Effect of vortex shedding in unsteady aerodynamic forces for a low Reynolds number stationary wing at low angle of attack

This study elucidates the relation between wake vortex shedding and aerodynamic force fluctuations for a low Reynolds number wing from time resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) experimental measurements. The results reveal a periodic lift and drag variation within the shedding cycle and resolve the frequencies of those fluctuations from a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and power spectral density (PSD) analysis. To show the effect of vortex shedding on the body force fluctuations, the evolution of instantaneous aerodynamic forces is compared to the pressure field of the fluid flow and to the vortical structures in the wake of the airfoil. A six step model describing the vortex-force relation is proposed. It shows that changes in lift such as maximum lift and minimum lift are associated with the detachment of a vortex. It also shows that the minimum or local minimum drag value is obtained at the onset formation of a vortex on the airfoil wake. Similarly, the maximum or local maximum drag is obtained at the onset formation of the saddle on the airfoil wake. The model further explains the asymmetry observed in the unsteady drag force evolution. The model can be used to optimize flow control and fluid-structure interaction applications.     

翼型大攻角状态下表面吸气驻涡增升的数值模拟实验

用数值模拟方法给出了翼型大攻角状态表面吸气后绕翼型流动的某些新现象并对流场的特性进行了机理性研究,其中包括吸气对翼型背风面分离涡的驻涡增升作用;吸气孔位置对流场的影响;不同吸气强度以及间歇式吸气的增升效应。数值模拟的出发方程为N-S方程,差分格式为Beam-Warming格式。数值实验表明:(1)吸气可有效地提高翼型大攻角状态下的升力;(2)在一定吸气强度下吸气可使翼型背风面上涡的非定常脱落现象消失从而起到驻涡作用;(3)吸气孔位置在翼面的中部附近增升效果较好;(4)在一定范围内吸气强度越强其升力越高;(5)间歇式吸气也可提高平均升力,但引起升力的波动。     

可变形儒可夫斯基翼型亚音速非定常气动力的研究

对于翼面变形速度远小于来流速度情况下的儒可夫斯翼型亚音速绕流问题,通过仿射变换将可压缩流动转换成不可压缩流动,将解析解和离散涡方法相结合计算变形机翼的不可压缩流动速度场,再利用逆变换得到变形机翼的亚音速流动速度场,进而分析非定常气动力特性,建立变形机翼的准定常升力系数和非定常附加升力系数在可压缩和不可压缩两种状态下的简单近似对应关系。计算结果显示变形机翼的非定常气动升力近似等于准定常计算结果叠加上虚拟质量力导致的非定常附加升力,该非定常附加升力随翼型变形速率呈线性关系,由机翼当前时刻飞行姿态、翼型及其变形速率确定,与具体变形历史过程无关。低来流马赫数时虚拟质量力导致的非定常效应显著,高亚音速流动时准定常升力起主导作用。同时还分析了不同马赫数下机翼往复变形过程中升力的变化特性,指出尽管高亚音速变形机翼的气动升力近似等于准定常气动升力,但不能忽视非定常附加升力的影响,非定常附加升力将导致完成往复变形需要外界输入正比于Ma∞/[(1-Ma2∞)]的功。     

Leading edge vortex formation and detachment on a flat plate undergoing simultaneous pitching and plunging motion: Experimental and computational study

This study focuses on the formation and detachment of a leading edge vortex (LEV) appearing on an airfoil when its effective angle of attack is dynamically changed, inducing additional forces and moments on the airfoil. Experimental measurements of the time-resolved velocity field using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) are complemented by a computational study using an URANS (Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes) framework. In this framework a transition-sensitive Reynolds-stress model of turbulence, proposed by Maduta et al. (2018), which combines the near-wall Reynolds-Stress model by Jakirlic and Maduta (2015) and a phenomenological transition model governing the pre-turbulent kinetic energy by Walters and Cokljat (2008), is employed. Combined pitching and plunging kinematics of the investigated flat plate airfoil enable the effective inflow angle to be arbitrarily prescribed. A qualitative assessment of flow fields and a quantitative comparison of LEV characteristics in terms of its center position and circulation as well as an investigation of the mechanism causing the vortex to stop accumulating circulation revealed close agreement between the experimental and simulation results. Further considerations of the lift contribution from the pressure and suction side of the airfoil to the overall lift indicates that the qualitative lift evolution is reproduced even if the pressure side contribution is neglected. This reveals important characteristics of such airfoil dynamics, which can be exploited in future experimental studies, where direct aerodynamic force and moment measurements are greatly inhibited by dominating inertial forces.     

A study on the mechanism of high-lift generation by an airfoil in unsteady motion at low reynolds number

The aerodynamic force and flow structure of NACA 0012 airfoil performing an unsteady motion at low Reynolds number (Re=100) are calculated by solving Navier-Stokes equations. The motion consists of three parts: the first translation, rotation and the second translation in the direction opposite to the first. The rotation and the second translation in this motion are expected to represent the rotation and translation of the wing-section of a hovering insect. The flow structure is used in combination with the theory of vorticity dynamics to explain the generation of unsteady aerodynamic force in the motion. During the rotation, due to the creation of strong vortices in short time, large aerodynamic force is produced and the force is almost normal to the airfoil chord. During the second translation, large lift coefficient can be maintained for certain time period and , the lift coefficient averaged over four chord lengths of travel, is larger than 2 (the corresponding steady-state lift coefficient is only 0.9). The large lift coefficient is due to two effects. The first is the delayed shedding of the stall vortex. The second is that the vortices created during the airfoil rotation and in the near wake left by previous translation form a short “vortex street” in front of the airfoil and the “vortex street” induces a “wind”; against this “wind” the airfoil translates, increasing its relative speed. The above results provide insights to the understanding of the mechanism of high-lift generation by a hovering insect. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19725210)     

An experimental study of a bio-inspired corrugated airfoil for micro air vehicle applications

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of a bio-inspired corrugated airfoil compared with a smooth-surfaced airfoil and a flat plate at the chord Reynolds number of Re _C  = 58,000–125,000 to explore the potential applications of such bio-inspired corrugated airfoils for micro air vehicle designs. In addition to measuring the aerodynamic lift and drag forces acting on the tested airfoils, a digital particle image velocimetry system was used to conduct detailed flowfield measurements to quantify the transient behavior of vortex and turbulent flow structures around the airfoils. The measurement result revealed clearly that the corrugated airfoil has better performance over the smooth-surfaced airfoil and the flat plate in providing higher lift and preventing large-scale flow separation and airfoil stall at low Reynolds numbers (Re _C  < 100,000). While aerodynamic performance of the smooth-surfaced airfoil and the flat plate would vary considerably with the changing of the chord Reynolds numbers, the aerodynamic performance of the corrugated airfoil was found to be almost insensitive to the Reynolds numbers. The detailed flow field measurements were correlated with the aerodynamic force measurement data to elucidate underlying physics to improve our understanding about how and why the corrugation feature found in dragonfly wings holds aerodynamic advantages for low Reynolds number flight applications.     

基于涡流发生器的翼型失速流动控制及雷诺数效应影响研究

针对所设计的三角形涡流发生器开展用于翼型失速流动控制的风洞实验研究,重点讨论涡流发生器几何参数、方向角、安装位置及实验雷诺数等因素对翼型失速流动控制的影响。实验结果表明:涡流发生器作用下,在干净翼失速迎角后能够形成一个升力几乎不随迎角变化的相对稳定的高升力状态,抑制了失速流动的发生,与此同时阻力大幅下降;本文所设计的涡流发生器方向角过大时会削弱翼型失速流动控制的效果;同一涡流发生器作用下雷诺数过大其失速流动控制效果会急剧恶化,第一种涡流发生器控制翼型失速的雷诺数有效范围略宽于第二种涡流发生器。     

Experimental study of pitching and plunging airfoils at low Reynolds numbers

Measurements of the unsteady flow structure and force time history of pitching and plunging SD7003 and flat plate airfoils at low Reynolds numbers are presented. The airfoils were pitched and plunged in the effective angle of attack range of 2.4°–13.6° (shallow-stall kinematics) and ?6° to 22° (deep-stall kinematics). The shallow-stall kinematics results for the SD7003 airfoil show attached flow and laminar-to-turbulent transition at low effective angle of attack during the down stroke motion, while the flat plate model exhibits leading edge separation. Strong Re-number effects were found for the SD7003 airfoil which produced approximately 25 % increase in the peak lift coefficient at Re = 10,000 compared to higher Re flows. The flat plate airfoil showed reduced Re effects due to leading edge separation at the sharper leading edge, and the measured peak lift coefficient was higher than that predicted by unsteady potential flow theory. The deep-stall kinematics resulted in leading edge separation that led to formation of a large leading edge vortex (LEV) and a small trailing edge vortex (TEV) for both airfoils. The measured peak lift coefficient was significantly higher (~50 %) than that for the shallow-stall kinematics. The effect of airfoil shape on lift force was greater than the Re effect. Turbulence statistics were measured as a function of phase using ensemble averages. The results show anisotropic turbulence for the LEV and isotropic turbulence for the TEV. Comparison of unsteady potential flow theory with the experimental data showed better agreement by using the quasi-steady approximation, or setting C(k) = 1 in Theodorsen theory, for leading edge–separated flows.     

Control of unsteady vortical lift on an airfoil by leading-edge blowing-suction

The effects of leading-edge blowing-suction on the vortex flow past an airfoil at high incidence are investigated numerically by solving the Navier-Stokes equations. The results indicate that the frequency of the flowfield excited by the periodic blowing-suction locks into the forcing frequency, which is half of the dominant frequency for the flow past a fixed airfoil without injection. In that case, a well-developed primary leading-edge vortex occupies the upper surface of the airfoil and the largest lift augmentation is obtained. The project supported by the National Defence Research Fund of China     

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON LIFT INCREMENT OF A PLASMA CIRCULATION CONTROL AIRFOIL

利用等离子体激励器发展了新型的环量增升技术,并对二维NACA0012翼型绕流实施控制。由于NACA0012翼型为尖后缘构型,环量增升装置由2个非对称型介质阻挡放电等离子体激励器构成。一个等离子体激励器贴附于翼型吸力面靠近后缘处,其诱导的壁面射流沿来流方向指向下游;另一个等离子体激励器贴附于翼型压力面靠近后缘处,其诱导的壁面射流与来流方向相反指向上游。在风洞中通过时间解析二维PIV系统对翼型绕流流场进行了测量,基于翼型弦长的雷诺数Re=20 000。结果表明在等离子体激励器的控制下,翼型压力面靠近后缘处可以形成一个定常回流区,从而起到虚拟气动外形的作用,因此翼型吸力面的流场得到加速,压力面的流场得到减速,使得翼型压力面的吸力以及压力面的压力都得到增加,进而增加了翼型的环量。风洞天平测力实验进一步验证了该环量增升技术的有效性。在整个攻角范围内,施加控制的翼型的升力系数相比没有控制的工况有明显的提高。     

Effects of a trapped vortex cell on a thick wing airfoil

The effects of a trapped vortex cell (TVC) on the aerodynamic performance of a NACA0024 wing model were investigated experimentally at Re = 10⁶ and 6.67×10⁵6.67\times 10^{5}. The static pressure distributions around the model and the wake velocity profiles were measured to obtain lift and drag coefficients, for both the clean airfoil and the controlled configurations. Suction was applied in the cavity region to stabilize the trapped vortex. For comparison, a classical boundary layer suction configuration was also tested. The drag coefficient curve of the TVC-controlled airfoil showed sharp discontinuities and bifurcative behavior, generating two drag modes. A strong influence of the angle of attack, the suction rate and the Reynolds number on the drag coefficient was observed. With respect to the clean airfoil, the control led to a drag reduction only if the suction was high enough. Compared to the classical boundary layer suction configuration, the drag reduction was higher for the same amount of suction only in a specific range of incidence, i.e., α = −2° to α = 6° and only for the higher Reynolds number. For all the other conditions, the classical boundary layer suction configuration gave better drag performances. Moderate increments of lift were observed for the TVC-controlled airfoil at low incidence, while a 20% lift enhancement was observed in the stall region with respect to the baseline. However, the same lift increments were also observed for the classical boundary layer suction configuration. Pressure fluctuation measurements in the cavity region suggested a very complex interaction of several flow features. The two drag modes were characterized by typical unsteady phenomena observed in rectangular cavity flows, namely the shear layer mode and the wake mode.     

Unsteady flow structure and vorticity convection over the airfoil oscillating at high reduced frequency

Unsteady vortex structures and vorticity convection over the airfoil (NACA 0012), oscillating in the uniform inflow, are studied by flow visualization and velocity measurements. The airfoil, pivoting at one-third of the chord, oscillates periodically near the static stalling angle of attack (AOA) at high reduced-frequency. The phase-triggering and modified phase-averaged techniques are employed to reconstruct the pseudo instantaneous velocity field over the airfoil. During the down stroke cycle, the leading-edge separation vortex is growing and the vortex near the trailing edge begins to shed into the wake. During the upstroke cycle, the leading-edge separation vortex is matured and moves downstream, and the counter clockwise vortex is forming near the trailing edge. Convection speeds and wavelength of the unsteady vortex structure over the airfoil equal to that of the counter clockwise vortex shed into the wake. This kind of vortex structure is termed as “synchronized shedding” type. The wavelength of unsteady vortex structure over the airfoil is significantly different from that at low reduced-frequency. Consistent convection speeds of the leading-edge separation vortex are acquired from the spatial-temporal variations of local circulation and local surface vorticity generation, and equals that predicted from flow visualization. Spatial-temporal variations of the local surface vorticity generation clearly reveal the formation and passage of the leading-edge separation vortex only in the region where the flow does not separate completely from the surface. Significant amounts of the surface vorticity are generated within the leading-edge region of the airfoil during the upstroke cycle. Only negligible amount of surface vorticity is produced within the region of complete flow separation. During the down stroke cycle, the surface vorticity generation is mild along the airfoil surface, except the leading-edge region where a small scale leading-edge separation vortex is forming and growing.     

Investigation of three-dimensional dynamic stall on an airfoil using fast-response pressure-sensitive paint

Dynamic stall on a pitching OA209 airfoil in a wind tunnel is investigated at Mach 0.3 and 0.5 using high-speed pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) and pressure measurements. At Mach 0.3, the dynamic stall vortex was observed to propagate faster at the airfoil midline than at the wind-tunnel wall, resulting in a “bowed” vortex shape. At Mach 0.5, shock-induced stall was observed, with initial separation under the shock foot and subsequent expansion of the separated region upstream, downstream and along the breadth of the airfoil. No dynamic stall vortex could be observed at Mach 0.5. The investigation of flow control by blowing showed the potential advantages of PSP over pressure transducers for a complex three-dimensional flow.     

Prediction of high frequency gust response with airfoil thickness effects

The unsteady lift forces that act on an airfoil in turbulent flow are an undesirable source of vibration and noise in many industrial applications. Methods to predict these forces have traditionally treated the airfoil as a flat plate. At higher frequencies, where the relevant turbulent length scales are comparable to the airfoil thickness, the flat plate approximation becomes invalid and results in overprediction of the unsteady force spectrum. This work provides an improved methodology for the prediction of the unsteady lift forces that accounts for the thickness of the airfoil. An analytical model was developed to calculate the response of the airfoil to high frequency gusts. The approach is based on a time-domain calculation with a sharp-edged gust and accounts for the distortion of the gust by the mean flow around the airfoil leading edge. The unsteady lift is calculated from a weighted integration of the gust vorticity, which makes the model relatively straightforward to implement and verify. For routine design calculations of turbulence-induced forces, a closed-form gust response thickness correction factor was developed for NACA 65 series airfoils.     

Flow control over a NACA 0012 airfoil using dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuator with a Gurney flap

Flow control study of a NACA 0012 airfoil with a Gurney flap was carried out in a wind tunnel, where it was demonstrated that a dielectric-barrier-discharge (DBD) plasma actuator attached to the flap could increase the lift further, but with a small drag penalty. Time-resolved PIV measurements of the near-wake region indicated that the plasma forcing shifted the wake downwards, reducing its recirculation length. Analysis of wake vortex dynamics suggested that the plasma actuator initially amplified the lower wake shear layer by adding momentum along the downstream surface of the Gurney flap. This enhanced mutual entrainment between the upper and lower wake vortices, leading to an increase in lift on the airfoil.     

Experimental investigation of a blunt trailing edge flow field with application to sound generation

The unsteady lift generated by turbulence at the trailing edge of an airfoil is a source of radiated sound. The objective of the present research was to measure the velocity field in the near wake region of an asymmetric beveled trailing edge in order to determine the flow mechanisms responsible for the generation of trailing edge noise. Two component velocity measurements were acquired using particle image velocimetry. The chord Reynolds number was 1.9 × 10⁶. The data show velocity field realizations that were typical of a wake flow containing an asymmetric periodic vortex shedding. A phase average decomposition of the velocity field with respect to this shedding process was utilized to separate the large scale turbulent motions that occurred at the vortex shedding frequency (i.e., those responsible for the production of tonal noise) from the smaller scale turbulent motions, which were interpreted to be responsible for the production of broadband sound. The small scale turbulence was found to be dependent on the phase of the vortex shedding process implying a dependence of the broadband sound generated by the trailing edge on the phase of the vortex shedding process.     

Optimal Control of a Vortex Trapped by an Airfoil with a Cavity

An airfoil with a cavity traps a vortex; the lift increases but the vortex shows great receptivity to upstream disturbances. A simple potential flow model confirms that the vortex stability basin is of a reduced extent. In this paper we present a control technique stabilizing the vortex position based on a potential flow model. The actuators are sources/sinks at the wall and the suction/blowing law is obtained by the adjoint optimization method. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A mechanism for mitigation of blade–vortex interaction using leading edge blowing flow control

The interaction of a vortical unsteady flow with structures is often encountered in engineering applications. Such flow structure interactions (FSI) can be responsible for generating significant loads and can have many detrimental structural and acoustic side effects, such as structural fatigue, radiated noise and even catastrophic results. Amongst the different types of FSI, the parallel blade–vortex interaction (BVI) is the most common, often encountered in helicopters and propulsors. In this work, we report on the implementation of leading edge blowing (LEB) active flow control for successfully minimizing the parallel BVI. Our results show reduction of the airfoil vibrations up to 38% based on the root-mean-square of the vibration velocity amplitude. This technique is based on displacing an incident vortex using a jet issued from the leading edge of a sharp airfoil effectively increasing the stand-off distance of the vortex from the body. The effectiveness of the method was experimentally analyzed using time-resolved digital particle image velocimetry (TRDPIV) recorded at an 800 Hz rate, which is sufficient to resolve the spatio-temporal dynamics of the flow field and it was combined with simultaneous accelerometer measurements of the airfoil, which was free to oscillate in a direction perpendicular to the freestream. Analysis of the flow field spectra and a Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) of the TRDPIV data of the temporally resolved planar flow fields indicate that the LEB effectively modified the flow field surrounding the airfoil and increased the convecting vortices stand-off distance for over half of the airfoil chord length. It is shown that LEB also causes a redistribution of the flow field spectral energy over a larger range of frequencies.     

Time resolved PIV analysis of flow over a NACA 0015 airfoil with Gurney flap

A NACA 0015 airfoil with and without a Gurney flap was studied in a wind tunnel with Re _c = 2.0 × 10⁵ in order to examine the evolving flow structure of the wake through time-resolved PIV and to correlate this structure with time-averaged measurements of the lift coefficient. The Gurney flap, a tab of small length (1–4% of the airfoil chord) that protrudes perpendicular to the chord at the trailing edge, yields a significant and relatively constant lift increment through the linear range of the C _L versus α curve. Two distinct vortex shedding modes were found to exist and interact in the wake downstream of flapped airfoils. The dominant mode resembles a Kàrmàn vortex street shedding behind an asymmetric bluff body. The second mode, which was caused by the intermittent shedding of fluid recirculating in the cavity upstream of the flap, becomes more coherent with increasing angle of attack. For a 4% Gurney flap at α = 8°, the first and second modes corresponded with Strouhal numbers based on flap height of 0.18 and 0.13. Comparison of flow around ‘filled’ and ‘open’ flap configurations suggested that the second shedding mode was responsible for a significant portion of the overall lift increment.     

Lift Force of an Airfoil in the Form of an Arc with a Sink

The problem of maximizing the lift force of an airfoil in the form of an arc with a sink modeling flow removal is studied within the framework of the classical model of a steady ideal incompressible liquid flow. For a sink with a fixed flow rate, an optimal position on the upper surface of the arc is found, which ensures the greatest increase in the lift force. It is shown that, in the presence of a sink, the optimal shape of the arc with a limited curvature and chord length coincides with the optimal shape of the arc without a sink, which was designed by M. A. Lavrent'ev (an arc of a circle). The flow rate corresponding to the maximum lift force is determined, and the mechanism of the influence of flow removal on the lift force is examined.