Kenneth Visser
Associate Professor
361 CAMP
Clarkson University
PO Box 5725
Potsdam, NY 13699-5725
T: 315-268-7687 F: 315-268-6438
E-mail: visser@clarkson.edu
Research site: http://www.clarkson.edu/~visser
CV: PDF
Education
B.Sc., University of Calgary (1986)
M.S., University of Notre Dame (1988)
Ph.D., University of Notre Dame (1991)
Teaching
Dr. Visser is the faculty advisor for the the Design, Build and Fly Team and the co-advisor with Professor Jha of the Clarkson AIAA Student Chapter. He is also the advisor for Sigma Gamma Tau, the Aerospace Honors Society. Courses taught include:
AE200 - Aeronautical Engineering Seminar
AE429 - Aircraft Performance and Flight Mechanics
AE430 - Stability and Control of Aerospace Vehicles
AE450/451 - Aircraft Design I & II
HP200 - Honors Sophomore Problem Solving Course
Research Interests
Dr. Visser's research interests are primarily applied experimental aerodynamics and also include such areas as aircraft design, sustainable energy, and experimental measurement techniques. More information can be found on his research web site. Below are several current project areas.
| Ground Vehicle Drag Reduction The aft end of ground vehicles is often a design compromise between functionality and aerodynamics. Traditional transport vehicles have a flat aft end which creates a large drag on the vehicle at highway speeds. The use of extendable flat plates mounted to the truck doors to reduce drag is being studied in the wind tunnel and on full scale vehicles. |
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| Renewable Energy Technologies Distributed power generation is a viable strategy to complement the present day grid system, especially for rural homes and farms. Concepts for especially for rural homes and farms. Concepts for muli-bladed rotors are being studied to increase the efficiency of small, homeowner sized turbines. Novel tidal enrgy extraction concepts are also being studied. These projects are part of the Wind Energy Research Group under the Clarkson Center for the Environment. |
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| Vortex Flows Wing-tip rollup and formation is a complex process and the design of an appropriate wing-tip to maximize the overall advantage to an airplane design is not always that obvious. Research is focused on optimizing the possibilities of raked wing-tip concepts and investigating the nature of the shear layer that forms the leading-edge vortex structure in a delta wing flow field. |
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Selected Publications
Grover, K. and Visser, K.D., "Over-the-Road Tests of Sealed Aft Cavities on Tractor Trailers", SAE Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress and Exhibit, Rosemont, IL, Oct/Nov 2006.
Rector, M. C., and Visser, K.D., "Solidity, Blade Number, and Pitch Angle Effects on a One Kilowatt HAWT", AIAA-2006-0608, 44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV., January 2006./font>
Khan, M.A., Pillay, P. and Visser, K.D., "On Adapting a Small PM Wind Generator for a Multiblade, High Solidity Wind Turbine" IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Vol. 20, No,3, September 2005 Bennington, M.A. and Visser, K.D., "Aerial Refueling Implications for Commercial Transports," AIAA Journal of Aircraft , Vol. 42, No. 1, January-February 2005
Visser, K.D., Ferrero Ferrero, M. del Carmen, and Nelson, R.C., "Physical Considerations of Leading Edge Flows",AIAA 2004-5083, 22nd Applied Aerodynamics Conference, Providence, RI, August 2004.
Coon, J.D, and Visser, K.D., "Drag Reduction of a Tractor-Trailer Using Planar Boat Tail Plates," The Aerodynamics of Heavy Vehicles: Trucks, Buses, and Trains, Lecture Notes in Applied and Computational Mechanics, Vol. 19, McCallen, Rose; Browand, Fred; Ross, James (Eds.), 2004, XII, 567 p.378, with CD-ROM., Hardcover, ISBN: 3-540-22088
Duquette, M.M, Swanson, J. and Visser, K.D., "Solidity and Blade Number Effects on Small Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines," Wind Engineering, Vol 27, No. 4, pp. 299-316, 2003.
Duquette, M. and Visser, K.D., "Numerical Implications of Solidity and Blade Number on Rotor Performance of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines," Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. 125, No. 4, pp. 425-432, November 2003.
Gold, N.P. and Visser, K.D "Aerodynamic Effects of Local Dihedral on a Raked Wing Tip", AIAA-2002-0831, January 14-17, 2002, Reno, NV.