scholarly journals Physics of unsteady thrust and flow generation by a flexible surface flapping in the absence of a free stream

Author(s):  
Sachin Y. Shinde ◽  
Jaywant H. Arakeri

Inspired by the flexible wings and fins of flying and swimming animals, we investigate the flow induced by the interaction between a flapping flexible surface and the surrounding fluid for the limiting case of Strouhal number S t → ∞ (zero free-stream speed). The model selected for this purpose is a two-dimensional sinusoidally pitching rigid symmetric foil to which is attached at the trailing edge a thin chordwise flexible surface (along the chord line). The flow so generated is a coherent jet aligned along the foil centreline, containing a reverse Bénard–Kármán vortex street and delivering a corresponding unidirectional thrust. We analyse the flow and thrust generation process. The measured velocity field suggests that the flow and thrust generation mainly occurs during the phases when the trailing edge is near the centreline. Flexibility of the surface is important in accelerating the near-wake flow and in transferring momentum and energy to the fluid. We present a detailed account of when and where the momentum and energy are added to the fluid. This study shows that the deformations of the flexible surface are responsible for generating a favourable pressure gradient along the jet direction, and for the observed unsteady actuator disc-type action.

Author(s):  
Giovanna Barigozzi ◽  
Giuseppe Benzoni ◽  
Antonio Perdichizzi

The paper reports on boundary layer and wake flow analysis in a fully covered, film cooled vane without trailing edge ejection. The investigation, carried out in a low speed wind tunnel for linear cascades, has been mainly focused on the loss generation process due to coolant injection. The investigated region includes the rear part of pressure and suction side boundary layers and the wake region, up to a chord length downstream of the trailing edge. All measurements have been performed at mid-span, air being used as coolant flow. The same measurements have been also performed on a solid blade cascade, i.e. without cooling holes. Boundary layer profiles, integral parameters together with mean and turbulent quantities are presented. It results that the showerhead promotes transition on the suction side, giving rise to a thicker boundary layer all over the surface. On the pressure side, the boundary layer remains laminar up to the trailing edge, as high acceleration prevents transition. The wake region seems not to be strongly altered by the coolant injection. Boundary layer profiles and downstream 5-hole probe traverses have been used to compute loss coefficient distributions all over the blade surface and in the downstream region. Coolant injection strongly increases the profile losses along the suction side, while a much smaller contribution from the pressure side has been found. These increases are mainly due to coolant injection in the vane front part.


2000 ◽  
Vol 404 ◽  
pp. 345-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
TZONG-SHYNG LEU ◽  
CHIH-MING HO

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 757 ◽  
pp. 231-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachin Y. Shinde ◽  
Jaywant H. Arakeri

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 828 ◽  
pp. 70-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jimreeves David ◽  
R. N. Govardhan ◽  
J. H. Arakeri

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.


1983 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.J. Xia ◽  
P.W. Bearman

SummaryThe effect of base slant on the base pressure distribution, drag coefficient and vortex shedding characteristics of a model consisting of an axisymmetric main body with an ellipsoidal nose have been investigated for three fineness ratios; 3, 6 and 9. A sudden change in the drag coefficient and separated flow pattern is observed at a critical slant angle (for constant incidence) or at a critical angle of incidence (for a constant base slant angle). The tests confirm that the value of the maximum drag coefficient is extremely sensitive to angle of incidence. Measurements of the frequency of vortex shedding are presented and the structure of the wake is investigated using smoke visualization and hot-wire correlation measurements. The wake is found to be far less stable than that from a two-dimensional bluff body and the vortex structures are sometimes in-phase and sometimes out of phase across the wake. The effect of free-stream turbulence on this family of body shapes is observed to be different to that on three-dimensional blunt-faced bluff bodies. Free-stream turbulence is found to have a minimal effect on base pressure for slant angles giving a recirculating type near wake flow. When longitudinal vortices are present the addition of free-stream turbulence slightly reduces the magnitude of the peak suctions recorded on the base but has little effect on base drag.


Author(s):  
Pengyin Liu ◽  
Jinge Chen ◽  
Shen Xin ◽  
Xiaocheng Zhu ◽  
Zhaohui Du

In this paper, a slotted tip structure is experimentally analyzed. A wind turbine with three blades, of which the radius is 301.74mm, is investigated by the PIV method. Each wind turbine blade is formed with a slots system comprising four internal tube members embedded in the blade. The inlets of the internal tube member are located at the leading edge of the blade and form an inlet array. The outlets are located at the blade tip face and form an outlet array. The near wake flow field of the wind turbine with slotted tip and without slotted tip are both measured. Velocity field of near wake region and clear images of the tip vortex are captured under different wake ages. The experimental results show that the radius of the tip vortex core is enlarged by the slotted tip at any wake age compared with that of original wind turbine. Moreover, the diffusion process of the tip vortex is accelerated by the slotted tip which lead to the disappearance of the tip vortex occurs at smaller wake age. The strength of the tip vortex is also reduced indicating that the flow field in the near wake of wind turbine is improved. The experimental data are further analyzed with the vortex core model to reveal the flow mechanism of this kind of flow control method. The turbulence coefficient of the vortex core model for wind turbine is obtained from the experimental data of the wind turbine with and without slotted tip. It shows that the slotted tip increases the turbulence strength in the tip vortex core by importing airflow into the tip vortex core during its initial generation stage, which leads to the reduction of the tip vortex strength. Therefore, it is promising that the slotted tip can be used to weaken the vorticity and accelerate the diffusion of the tip vortex which would improve the problem caused by the tip vortex.


Author(s):  
Bryn N. Ubald ◽  
Jiahuan Cui ◽  
Rob Watson ◽  
Paul G. Tucker ◽  
Shahrokh Shahpar

The measurement accuracy of the temperature/pressure probe mounted at the leading edge of a turbine/compressor blade is crucial for estimating the fuel consumption of a turbo-fan engine. Apart from the measurement error itself, the probe also introduces extra losses. This again would compromise the measurement accuracy of the overall engine efficiency. This paper utilizes high-fidelity numerical analysis to understand the complex flow around the probe and quantify the loss sources due to the interaction between the blade and its instrumentation. With the inclusion of leading edge probes, three dimensional flow phenomena develop, with some flow features acting in a similar manner to a jet in cross flow. The separated flow formed at the leading edge of the probe blocks a large area of the probe bleed-hole, which is one of the reasons why the probe accuracy can be sensitive to Mach and Reynolds numbers. The addition of 4% free stream turbulence is shown to have a marginal impact on the jet trajectory originated from the probe bleedhole. However, a slight reduction is observed in the size of the separation bubble formed at the leading edge of the probe, preceding the two bleedhole exits. The free stream turbulence also has a significant impact on the size of the separation bubble near the trailing edge of the blade. With the addition of the free stream turbulence, the loss observed within the trailing edge wake is reduced. More than 50% of the losses at the cascade exit are generated by the leading edge probe. A breakdown of the dissipation terms from the mean flow kinetic energy equation demonstrates that the Reynolds stresses are the key terms in dissipating the counter rotating vortex pairs with the viscous stresses responsible for the boundary layer.


Author(s):  
John Leggett ◽  
Richard Sandberg

Abstract The presence of pressure waves in an axial compressor cascade are ubiquitous and have been known and investigated for some time. Much of the work to date focuses on compressor acoustics and vibration, which is largely due to wake blade interactions and trailing edge shedding. However, it has been shown on free aerofoils that pressure waves can be produced from volume sources, such as separation, at non-negligible amplitudes. The work presented here highlights the presence of pressure waves emanating from the suction surface transition of a NACA 65 axial compressor cascade, and briefly investigates and details the influence different free-stream disturbances have on the frequency of the pressure waves produced.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (14) ◽  
pp. 2900
Author(s):  
Qi Jing ◽  
Yonghui Xie ◽  
Di Zhang

The trailing edge regions of high-temperature gas turbine blades are subjected to extremely high thermal loads and are affected by the external wake flow during operation, thus creating great challenges in internal cooling design. With the development of cooling technology, the dimple and protrusion have attracted wide attention for its excellent performance in heat transfer enhancement and flow resistance reduction. Based on the typical internal cooling structure of the turbine blade trailing edge, trapezoidal cooling channels with lateral extraction slots are modeled in this paper. Five channel outlet configurations, i.e., no second passage (OC1), radially inward flow second passage (OC2), radially outward flow second passage (OC3), top region outflow (OC4), both sides extractions (OC5), and three dimple/protrusion arrangements (all dimple, all protrusion, dimple–protrusion staggered arrangement) are considered. Numerical investigations are carried out, within the Re range of 10,000–100,000, to analyze the flow structures, heat transfer distributions, average heat transfer and friction characteristics and overall thermal performances in detail. The results show that the OC4 and OC5 cases have high heat transfer levels in general, while the heat transfer deterioration occurs in the OC1, OC2, and OC3 cases. For different dimple/protrusion arrangements, the protrusion case produces the best overall thermal performance. In conclusion, for the design of trailing edge cooling structures with lateral slots, the outlet configurations of top region outflow and both sides extractions, and the all protrusion arrangement, are recommended.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oguz Uzol ◽  
Cengiz Camci ◽  
Boris Glezer

The internal fluid mechanics losses generated between the blade plenum chamber and a reference point located just downstream of the trailing edge are investigated for a turbine blade trailing edge cooling system. The discharge coefficient Cd is presented as a function of the free-stream Reynolds number, cut-back length, spanwise rib spacing, and chordwise rib length. The results are presented in a wide range of coolant to free-stream mass flow rate ratios. The losses from the cooling system show strong free-stream Reynolds number dependency, especially at low ejection rates, when they are correlated against the coolant to free-stream pressure ratio. However, when Cd is correlated against a coolant to free-stream mass flow rate ratio, the Reynolds number dependency is eliminated. The current data clearly show that internal viscous losses due to varying rib lengths do not differ significantly. The interaction of the external wall jet in the cutback region with the free-stream fluid is also a strong contributor to the losses. Since the discharge coefficients do not have Reynolds number dependency at high ejection rates, Cd experiments can be performed at a low free-stream Reynolds number. Running a discharge coefficient experiment at low Reynolds number (or even in still air) will sufficiently define the high blowing rate portion of the curve. This approach is extremely time efficient and economical in finding the worst possible Cd value for a given trailing edge coolant system.


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