methods: Historical perspective and future
outlook. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 55, 129-155.
[12] Long, T., Hu, D., Wan, D., Zhuang, C., & Yang, G. (2017). An arbitrary boundary with
ghost particles incorporated in coupled FEM–SPH model for FSI problems. Journal of
Computational Physics, 350, 166-183.
[13] Long, T., Yang, P., & Liu, M. (2020). A novel coupling approach of smoothed finite
element method with SPH for thermal fluid structure interaction problems. International
Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 174, 105558.
[14] Long, T., Huang, C., Hu, D., & Liu, M. (2021). Coupling edge-based smoothed finite
element method with smoothed particle hydrodynamics for fluid structure interaction
problems. Ocean Engineering, 225, 108772.
[15] Long, T., Zhang, Z., & Liu, M. (2021). Multi-resolution technique integrated with
smoothed particle element method (SPEM) for modeling fluid-structure interaction
problems with free surfaces. Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy, 64(8),
284711.
[16] Peskin, C. S. (1977). Numerical analysis of blood flow in the heart. Journal of
computational physics, 25(3), 220-252.
[17] Beyer, R. P., & LeVeque, R. J. (1992). Analysis of a one-dimensional model for the
immersed boundary method. SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis, 29(2), 332-364.
[18] Lai, M. C., & Peskin, C. S. (2000). An immersed boundary method with formal second-
order accuracy and reduced numerical viscosity. Journal of computational Physics, 160(2),
705-719.
[19] Wang, L., Currao, G. M., Han, F., Neely, A. J., Young, J., & Tian, F. B. (2017). An
immersed boundary method for fluid–structure interaction with compressible multiphase
flows. Journal of Computational Physics, 346, 131-151.
[20] Ma, J., Wang, Z., Young, J., Lai, J. C., Sui, Y., & Tian, F. B. (2020). An immersed
boundary-lattice Boltzmann method for fluid-structure interaction problems involving
viscoelastic fluids and complex geometries. Journal of Computational Physics, 415,
109487.
[21] Wang, L., Tian, F. B., & Lai, J. C. (2020). An immersed boundary method for fluid–
structure–acoustics interactions involving large deformations and complex geometries.
Journal of Fluids and Structures, 95, 102993.
[22] Mohd-Yusof, J. (1997). For simulations of flow in complex geometries. Annual research
briefs, 317, 35.
[23] Fadlun, E. A., Verzicco, R., Orlandi, P., & Mohd-Yusof, J. (2000). Combined immersed-
boundary finite-difference methods for three-dimensional complex flow simulations.
Journal of computational physics, 161(1), 35-60.
[24] Uhlmann, M. (2005). An immersed boundary method with direct forcing for the simulation
of particulate flows. Journal of computational physics, 209(2), 448-476.
[25] Luo, K., Wang, Z., Fan, J., & Cen, K. (2007). Full-scale solutions to particle-laden flows:
Multidirect forcing and immersed boundary method. Physical Review E, 76(6), 066709.
[26] Wang, Z., Fan, J., & Luo, K. (2008). Combined multi-direct forcing and immersed
boundary method for simulating flows with moving particles. International journal of
multiphase flow, 34(3), 283-302.
[27] Kang, S. K., & Hassan, Y. A. (2011). A comparative study of direct‐forcing immersed
boundary‐lattice Boltzmann methods for stationary complex boundaries. International
Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 66(9), 1132-1158.
[28] Kempe, T., & Fröhlich, J. (2012). An improved immersed boundary method with direct
forcing for the simulation of particle laden flows. Journal of Computational Physics,
231(9), 3663-3684.
[29] Goldstein, D., Handler, R., & Sirovich, L. (1993). Modeling a no-slip flow boundary with
an external force field. Journal of computational physics, 105(2), 354-366.
[30] Zhu, L., He, G., Wang, S., Miller, L., Zhang, X., You, Q., & Fang, S. (2011). An immersed
boundary method based on the lattice Boltzmann approach in three dimensions, with
application. Computers & Mathematics with Applications, 61(12), 3506-3518.
[31] Huang, Q., Liu, Z., Wang, L., Ravi, S., Young, J., Lai, J., & Tian, F. B. (2022). Streamline
penetration, velocity error, and consequences of the feedback immersed boundary method.
Physics of Fluids, 34(9).
[32] Niu, X. D., Shu, C., Chew, Y. T., & Peng, Y. (2006). A momentum exchange-based
immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method for simulating incompressible viscous
flows. Physics Letters A, 354(3), 173-182.
[33] Chen, Y., Cai, Q., Xia, Z., Wang, M., & Chen, S. (2013). Momentum-exchange method
in lattice Boltzmann simulations of particle-fluid interactions. Physical Review E, 88(1),
013303.
[34] Wu, J., & Shu, C. (2009). Implicit velocity correction-based immersed boundary-lattice
Boltzmann method and its applications. Journal of Computational Physics, 228(6), 1963-
1979.
[35] Wang, Y., Shu, C., Teo, C. J., & Wu, J. (2015). An immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann
flux solver and its applications to fluid–structure interaction problems. Journal of Fluids
and Structures, 54, 440-465.
[36] Ren, W. W., Shu, C., Wu, J., & Yang, W. M. (2012). Boundary condition-enforced
immersed boundary method for thermal flow problems with Dirichlet temperature
condition and its applications. Computers & Fluids, 57, 40-51.
[37] Wang, Y., Shu, C., Teo, C. J., & Yang, L. M. (2016). An efficient immersed boundary-
lattice Boltzmann flux solver for simulation of 3D incompressible flows with complex
geometry. Computers & Fluids, 124, 54-66.
[38] Xu, L., Tian, F. B., Young, J., & Lai, J. C. (2018). A novel geometry-adaptive Cartesian
grid based immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method for fluid–structure interactions
at moderate and high Reynolds numbers. Journal of Computational Physics, 375, 22-56.
[39] Chen, Z., Shu, C., & Tan, D. (2018). Immersed boundary-simplified lattice Boltzmann
method for incompressible viscous flows. Physics of Fluids, 30(5).
[40] Zhao, X., Chen, Z., Yang, L., Liu, N., & Shu, C. (2021). Efficient boundary condition-
enforced immersed boundary method for incompressible flows with moving boundaries.
Journal of Computational Physics, 441, 110425.
[41] Wu, B., Lu, J., Lee, H., Shu, C., & Wan, M. (2023). An efficient explicit immersed
boundary-reconstructed lattice Boltzmann flux solver for isothermal fluid-structure
interaction problems with large deformations and complex geometries. Applied
Mathematical Modelling, 114, 627-645.
[42] Wu, B., Lu, J., Lee, H., Shu, C., & Wan, M. (2022). An explicit immersed boundary-
reconstructed thermal lattice Boltzmann flux solver for thermal–fluid-structure interaction
problems. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 235, 107704.
[43] Wu, B., Lu, J., Lee, H., Shu, C., & Wan, M. (2023). An explicit boundary condition-
enforced immersed boundary-reconstructed thermal lattice Boltzmann flux solver for
thermal–fluid–structure interaction problems with heat flux boundary conditions. Journal
of Computational Physics, 485, 112106.
[44] Wang, Z., He, Q., & Huang, J. (2021). The immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method
for solving solid-fluid interaction problem with Navier-slip boundary condition.
Computers & Fluids, 217, 104839.
[45] Wu, B., Shu, C., & Wan, M. (2023). An implicit immersed boundary method for Robin
boundary condition. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 108694.
[46] Wu, B., Shu, C., Lee, H., & Wan, M. (2022). Numerical study on the hydrodynamic
performance of an unconstrained carangiform swimmer. Physics of Fluids, 34(12).
[47] Wu, B., Shu, C., Lee, H., & Wan, M. (2022). The effects of caudal fin's bending stiffness
on a self-propelled carangiform swimmer. Physics of Fluids, 34(4).
[48] Wu, B., Shu, C., Wan, M., Wang, Y., & Chen, S. (2022). Hydrodynamic performance of
an unconstrained flapping swimmer with flexible fin: A numerical study. Physics of Fluids,
34(1).
[49] Liu, Y., Shu, C., Yu, P., Liu, Y., Zhang, H., & Lu, C. (2023). A high-order generalized
differential quadrature method with lattice Boltzmann flux solver for simulating
incompressible flows. Physics of Fluids, 35(4).
[50] Shu, C., & Richards, B. E. (1992). Application of generalized differential quadrature to
solve two‐dimensional incompressible Navier‐Stokes equations. International Journal for
Numerical Methods in Fluids, 15(7), 791-798.
[51] Shu, C. (2000). Differential quadrature and its application in engineering. Springer Science
& Business Media.
[52] Xin, Z., & Wu, C. (2012). Numerical simulations and vorticity dynamics of self-propelled
swimming of 3D bionic fish. Science China Physics, Mechanics and Astronomy, 55, 272-
283.
[53] Wu, J., & Shu, C. (2012). Simulation of three‐dimensional flows over moving objects by
an improved immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method. International journal for
numerical methods in fluids, 68(8), 977-1004.
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
8. Declaration of Time Commitment, Grant Record and Related Research Work of
Investigator(s)

(a) Declaration of time commitments:

(i)Number of on-going individual research projects¹ currently held by the PI in any

capacity (e.g. PI, Co-I, Collaborator, etc.): 0
(ii)Number of on-going collaborative research projects¹ currently held by the PI in
any capacity (e.g. PC, Co-PI, Co-I, Collaborator, etc.): 0

If the number declared in (i) exceeds three or the number declared in (ii) exceeds two,
please provide the following information:

(iii)Overall amount of time spent on research by the PI in percentage terms:

(iv)Justifications on how the PI would be able to take up this additional research
project if funded while maintaining the research quality:

(b) Please complete the table below covering:

(i)completed research work funded from all sources (irrespective of whether from
UGC/RGC) in the past five years;
(ii)on-going research work funded from all sources (irrespective of whether from
UGC/RGC);
(iii)proposals pending funding approval (irrespective of whether submitted to
UGC/RGC);

Complete the first table for the PI then any Co-Is should be detailed in the second table
listed in the order listed above.

________________________________
¹ Research projects funded from all sources (irrespective of whether from UGC/RGC) should be included,
except those funded under the joint research schemes and the fellowship schemes administered by the RGC.
Projects for which completion reports have yet to be submitted by the application deadline of the current
GRF exercise should also be counted.

Page 9
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624

* Please provide the most updated information.

# If the declared work is related to the current project, please state what distinguishes this
project from that work.

If the PI / Co-I(s) are aware of any other work related to this research project outside the
5 year period covered above and irrespective of whether it was/is funded by the UGC or
the RGC, please state what distinguishes this project from that work.

Page 10
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
PART III: PROJECT FUNDING and RESOURCES

9. Cost and Justification

(a) Estimated Cost and Resource Implication:

[Detailed justifications should be given in order to support the request for each item
below]
(a maximum of 500 words for each box)

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total

($) ($) ($) ($) ($) ($)

(A) One-line Vote Items

(i) Supporting Staff Costs

[please read Section 9(A)(i) of the Explanatory Notes GRF2 carefully]

Types

Monthly salary x Nos. x Months

Research Postgraduate Students $1,368,000

19,000 * 2 * 12 456,000

19,000 * 2 * 12 456,000

19,000 * 2 * 12 456,000

Justification:

This project needs two Research Postgraduate Students under the supervision of the PI
and Co-I. One will work on the development of novel high-fidelity numerical framework
for simulating moving objects with superhydrophobic surfaces for three years. The other
will work on this project for biological self-propulsion. Both of them will write and
publish journal papers.

(ii) Equipment Expenses

[please itemize and provide quotations for each item costing over $200,000]

Justification:

Page 12
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624

Quotation Provided: Yes No

(iii) Outsourcing Expenses of Research Work Outside Hong Kong

[please itemize your cost estimation with justification and provide quotations for work
costing over $200,000; and provide detailed justification of sample sizes and costs for
surveys conducted outside Hong Kong.]

Justification:

Quotation Provided: Yes No

(iv) General Expenses

[please itemize and provide quotations for services/purchase costing over $200,000; and
provide detailed justification of sample sizes and costs for surveys conducted in Hong
Kong.]

(i) paper publication fees and 20,000 20,000 20,000 0 0 60,000

(ii) an oversea visit to other
University for research
collaboration.

Justification:

The budget will be used for (i) paper publication fees and (ii) an oversea visit to other
university for research collaboration.

Quotation Provided: Yes No

(v) Conference Expenses

The PI and the students will 20,000 20,000 20,000 0 0 60,000

attend the international
conferences relevant to
computational fluid
dynamics, fluid mechanics

Page 13
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
and applied mathematics.

Justification:

The PI and the students will attend the international conferences relevant to
computational fluid dynamics, fluid mechanics and applied mathematics.

Sub-total for (A) (One-line Vote Items): $ 1,488,000

(B) Earmarked Items

(vi) Costs for Employment of Relief Teacher

[see Enclosure III for individual research and Enclosure V for relief support under
Humanities and Social Science Panel]

Rank

Per course rate of relief teacher: x No. of course to be relieved

Justification:

PI’s Current Average Teaching Load: Total 0 courses per academic year [UGC-funded
programmes only]

(vii) Expenses of Research Experience for Undergraduate Student

(see Enclosure VI for Provision of Research Experience for Undergraduate Students)

Justification:

(viii) High-performance Computing Services Expenses

Justification:

Page 14
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624

Quotation Provided: Yes No

(ix) Research-related Software Licence /Dataset

[Please itemize and provide quotations for each item]

Justification:

Sub-total for (B) (Earmarked Items): $ 0

(x) Total cost of the project (A) + (B) $ 1,488,000

(C) Deduction Items

Less :
(xi) University's funding for provision of research experience for $ 0
undergraduate student
(xii) Other research funds secured from other sources $ 0

Sub-total for (C) (Deduction Items) : $ 0

(xiii) Amount requested in this application : (A) + (B) - (C) $ 1,488,000

(D) Academic Research related to Public Policy Developments

(xiv) Percentage of the total cost of the proposal related to public policy
developments ((A) + (B))
[see Enclosure VII for Support for Academic Research relating to 0%

Public Policy Developments]

(b) Declaration on the Equipment Procurement:

(i) No procurement of equipment is required

OR

(ii)I declare that the equipment indicated in Section 9(a)(A)(ii)

above is not available in the university

OR

Page 15
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624

(iii)I declare that all or some of the equipment (please provide

details in the following text box) indicated in Section 9(a)(A)(ii)
above is available in the university but cannot be used by this
project for the following reasons (a maximum of 500 words)

Reasons : (a maximum of 500 words)

(c) Declaration on employment of relief teacher:

(i) No relief teacher is required

OR

(ii) I declare that I currently do not hold any grant for

employment of relief teacher of any on-going project under
UGC/RGC funding schemes

OR

(iii)I declare that I hold grant for employment of relief teacher of

the following on-going project(s) under UGC/RGC funding
schemes (excluding Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious
Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS))

(d) Declaration on high-performance computing services:

(i) No procurement of high-performance computing services is

required

OR

(ii)I declare that the high-performance computing services

indicated in Section 9(a)(B)(viii) above is not available in the
university

OR

(iii)I declare that all or some of the high-performance computing

services (please provide details in the following text box) indicated
in Section 9(a)(B)(viii) above is available in the university but
cannot be used by me in view of the following reasons (a maximum

Page 16
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
of 500 words)

Reasons : (a maximum of 500 words)

(e) Declaration on the research-related software licence / dataset:

(i)No procurement of research-related software licence / dataset is

required

OR

(ii) I declare that the research-related software licence / dataset

indicated in Section 9(a)(B)(ix) above is not available in the
university

OR

(iii) I declare that all or some of the research-related software

licence / dataset (please provide details in the following text box)
indicated in Section 9(a)(B)(ix) above is available in the university
but cannot be used by me in view of the following reasons (a
maximum of 500 words)

Reasons : (a maximum of 500 words)

Page 17
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
10. Existing Facilities and Major Equipment available for this Research Project:
(a maximum of 400 words)
At the central facilities, HKUST
• HPC3 cluster: The HPC3 cluster is an in-house designed high performance computing
(HPC) facility at HKUST set up in May 2020. As of Sep 2021, it has 165 CPU compute
nodes and 25 GPU compute nodes which are InfiniBand (IB) connected at 100 Gbit/s with
2PB raw disk storage. The total number of CPU cores and GPU cards are 7412 and 230
respectively.

• NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD system: 512 H800 GPUs, high-speed interconnects, and a
high-performance data storage system.

The above computing facilities from our university are sufficient for this project.

Page 18
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
11. Funds Secured or to be Secured

(a) Other research funds already secured for this research proposal:
[This amount will be deducted from the total cost of the project in Part III Section 9
above.]

Source Amount ($)

(b) Other research funds to be or are being sought for this research proposal.
[If funds under this item are secured, the amount of the GRF to be awarded may be
reduced]:

Source Amount ($)

Page 19
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624

PART IV: ETHICS AND OTHER APPROVALS

12. Research Ethics / Safety Approval

(i) I confirm that the research involves / does not involve human
proposal subjects.

(ii) I confirm that the research involves / does not involve the study of
proposal artefacts.

(iii) Please tick in the appropriate boxes to confirm if approval for the respective ethics
and/or safety issues is required and has been / is being obtained from the PI’s university.
PIs are encouraged to seek necessary approval (except for human research ethics
(clinical)) before application deadlines.

Approval not Approval being Approval

required sought obtained
(1) Animal research ethics
(2) Biological safety
(3) Ionizing radiation safety
(4) Non-ionizing radiation safety
(5) Chemical safety
(6) Human research ethics
(non clinical)
(7) Artefacts research ethics

Approval not Approval being Approval Approval will

required sought obtained be sought if
funded
(8) Human research ethics
(clinical)

(iv) If approval is required by other authorities, please indicate below the names of the
authorities and the prospects of obtaining such approval. If not applicable, please put
down "N.A.".

N.A.

13. Access to Government/ Official/ Private Data and Records

Page 20
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624

(i) Is access to Government / official / private data and records critical to the research
project?

Yes

No

If approval is required, please indicate below the names of the agency(ies) of obtaining
such approval.

(ii) Please tick in the appropriate boxes to confirm if approval for access to the related
data/records has been / is being obtained from the relevant agency(ies). If approval has
been obtained, please provide evidence.

List of agency(ies) Approval not Approval being Approval

required sought obtained

Page 21
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
14. Project Data
(i) Is the proposed project likely to generate data set(s) of retention value?

Yes No
If yes, please describe the nature, quantity and potential use of the data set(s) in future.

Nil

(ii) Are you willing to make the data set(s) available to others for reference twelve
months after the publication of research results or the completion of this proposed
project?
Yes No

I understand that the RGC will release the completion report to the public and only
considers data archiving requests after the completion of the RGC-funded project. The
RGC has full discretion in funding the archiving requests. Data sets archived with RGC
funds will require users to acknowledge the originator and the RGC. The originator will
also be provided with copies of all publications derived from the use of the data.

I undertake to include in the project completion report the URL links to the university’s
repository or the publishers’ websites so that the public could have quick and easy access
to the manuscripts or journal articles. I will also consider to include in the research
completion report the data repository where research data of the project could be
accessed and shared, where appropriate.

I undertake that upon acceptance of a paper for publication,

(i)I will check whether the publisher already allows (A) full open access to the publisher's
version, or (B) my depositing a copy of the paper (either the publisher's version or the
final accepted manuscript after peer-review) in the university's repository for open
access;
(ii)if both (i) (A) and (B) are not allowed, I will request the publisher to allow me to place
either version in my university's repository for restricted access immediately upon
publication or after an embargo period of up to twelve months if required by the
publisher; and
(iii)subject to the publisher's agreement on (i) or (ii) above, I will deposit a copy of the
publication in my university's repository as early as possible but no later
than six months after publication or the embargo period, if any.

Page 22
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
PART V: ADDITIONAL ATTACHMENTS
Appendix 1: Education Plan

Page 23
EDUCATION PLAN

Course material improvement for undergraduate and postgraduate students

As the first step, I will collaborate with my colleagues to add the numerical modelling for
superhydrophobic surfaces to the lecture materials in aerodynamics. Due to historical reasons,
the lecture materials have remained the standard formats for many years, and therefore lots of
knowledge incorporated is indeed far from catching up with what is demanded in modern
aerospace industry, which eventually weakens their overall competitive strength in the job
market and also their research potential in a Ph.D. study. I would coordinate to introduce more
advanced knowledge, e.g., superhydrophobic coating, into the fluid mechanics course for
undergraduates. Further, I propose to incorporate modern materials, such as numerical methods
for solving a hyperbolic system, into the computational fluid dynamics course for postgraduates.
Such efforts dedicate to establishing the early link between the course study and the Ph.D.
research as well as the real-world industrial applications.

Design projects for undergraduate students

Secondly, I propose to offer more chances and formats for undergraduates to participate in
small research projects within this proposal. I will collaborate with CO-I to offer more
internship positions for the year one and two undergraduates. The students will have the chance
to participate in some ongoing research projects with senior Ph.D. students and postdoctoral
fellows under our supervision.

Outreach to undergraduate, postgraduate students and the general public

Thirdly, I advocate to make more online teaching and training materials about the flow
problems with superhydrophobic surfaces for students and general public. I believe that these
public materials will not only be beneficial for their job searching but also be able to strengthen
their academic interests. On the other hand, for the general public, these online materials raise
awareness of scientific and aeronautical engineering principles and demonstrate how innovative
research can impact the way people live.
Project Team and Plan for Collaboration

PI: Dr. Buchen Wu

Co-I: Prof. Lin Fu

The PI, Dr. Buchen Wu, and Co-I, Prof. Lin Fu, will jointly manage the entire project, including
hiring postgraduate students with necessary background, monitoring the budget, and
guaranteeing the progress. More specifically, Dr. Wu will design the research plan, develop the
numerical algorithm as well as the corresponding code, present research findings in
internationally recognized conferences and publish research articles in premier journals. In
addition, Dr. Wu and Prof. Fu will supervise students and ensure qualified journal publications
with postgraduate students. Other activities include the interaction with other groups/institutes
and the training of undergraduate students or visiting fellows with shared interests.
GRF1
RGC Ref No. 16214624
PART VI: UNDERTAKING OF THE PI

By submitting the application, I undertake that the research activity(ies) / expenditure(s)

of the project if funded will be carefully monitored for its / their compliance with
applicable laws, health and safety guidelines and ethical standards.

Page 24