Thrust generation from pitching foils with flexible trailing edge flaps

2017 ◽  
Vol 828 ◽  
pp. 70-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jimreeves David ◽  
R. N. Govardhan ◽  
J. H. Arakeri
Keyword(s):  
Flexural Rigidity ◽  
Resonance Condition ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Peak Efficiency ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Axial Thrust ◽  
Thrust Coefficient ◽  
Rigidity Parameter ◽  
Thrust Generation ◽  
Flap Deflection

In the present experimental study, we investigate thrust production from a pitching flexible foil in a uniform flow. The flexible foils studied comprise a rigid foil in the front (chord length $c_{R}$) that is pitched sinusoidally at a frequency $f$, with a flexible flap of length $c_{F}$ and flexural rigidity $EI$ attached to its trailing edge. We investigate thrust generation for a range of flexural rigidities ($EI$) and flap length to total chord ratio ($c_{F}/c$), with the mean thrust ($\overline{C_{T}}$) and the efficiency of thrust generation ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}$) being directly measured in each case. The thrust in the rigid foil cases, as expected, is found to be primarily due to the normal force on the rigid foil ($\overline{C_{TN}}$) with the chordwise or axial thrust contribution ($\overline{C_{TA}}$) being small and negative. In contrast, in the flexible foil cases, the axial contribution to thrust becomes important. We find that using a non-dimensional flexural rigidity parameter ($R^{\ast }$) defined as $R^{\ast }=EI/(0.5\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}U^{2}c_{F}^{3})$ appears to combine the independent effects of variations in $EI$ and $c_{F}/c$ at a given value of the reduced frequency ($k=\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}fc/U$) for the range of $c_{F}/c$ values studied here ($U$ is free-stream velocity; $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}$ is fluid density). At $k\approx 6$, the peak mean thrust coefficient is found to be about 100 % higher than the rigid foil thrust, and occurs at $R^{\ast }$ value of approximately 8, while the peak efficiency is found to be approximately 300 % higher than the rigid foil efficiency and occurs at a distinctly different $R^{\ast }$ value of close to 0.01. Corresponding to these two optimal flexural rigidity parameter values, we find two distinct flap deflection shapes; the peak thrust corresponding to a mode 1 type simple bending of the flap with no inflection points, while the peak efficiency corresponds to a distinctly different deflection profile having an inflection point along the flap. The peak thrust condition is found to be close to the ‘resonance’ condition for the first mode natural frequency of the flexible flap in still water. In both these optimal cases, we find that it is the axial contribution to thrust that dominates ($\overline{C_{TA}}\gg \overline{C_{TN}}$), in contrast to the rigid foil case. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements for the flexible cases show significant differences in the strength and arrangement of the wake vortices in these two cases.

Flexibility in flapping foil suppresses meandering of induced jet in absence of free stream

2014 ◽  
Vol 757 ◽  
pp. 231-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachin Y. Shinde ◽  
Jaywant H. Arakeri
Keyword(s):  
Free Stream ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Chord Length ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Coherent Jet ◽  
Flap Deflection

AbstractThrust-generating flapping foils are known to produce jets inclined to the free stream at high Strouhal numbers $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}\mathit{St} = fA/U_{\infty }$, where $f$ is the frequency and $A$ is the amplitude of flapping and $U_{\infty }$ is the free-stream velocity. Our experiments, in the limiting case of $\mathit{St} \rightarrow \infty $ (zero free-stream speed), show that a purely oscillatory pitching motion of a chordwise flexible foil produces a coherent jet composed of a reverse Bénard–Kármán vortex street along the centreline, albeit over a specific range of effective flap stiffnesses. We obtain flexibility by attaching a thin flap to the trailing edge of a rigid NACA0015 foil; length of flap is $0.79\, c$ where $c$ is rigid foil chord length. It is the time-varying deflections of the flexible flap that suppress the meandering found in the jets produced by a pitching rigid foil for zero free-stream condition. Recent experiments (Marais et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 710, 2012, p. 659) have also shown that the flexibility increases the $\mathit{St}$ at which non-deflected jets are obtained. Analysing the near-wake vortex dynamics from flow visualization and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements, we identify the mechanisms by which flexibility suppresses jet deflection and meandering. A convenient characterization of flap deformation, caused by fluid–flap interaction, is through a non-dimensional ‘effective stiffness’, $EI^{*} = 8 \, EI/(\rho \, V_{{{TE_{{max}}}}}^2 \, s_{{{f}}} \, c_{{{f}}}^3/2)$, representing the inverse of the flap deflection due to the fluid-dynamic loading; here, $EI$ is the bending stiffness of flap, $\rho $ is fluid density, $V_{{{TE_{{max}}}}}$ is the maximum velocity of rigid foil trailing edge, $s_{{{f}}}$ is span and $c_{{{f}}}$ is chord length of the flexible flap. By varying the amplitude and frequency of pitching, we obtain a variation in $EI^{*}$ over nearly two orders of magnitude and show that only moderate $EI^{*}\ (0.1 \lesssim EI^{*} \lesssim 1)$ generates a sustained, coherent, orderly jet. Relatively ‘stiff’ flaps ($EI^{*} \gtrsim 1$), including the extreme case of no flap, produce meandering jets, whereas highly ‘flexible’ flaps ($EI^{*} \lesssim 0.1$) produce spread-out jets. Obtained from the measured mean velocity fields, we present values of thrust coefficients for the cases for which orderly jets are observed.

Effect of Trailing-Edge Flap Deflection on a Symmetric Airfoil Over a Wavy Ground

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Tremblay-Dionne ◽  
T. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Pitching Moment ◽  
Cyclic Variation ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Opposite Trend ◽  
Aerodynamic Properties ◽  
Trailing Edge Flap ◽  
Flap Deflection ◽  
Naca 0015

The effect of trailing-edge flap (TEF) deflection on the aerodynamic properties and flowfield of a symmetric airfoil over a wavy ground was investigated experimentally. This Technical Brief is a continuation of Lee and Tremblay-Dionne (2018, “Experimental Investigation of the Aerodynamics and Flowfield of a NACA 0015 Airfoil Over a Wavy Ground,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 140(7), p. 071202) in which an unflapped airfoil was employed. Regardless of the flap deflection, the cyclic variation in the sectional lift Cl and pitching moment Cm coefficients over the wavy ground always persists. The Cm also has an opposite trend to Cl. The flap deflection, however, produces an increased maximum and minimum Cl and Cm with a reduced fluctuation compared to their unflapped counterparts. The Cd increase outperforms the Cl increase, leading to a lowered Cl/Cd of the flapped airfoil.

scholarly journals Optimization Aspects of an Ejector Type Hypersonic Thrust Nozzle

1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Trittler ◽  
E. Eckert ◽  
M. Göing
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Exhaust System ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Calculation Model ◽  
Nozzle Geometry ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Axial Thrust ◽  
Thrust Coefficient ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Low Performance

Hypersonic aircraft projects are highly dependant on efficient propulsion systems. High performance and integration within the airframe play a vital role in the overall concept. Particular attention must be paid to the exhaust system that is submitted to a wide range of operational requirements. An optimization of the nozzle geometry for high flight Mach numbers will lead to a low performance at the transonic flight regime. The additional use of secondary ejector air flow at transonic speeds is one option to improve the thrust behaviour of the nozzle. In the presented paper performance data of single expansion ramp ejector type nozzles are predicted using a calculation model based on a method-of-characteristics algorithm. For optimization purposes the effects of various design parameters on axial thrust coefficient and thrust vector angle are discussed. The geometric parameters investigated are the length of the lower nozzle wall and its deflection angle as well as the ejector slot location and its cross-section.

Control of global instability in a non-parallel near wake

2000 ◽  
Vol 404 ◽  
pp. 345-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
TZONG-SHYNG LEU ◽  
CHIH-MING HO
Keyword(s):  
Free Stream ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Parallel Flow ◽  
Free Stream Velocity ◽  
Splitter Plate ◽  
Wake Flow ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Global Instability ◽  
Unstable Flow ◽  
Trailing Edge

The effect of base suction on a plane wake was found to produce significant changes in wake dynamics. The wake is produced by merging two boundary layers from the trailing edge of a splitter plate in a two-stream water tunnel. A threshold suction speed exists which is approximately equal to half of the free-stream velocity. If the suction speed is below the threshold, the wake flow is unstable. If the suction speed is above the threshold, the wake becomes stable and no vortex shedding is observed. In the present experiment, the suction technique can stabilize a wake at a maximum tested Reynolds number of 2000.The suction significantly reduces the length of the absolutely unstable region in the immediate vicinity of the trailing edge of the splitter plate and produces a non-parallel flow pattern, resulting in the breakdown of global instability. The global growth rate changes from positive (unstable flow) to negative (stable flow) at the suction speed equalling 0.46 of the free-stream velocity. The threshold suction speed can be accurately predicted by the global linear theory of Monkewitz et al. (1993) with a non-parallel flow correction.

Numerical Study on Thrust Generation Performance of Plunging Airfoils

2013 ◽  
Vol 312 ◽  
pp. 235-238
Author(s):  
Ji Gao ◽  
Rui Shan Yuan ◽  
Ming Hui Zhang ◽  
Yong Hui Xie
Keyword(s):  
Viscous Flow ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Angle Of Attack ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Thrust Coefficient ◽  
Propulsive Efficiency ◽  
Propulsion Performance ◽  
Incompressible Viscous Flow ◽  
Thrust Generation ◽  
The Difference

In this paper, the effects of angle of attack, camber and camber location on propulsion performance of flapping airfoils undergoing plunging motion were numerically studied at Re=20000 and h=0.175. The unsteady incompressible viscous flow around four different airfoil sections was simulated applying the dynamic mesh. The results show that the time averaged thrust coefficient CTmean and propulsive efficiency η of the symmetric airfoil decrease with the increasing angle of attack, and the variation of CTmean is more obvious than that of CPmean. Both CTmean and η for NACA airfoils studied in this paper decrease with the increasing camber and the difference between the propulsion performances of different airfoils is not obvious, and the thrust generation and power of various NACA airfoils gradually increase during the downstroke and decrease during the upstroke. Under the same conditions, the airfoil with a further distance between the maximum camber location and the chord of the leading edge leads to higher propulsive efficiency.

Study on Vibratory Loads of Rotor with Trailing Edge Excitation

2014 ◽  
Vol 1044-1045 ◽  
pp. 877-880
Author(s):  
Shi Ming Liu ◽  
Wei Dong Yang ◽  
Jie Wu
Keyword(s):  
Vibration Control ◽  
Aerodynamic Force ◽  
Inertial Force ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Control Laws ◽  
Vibratory Load ◽  
Flap Deflection ◽  
Control Light ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Frequency Phase

To investigate the vibratory load of rotor with trailing edge excitation, and to study the relationship between TEF motion and hub vibratory load, a comprehensive model is built based on a conventional rotor modeling. Both the inertial force and aerodynamic force of TEF are considered. Effects of frequency, phase and amplitude of the excitation on hub vibration are discussed. The results indicate that with proper phase, hub vibration can be reduced with any of 2-5/rev trailing edge excitation. Within a reasonable range, the change in 4/rev hub vibration is more obvious with larger flap deflection. Control laws of several vibration directions are different, so various directions should be considered overall for optimal vibration control. Light TEFs are beneficial for vibration control.

Parameterization of a Multi-Directional Tidal Turbine Performance Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Medvitz ◽  
Michael L. Jonson ◽  
James J. Dreyer ◽  
Jarlath McEntee
Keyword(s):  
Turbine Blade ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Moving Mesh ◽  
Cfd Analysis ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Peak Efficiency ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Blade Shape ◽  
Tidal Turbine

High resolution RANS CFD analysis is performed to support the design and development of the Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) TidGen™ multi-directional tidal turbine. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional unsteady, moving-mesh CFD is utilized to parameterize the device performance and to provide guidance for device efficiency improvements. The unsteady CFD analysis was performed using a well validated, naval hydrodynamic CFD solver and implementing dynamic overset meshes to perform the relative motion between geometric components. This dynamic capability along with the turbulence model for the expected massively separated flows was validated against published data of a high angle of attack pitching airfoil. Two-dimensional analyses were performed to assess both blade shape and operating conditions. The blade shape performance was parameterized on both blade camber and trailing edge thickness. The blades shapes were found to produce nearly the same power generation at the peak efficiency tip speed ratio (TSR), however off-design conditions were found to exhibit a strong dependency on blade shape. Turbine blades with the camber pointing outward radially were found to perform best over the widest range of TSR’s. In addition, a thickened blade trailing edge was found to be superior at the highest TSR’s with little performance degradation at low TSR’s. Three-dimensional moving mesh analyses were performed on the rotating portion of the full TidGen™ geometry and on a turbine blade stack-up. Partitioning the 3D blades axially showed that no sections reached the idealized 2D performance. The 3D efficiency dropped by approximately 12 percentage points at the peak efficiency TSR. A blade stack-up analysis was performed on the complex 3D/barreled/twisted turbine blade. The analysis first assessed the infinite length blade performance, next end effects were introduced by extruding the 2D foil to the nominal 5.6m length, next barreling was added to the straight foils, and finally twist was added to the foils to reproduce the TidGen™ geometry. The study showed that making the blades a finite length had a large negative impact on the performance, whereas barreling and twisting the foils had only minor impacts. Based on the 3D simulations the largest factor impacting performance in the 3D turbine was a reduction in mass flow through the turbine due to the streamlines being forces outward in the horizontal plane due to the turbine flow resistance. Strategies to mitigate these 3D losses were investigated, including adding flow deflectors on the turbine support structure and stacking multiple turbines in-line.

Flight Development of the Avro CF-100 Mark 5 Aircraft

1958 ◽  
Vol 62 (566) ◽  
pp. 118-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Whittley
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Shock Wave ◽  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Aerodynamic Characteristics ◽  
Vortex Generators ◽  
High Altitudes ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Flap Deflection ◽  
Performance Gains

SummaryImprovements made to the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing of the Avro CF-100 Mark 5 aircraft are discussed. Modifications to the wing included increase in aspect ratio, addition of vortex generators, and deflection of trailing edge plain flaps. The effect of flap deflection and addition of vortex generators on the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing are shown to be closely associated with interaction of the upper surface shock wave with the boundary layer. Performance gains were demonstrated at high subsonic speeds at high altitudes. Vortex generators improved the buffet boundary, whereas flap deflection both increased aircraft ceiling and improved buffet boundary.

Influence of flow velocity and flexural rigidity on the flow induced vibration and acoustic characteristics of a flexible plate

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 2284-2300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish Purohit ◽  
Ashish K Darpe ◽  
SP Singh
Keyword(s):  
Flow Velocity ◽  
Flexural Rigidity ◽  
Resonance Condition ◽  
Structural Flexibility ◽  
Far Field ◽  
Flexible Plate ◽  
Flow Induced Vibration ◽  
Fluid Structure ◽  
Structure System ◽  
Field Sound

A numerical investigation on the influence of structural flexibility and flow velocity on the flow-induced acoustic and vibration response of a plate is presented. Simulations are performed on a test geometry of rigid square bluff body with a trailing flexible plate in low Reynolds number flow stream. The focus of the study is to characterize the flow-induced vibration and associated aerodynamic far field sound radiation from a flexible structure in flow. The role of flow velocity and level of structural flexibility on the acoustic radiation is thoroughly investigated. A linearized Euler equation based computational aeroacoustic hybrid method and a surface source approach for coupling the flow and acoustic domains are implemented with a bi-directional fluid structure interaction. The vortex shedding frequency of the coupled fluid-structure system synchronizes with the fundamental frequency of the trailing plate and steady-state vibration of the plate is observed. The results indicate that the relation between vibration level and the flow velocity as well as structural flexibility is not linearly related. For a particular combination of flow velocity and plate stiffness, the coupled fluid-structure system shows the resonance condition. The observed resonance frequency is slightly different from the free vibration (natural) frequency of the plate. Computation of the acoustic shows that the magnitude and spectral nature of the far field sound depends on the amplitude of the vibration and a higher acoustic pressure and the sound rich in tones is observed at resonance condition.

An Investigation of the Effect of Cascade Area Ratios on Transonic Compressor Performance

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Wadia ◽  
W. W. Copenhaver
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Area Ratio ◽  
Peak Efficiency ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Transonic Compressor ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Boundary Layer Interaction ◽  
Compressor Performance

Transonic compressor rotor performance is highly sensitive to variations in cascade area ratios. This paper reports on the design, experimental evaluation and three-dimensional viscous analysis of four low aspect ratio transonic rotors that demonstrate the effects of cascade throat area, internal contraction and trailing edge effective camber on compressor performance. The cascade throat area study revealed that tight throat margins result in increased high speed efficiency with lower part speed performance. Stall line was also improved slightly over a wide range of speeds with a lower throat-to-upstream capture area ratio. Higher internal contraction, expressed as throat-to-mouth area ratio, also results in increased design point peak efficiency, but again costs performance at the lower speeds. Reducing the trailing edge effective camber expressed as throat-to-exit area ratio, results in an improvement in peak efficiency level without significantly lowering the stall line. Among all four rotors, the best high speed efficiency was obtained by the rotor with tight throat margin and highest internal contraction, but its efficiency was the lowest at part speed. The best compromise between high speed and part speed efficiency was achieved by the rotor with a large throat and a lower trailing edge effective camber. The differences in the shock structure and the shock boundary layer interaction of the four blades was analyzed using a three-dimensional viscous code. The analytical results are used to supplement the data and provide further insight into the detailed physics of the flow field.

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