2D and 2.5D Numerical Simulations for Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) of a 1.5:1 Rectangular Cylinder

The semi-periodic vortex-shedding phenomenon caused by flow separation at the windward corners of a rectangular cylinder would result in significant vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs). Based on the aeroelastic experiment of a rectangular cylinder with side ratio of 1.5:1, 2-dimensional (2D) and 2.5-dimensional (2.5D) numerical simulations of the VIV of a rectangular cylinder were comprehensively validated. The mechanism of VIV of the rectangular cylinder was in detail discussed in terms of vortex-induced forces, aeroelastic response, work analysis, aerodynamic damping ratio and flow visualization. The outcomes showed that the numerical results of aeroelastic displacement in the cross-wind direction and the vortex-shedding procedure around the rectangular cylinder were in general consistence with the experimental results by 2.5D numerical simulation. In both simulations, the phase difference between the lift and displacement response increased with the reduced wind speed and the vortex-induced resonance (VIR) disappeared at the phase difference of approximately 180∘. The work done by lift force shows a close relationship with vibration amplitudes at different reduced wind speeds. In 2.5D simulations, the lift force of the rectangular cylinder under different wind speeds would be affected by the presence of small-scale vortices in the turbulence flow field. Similarly, the phase difference between lift force and displacement response was not a constant with the same upstream wind speed. Aerodynamic damping identified from the VIV was mainly dependent on the reduced wind speed and negative damping ratios were revealed at the lock-in regime, which also greatly influenced the probability density function (PDF) of wind-induced displacement.

Evaluation of the efficiency of aerodynamic dampers based on preliminary numerical modeling

The article is devoted to the issues of ensuring the stability of large-span bridge structures by means of their aerodynamic damping. Aerodynamic damping allows you to change the nature of the wind flow around structures or their individual elements, which can significantly reduce the loads that cause the occurrence of various aeroelastic phenomena. Aerodynamic damping devices (fairings, deflectors) are based on the phenomenon of changes in the circulation of the wind flow around the structure, the purpose of their use, as a rule, is to disrupt regular vortex formation. The main problem when using these devices is the lack of recommendations for their selection and the need for costly experimental studies to assess their effectiveness for each specific bridge. One of the ways to reduce the time and cost of research is preliminary numerical modeling in specialized software systems. Within the framework of this study, the most common types of aerodynamic dampers have been analyzed, and typical designs of large-span beam bridges have been selected. For the selected structures, a preliminary numerical simulation was carried out in a two-dimensional formulation. Based on the results obtained, the most effective designs of deflectors and fairings were determined.

Aerodynamic Study of a NACA 64418 Rectangular Wing under Forced Pitching Motions

The aerodynamic behavior of a pitching NACA 64418 rectangular wing was experimentally studied in a subsonic wind tunnel. The wing had a chord c = 0.5 m, a span which covered the distance between the two parallel tunnel walls and an axis of rotation 0.35 c far from the leading edge. Based on pressure distribution and flow visualization, intermittent flow separation (double stall) was revealed near the leading edge suction side when the wing was stationary, at angles higher than 17° and Re = 0.5 × 106. Under pitching oscillations, aerodynamic loads were calculated by integrating the output data of fast responding surface pressure transducers for various mean angles of attack (αm (max) = 15°), reduced frequencies (kmax = 0.2) and angle amplitudes Δα in the interval [2°, 8°]. The impact of the above parameters up to Re = 0.75 × 106 on the cycle-averaged lift and pitching moment loops is discussed and the cycle aerodynamic damping coefficient is calculated. Moreover, the boundaries of the above parameters are defined for the case that energy is transferred from the flow to the wing (negative aerodynamic damping coefficient), indicating the conditions under which aeroelastic instabilities are probable to occur.

Machine Learning Based Sensitivity Analysis of Aeroelastic Stability Parameters in a Compressor Cascade

Aeroelastic instabilities such as flutter have a crucial role in limiting the operating range and reliability of turbomachinery. This paper offers an alternative approach to aeroelastic analysis, where the sensitivity of aerodynamic damping with respect to main flow and structural parameters is quantified through a surrogate-model-based investigation. The parameters are chosen based on previous studies and are represented by a uniform distribution within applicable intervals. The surrogate model is an artificial neural network, trained and tested to achieve an error within 1% of the test data. The quantity of interest is aerodynamic damping and the datasets are obtained from a linearised aeroelastic solver. The sensitivity of aerodynamic damping with respect to the input variables is obtained by calculating normalised gradients from the surrogate model at specific operating conditions. The results show a quantitative comparison of sensitivity across the different input parameters. The outcome of the sensitivity analysis is then used to decide the most appropriate action to take in order to induce stability in unstable operating conditions. The work is a preliminary study, carried out on a simplified two dimensional compressor cascade and it is aimed at proving the validity of a data-driven approach in studying the aeroelastic behaviour of turbomachinery. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time a data-driven flutter model has been investigated. The initial results are encouraging, indicating that this approach is worth pursuing in the future. The presented framework can be used as a redesign tool to enhance the flutter stability of an existing blade.

Strain Response and Aerodynamic Damping of a Swirl Distortion Generator Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Boundary layer ingestion (BLI) concepts have become a prominent topic in research and development due to their increase in fuel efficiency for aircraft. Virginia Tech has developed the StreamVane™, a secondary flow distortion generator, which can be used to efficiently test BLI and its aeromechanical effects on turbomachinery. To ensure the safety of this system, the complex vanes within StreamVanes must be further analyzed structurally and aerodynamically. In this paper, the induced strain of two common vane shapes at three different operating conditions is computationally determined. Along with these predictions, the aerodynamic damping of the vanes is calculated to predict flutter conditions at the same three operating points. To achieve this, steady CFD calculations are done to acquire the aerodynamic pressure loading on the vanes. Finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to obtain the strain and modal response of the StreamVane structure. The mode shapes and steady CFD are used to initialize an unsteady CFD analysis which acquires the aerodynamic damping results of the vanes. The testcase used for this evaluation was specifically designed to overstep the structural limits of a StreamVane, and the results provide an efficient computational method to observe flutter conditions of stationary systems.