Effect of Airfoil Shape and Reynolds Number on Leading Edge Vortex Shedding in Unsteady Flows

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran Ramesh ◽  
Jianghua Ke ◽  
Ashok Gopalarathnam ◽  
Jack Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Vortex Shedding ◽  
Unsteady Flows ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Leading Edge Vortex ◽  
Edge Vortex

Heat Transfer and Flowfield Measurements in the Leading Edge Region of a Stator Vane Endwall

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 558-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Kang ◽  
A. Kohli ◽  
K. A. Thole
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Edge Region ◽  
Leading Edge Vortex ◽  
Stator Vane ◽  
Edge Vortex ◽  
The Mean

The leading edge region of a first-stage stator vane experiences high heat transfer rates, especially near the endwall, making it very important to get a better understanding of the formation of the leading edge vortex. In order to improve numerical predictions of the complex endwall flow, benchmark quality experimental data are required. To this purpose, this study documents the endwall heat transfer and static pressure coefficient distribution of a modern stator vane for two different exit Reynolds numbers (Reex = 6 × 105 and 1.2 × 106). In addition, laser-Doppler velocimeter measurements of all three components of the mean and fluctuating velocities are presented for a plane in the leading edge region. Results indicate that the endwall heat transfer, pressure distribution, and flowfield characteristics change with Reynolds number. The endwall pressure distributions show that lower pressure coefficients occur at higher Reynolds numbers due to secondary flows. The stronger secondary flows cause enhanced heat transfer near the trailing edge of the vane at the higher Reynolds number. On the other hand, the mean velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, and vorticity results indicate that leading edge vortex is stronger and more turbulent at the lower Reynolds number. The Reynolds number also has an effect on the location of the separation point, which moves closer to the stator vane at lower Reynolds numbers.

scholarly journals The leading-edge vortex on a rotating wing changes markedly beyond a certain central body size

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 172197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shantanu S. Bhat ◽  
Jisheng Zhao ◽  
John Sheridan ◽  
Kerry Hourigan ◽  
Mark C. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Central Body ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Particle Image Velocimetry Technique ◽  
Leading Edge Vortex ◽  
Rapid Acquisition ◽  
Edge Vortex ◽  
Rotating Wing

Stable attachment of a leading-edge vortex (LEV) plays a key role in generating the high lift on rotating wings with a central body. The central body size can affect the LEV structure broadly in two ways. First, an overall change in the size changes the Reynolds number, which is known to have an influence on the LEV structure. Second, it may affect the Coriolis acceleration acting across the wing, depending on the wing-offset from the axis of rotation. To investigate this, the effects of Reynolds number and the wing-offset are independently studied for a rotating wing. The three-dimensional LEV structure is mapped using a scanning particle image velocimetry technique. The rapid acquisition of images and their correlation are carefully validated. The results presented in this paper show that the LEV structure changes mainly with the Reynolds number. The LEV-split is found to be only minimally affected by changing the central body radius in the range of small offsets, which interestingly includes the range for most insects. However, beyond this small offset range, the LEV-split is found to change dramatically.

Effects of Reynolds number on leading-edge vortex formation dynamics and stability in revolving wings

2021 ◽  
Vol 931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Long Chen ◽  
Luyao Wang ◽  
Chao Zhou ◽  
Jianghao Wu ◽  
Bo Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Numerical Methods ◽  
Vortex Formation ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Leading Edge Vortex ◽  
Formation Dynamics ◽  
Edge Vortex ◽  
Vorticity Balance ◽  
Vortex Compression

The mechanisms of leading-edge vortex (LEV) formation and its stable attachment to revolving wings depend highly on Reynolds number ( $\textit {Re}$ ). In this study, using numerical methods, we examined the $\textit {Re}$ dependence of LEV formation dynamics and stability on revolving wings with $\textit {Re}$ ranging from 10 to 5000. Our results show that the duration of the LEV formation period and its steady-state intensity both reduce significantly as $\textit {Re}$ decreases from 1000 to 10. Moreover, the primary mechanisms contributing to LEV stability can vary at different $\textit {Re}$ levels. At $\textit {Re} <200$ , the LEV stability is mainly driven by viscous diffusion. At $200<\textit {Re} <1000$ , the LEV is maintained by two distinct vortex-tilting-based mechanisms, i.e. the planetary vorticity tilting and the radial–tangential vorticity balance. At $\textit {Re}>1000$ , the radial–tangential vorticity balance becomes the primary contributor to LEV stability, in addition to secondary contributions from tip-ward vorticity convection, vortex compression and planetary vorticity tilting. It is further shown that the regions of tip-ward vorticity convection and tip-ward pressure gradient almost overlap at high $\textit {Re}$ . In addition, the contribution of planetary vorticity tilting in LEV stability is $\textit {Re}$ -independent. This work provides novel insights into the various mechanisms, in particular those of vortex tilting, in driving the LEV formation and stability on low- $\textit {Re}$ revolving wings.

Discrete-vortex method with novel shedding criterion for unsteady aerofoil flows with intermittent leading-edge vortex shedding

2014 ◽  
Vol 751 ◽  
pp. 500-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran Ramesh ◽  
Ashok Gopalarathnam ◽  
Kenneth Granlund ◽  
Michael V. Ol ◽  
Jack R. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Vortex Shedding ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Vortex Method ◽  
Critical Value ◽  
Empirical Parameter ◽  
Discrete Vortex ◽  
Suction Parameter ◽  
Leading Edge Vortex ◽  
Edge Vortex ◽  
Leading Edges

AbstractUnsteady aerofoil flows are often characterized by leading-edge vortex (LEV) shedding. While experiments and high-order computations have contributed to our understanding of these flows, fast low-order methods are needed for engineering tasks. Classical unsteady aerofoil theories are limited to small amplitudes and attached leading-edge flows. Discrete-vortex methods that model vortex shedding from leading edges assume continuous shedding, valid only for sharp leading edges, or shedding governed by ad-hoc criteria such as a critical angle of attack, valid only for a restricted set of kinematics. We present a criterion for intermittent vortex shedding from rounded leading edges that is governed by a maximum allowable leading-edge suction. We show that, when using unsteady thin aerofoil theory, this leading-edge suction parameter (LESP) is related to the $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}A_0$ term in the Fourier series representing the chordwise variation of bound vorticity. Furthermore, for any aerofoil and Reynolds number, there is a critical value of the LESP, which is independent of the motion kinematics. When the instantaneous LESP value exceeds the critical value, vortex shedding occurs at the leading edge. We have augmented a discrete-time, arbitrary-motion, unsteady thin aerofoil theory with discrete-vortex shedding from the leading edge governed by the instantaneous LESP. Thus, the use of a single empirical parameter, the critical-LESP value, allows us to determine the onset, growth, and termination of LEVs. We show, by comparison with experimental and computational results for several aerofoils, motions and Reynolds numbers, that this computationally inexpensive method is successful in predicting the complex flows and forces resulting from intermittent LEV shedding, thus validating the LESP concept.

Unsteady Separation Processes and Leading Edge Vortex Precursors: Pitch Rate and Reynolds Number Influences

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 868-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott J. Schreck ◽  
William E. Faller ◽  
Michael C. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Separation Processes ◽  
Leading Edge Vortex ◽  
Unsteady Separation ◽  
Edge Vortex
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