STEMJazz Talklet with Olivia Pomerenk
Abstract
Olivia recently presented her research on using kirigami to improve how air flows over surfaces. While origami is the art of folding paper, kirigami involves making strategic cuts without removing any material. When these flat sheets are stretched, they transform into three-dimensional structures.
Olivia’s work applies this technique to the stiff materials used on airfoils, or wings. By adding these 3D patterns to a wing’s surface, it is possible to delay the formation of turbulent air. In aviation, turbulence leads to a loss of lift called a stall. Preventing or delaying a stall is a critical factor in flight safety, and Olivia’s goal is to see if these textures can make wings more efficient.
To understand how these materials behave, Olivia analyzed the relationship between the geometry of the cuts and the way the material deforms. She used a specific pattern of interlocking diamonds that allows a normally rigid material to stretch as the diamonds rise out of the flat plane. This creates what is known as a metamaterial, which is a material engineered to have structural properties not found in nature. Using a combination of geometry and physics, she was able to predict exactly how the material would react under stress.
After developing the theory, Olivia moved to experimental testing. She attached these kirigami skins to a model wing and placed it in a wind tunnel at 90 mph. By measuring the lift at different angles, she found that the kirigami surface delayed stalling by 3 degrees. For a pilot, this provides a significantly larger margin of safety and more room for error during flight.
The applications for this work extend beyond aerodynamics. Other researchers, including those in chemistry, are looking at how similar kirigami structures can be used at much smaller scales to manipulate light and energy. While Olivia has focused on regular, repeating patterns so far, the potential to map more complex, non-repeating designs could open even more possibilities for the future of material science.
If you are interested in seeing the data behind these findings, Olivia’s work provides a compelling look at how ancient art forms can solve modern engineering challenges.
