Experimental Study of Flow Separation over NACA633018 Wing with Synthetic Jet Control at Low Reynolds Numbers

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-Y. Lin ◽  
F.-B. Hsiao

AbstractThis paper experimentally studies flow separation and aerodynamic performance of a NACA633018 wing using a series of piezoelectric-driven disks, which are located at 12% chord length from the leading edge to generate a spanwise-distributed synthetic jets to excite the passing flow. The experiment is conducted in an open-type wind tunnel with Reynolds numbers (Re) of 8 × 104 and 1.2 × 105, respectively, based on the wing chord. The oscillations of the synthetic jet actuators (SJAs) disturb the neighboring passage flow on the upper surface of the wing before the laminar separation takes place. The disturbances of energy influence the downstream development of boundary layers to eliminate or reduce the separation bubble on the upper surface of the wing. Significant lift increase and drag decrease are found at the tested Reynolds number of 8 × 104 due to the actuators excitation. Furthermore, the effect of drag also reduces dominant with increasing Reynolds number, but the increase on lift is reduced with the Reynolds number increased.

1975 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. B. Roberts

Testing over a range of Reynolds numbers was done for three NACA 65 Profiles in cascade. The testing was carried out in the VKI C-1 Low Speed Cascade Wind Tunnel; blade chord Reynolds number was varied from 250,000 to 40,000. A semiempirical theory is developed which will predict the behavior of the shear layer across a laminar separation bubble. The method is proposed for two-dimensional incompressible flow and is applicable down to short bubble bursting. The method can be used to predict the length of the laminar bubble, the bursting Reynolds number, and the development of the shear layer through the separated region. As such it is a practical method for calculating the profile losses of axial compressor and turbine cascades in the presence of laminar separation bubbles. It can also be used to predict the abrupt leading edge stall associated with thin airfoil sections. The predictions made by the method are compared with the available experimental data. The agreement could be considered good. The method was also used to predict regions of laminar separation in converging flows through axial compressor cascades (exterior to the corner vortices) with good results. For Reynolds numbers below bursting the semiempirical theory no longer applies. For this situation the performance of an axial compressor cascade can be computed using an empirical correlation proposed by the author. Comparison of performance prediction with experiment shows satisfactory agreement. Finally, a tentative correlation, based on the NACA Diffusion Factor, is presented that allows a rapid estimation of the bursting Reynolds number of an axial compressor cascade.


Author(s):  
Qingfeng Xia ◽  
Shan Zhong

In the work presented in this article, the behaviour of circular synthetic jets issuing into quiescent surrounding fluid at low Reynolds numbers is experimentally studied for potential mixing applications of synthetic jets at micro-scales or in highly viscous fluids. Sugar solutions and silicone oil are used as the flow media in order to achieve the required low Reynolds numbers. The conditions for jet instability, vortex rollup and synthetic jet formation are investigated using both flow visualisation techniques and particle image velocimetry, and the typical behaviour of synthetic jets at a Reynolds number around unity is also illustrated. The roles of Reynolds number, dimensionless stroke length and Stokes number in determining the characteristics of synthetic jets are examined and found to be largely consistent with the finding obtained at higher Reynolds numbers. Finally, a parameter map of synthetic jet flow patterns is produced based on the results from this study, which can be used to aid the choice of synthetic jet operating conditions for specific applications or anticipate if a desired vortex structure can be obtained at a given synthetic jet operating condition.


Author(s):  
A Samson ◽  
S Sarkar

This paper describes the dynamics of a laminar separation bubble formed on the semi-circular leading edge of constant thickness aerofoil model. Detailed experimental studies are carried out in a low-speed wind tunnel, where surface pressure and time-averaged velocity in the separated region and as well as in the downstream are presented along with flow field visualisations through PIV for various Reynolds numbers ranging from 25,000 to 75,000 (based on the leading edge diameter). The results illustrate that the separated shear layer is laminar up to 20% of separation length and then the perturbations are amplified in the second half attributing to breakdown and reattachment. The bubble length is highly susceptible to change in Reynolds number and plays an important role in outer layer activities. Further, the transition of a separated shear layer is studied through variation of intermittency factor and comparing with existing correlations available in the literature for attached flow and as well as separated flow. Transition of the separated shear layer occurs through formation of K-H rolls, where the intermittency following spot propagation theory appears valid. The predominant shedding frequency when normalised with respect to the momentum thickness at separation remains almost constant with change in Reynolds number. The relaxation is slow after reattachment and the flow takes about five bubble lengths to approach a canonical layer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 621
Author(s):  
Veerapathiran Thangaraj Gopinathan ◽  
John Bruce Ralphin Rose ◽  
Mohanram Surya

Aerodynamic efficiency of an airplane wing can be improved either by increasing its lift generation tendency or by reducing the drag. Recently, Bio-inspired designs have been received greater attention for the geometric modifications of airplane wings. One of the bio-inspired designs contains sinusoidal Humpback Whale (HW) tubercles, i.e., protuberances exist at the wing leading edge (LE). The tubercles have excellent flow control characteristics at low Reynolds numbers. The present work describes about the effect of tubercles on swept back wing performance at various Angle of Attack (AoA). NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 airfoils are used for swept back wing design with sweep angle about 30°. The modified wings (HUMP 0015 A, HUMP 0015 B, HUMP 4415 A, HUMP 4415 B) are designed with two amplitude to wavelength ratios (η) of 0.1 & 0.24 for the performance analysis. It is a novel effort to analyze the tubercle vortices along the span that induce additional flow energy especially, behind the tubercles peak and trough region. Subsequently, Co-efficient of Lift (CL), Co-efficient of Drag (CD) and boundary layer pressure gradients also predicted for modified and baseline (smooth LE) models in the pre & post-stall regimes. It was observed that the tubercles increase the performance of swept back wings by the enhanced CL/CD ratio in the pre-stall AoA region. Interestingly, the flow separation region behind the centerline of tubercles and formation of Laminar Separation Bubbles (LSB) were asymmetric because of the sweep.


Author(s):  
Kenneth Van Treuren ◽  
Tyler Pharris ◽  
Olivia Hirst

The low-pressure turbine has become more important in the last few decades because of the increased emphasis on higher overall pressure and bypass ratios. The desire is to increase blade loading to reduce blade counts and stages in the low-pressure turbine of a gas turbine engine. Increased turbine inlet temperatures for newer cycles results in higher temperatures in the low-pressure turbine, especially the latter stages, where cooling technologies are not used. These higher temperatures lead to higher work from the turbine and this, combined with the high loadings, can lead to flow separation. Separation is more likely in engines operating at high altitudes and reduced throttle setting. At the high Reynolds numbers found at takeoff, the flow over a low-pressure turbine blade tends to stay attached. At lower blade Reynolds numbers (25,000 to 200,000), found during cruise at high altitudes, the flow on the suction surface of the low-pressure turbine blades is inclined to separate. This paper is a study on the flow characteristics of the L1A turbine blade at three low Reynolds numbers (60,000, 108,000, and 165,000) and 15 turbulence intensities (1.89% to 19.87%) in a steady flow cascade wind tunnel. With this data, it is possible to examine the impact of Reynolds number and turbulence intensity on the location of the initiation of flow separation, the flow separation zone, and the reattachment location. Quantifying the change in separated flow as a result of varying Reynolds numbers and turbulence intensities will help to characterize the low momentum flow environments in which the low-pressure turbine must operate and how this might impact the operation of the engine. Based on the data presented, it is possible to predict the location and size of the separation as a function of both the Reynolds number and upstream freestream turbulence intensity (FSTI). Being able to predict this flow behavior can lead to more effective blade designs using either passive or active flow control to reduce or eliminate flow separation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0309524X2110550
Author(s):  
Moutaz Elgammi ◽  
Tonio Sant ◽  
Atiyah Abdulmajid Ateeah

Modeling of the flow over aerofoil profiles at low Reynolds numbers is difficult due to the complex physics associated with the laminar flow separation mechanism. Two major problems arise in the estimation of profile drag: (1) the drag force at low Reynolds numbers is extremely small to be measured in a wind tunnel by force balance techniques, (2) the profile drag is usually calculated by pressure integration, hence the skin friction component of drag is excluded. In the present work, three different 4-digit NACA aerofoils are investigated. Measurements are conducted in an open-ended subsonic wind tunnel, while numerical work is performed by time Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) coupled with the laminar-kinetic-energy ( K-kl-w) turbulence model. The influence of the flow separation bubbles and transition locations on the profile drag is discussed and addressed. This paper gives important insights into importance of measurements at low Reynolds numbers for better aerodynamic loads predictions.


Author(s):  
Hossein Jabbari ◽  
Esmaeili Ali ◽  
Mohammad Hasan Djavareshkian

Since laminar separation bubbles are neutrally shaped on the suction side of full-span wings in low Reynolds number flows, a roughness element can be used to improve the performance of micro aerial vehicles. The purpose of this article was to investigate the leading-edge roughness element’s effect and its location on upstream of the laminar separation bubble from phase portrait point of view. Therefore, passive control might have an acoustic side effect, especially when the bubble might burst and increase noise. Consequently, the effect of the leading-edge roughness element features on the bubble’s behavior is considered on the acoustic pressure field and the vortices behind the NASA-LS0417 cross-section. The consequences express that the distribution of roughness in the appropriate dimensions and location could contribute to increasing the performance of the airfoil and the interaction of vortices produced by roughness elements with shear layers on the suction side has increased the sound frequency in the relevant sound pressure level (SPL). The results have demonstrated that vortex shedding frequency was increased in the presence of roughness compared to the smooth airfoil. Also, more complexity of the phase portrait circuits was found, retrieved from velocity gradient limitation. Likewise, the highest SPL is related to the state where the separation bubble phenomenon is on the surface versus placing roughness elements on the leading edge leads to a negative amount of SPL.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 175682931983367
Author(s):  
Carolyn M Reed ◽  
David A Coleman ◽  
Moble Benedict

This paper provides a fundamental understanding of the unsteady fluid-dynamic phenomena on a cycloidal rotor blade operating at ultra-low Reynolds numbers (Re ∼ 18,000) by utilizing a combination of instantaneous blade force and flowfield measurements. The dynamic blade force coefficients were almost double the static ones, indicating the role of dynamic stall. For the dynamic case, the blade lift monotonically increased up to ±45° pitch amplitude; however, for the static case, the flow separated from the leading edge after around 15° with a large laminar separation bubble. There was significant asymmetry in the lift and drag coefficients between the upper and lower halves of the trajectory due to the flow curvature effects (virtual camber). The particle image velocimetry measured flowfield showed the dynamic stall process during the upper half to be significantly different from the lower half because of the reversal of dynamic virtual camber. Even at such low Reynolds numbers, the pressure forces, as opposed to viscous forces, were found to be dominant on the cyclorotor blade. The power required for rotation (rather than pitching power) dominated the total blade power.


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