PIV analysis of flow around a container ship model with a rotating propeller

The flow characteristics of the propeller wake behind a container ship model with a rotating propeller were investigated using a two-frame PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique. Ensemble-averaged mean velocity fields were measured at four different blade phases and ensemble-averaged to investigate the flow structure in the near-wake region. The mean velocity fields in longitudinal planes show that a velocity deficit is formed in the regions near the blade tips and hub. As the flow develops in the downstream direction, the trailing vortices formed behind the propeller hub move upward slightly due to the presence of the hull wake and free surface. Interaction between the bilge vortices and the incoming flow around the hull causes the flow structure to be asymmetric. Contour plots of the vorticity give information on the radial distribution of the loading on the blades. The radial velocity profiles fluctuate to a greater extent under the heavy (J=0.59) and light loading (J=0.88) conditions than under the design loading condition (J=0.72). The turbulence intensity has large values around the tip and trailing vortices. As the wake develops in the downstream direction, the strength of the vorticity diminishes and the turbulence intensity increases due to turbulent diffusion and active mixing between the tip vortices and the adjacent wake flow.     

“Analysis of the propeller wake evolution by pressure and velocity phase measurements”

In the present study an experimental analysis of the velocity and pressure fields behind a marine propeller, in non-cavitating regime is reported. Particle image velocimetry measurements were performed in phase with the propeller angle, to investigate the evolution of the axial and the radial velocity components, from the blade trailing edge up to two diameters downstream. In phase pressure measurements were performed at four radial and eight longitudinal positions downstream the propeller model at different advance ratios. Pressure data, processed by using slotting techniques, allowed reconstructing the evolution of the pressure field in phase with the reference blade position. In addition, the correlation of the velocity and pressure signals was performed. The analysis demonstrated that, within the near wake, the tip vortices passage is the most important contribution in generating the pressure field in the propeller flow. The incoming vortex breakdown process causes a strong deformation of the hub vortex far downstream of the slipstream contraction. This process contributes to the pressure generation at the shaft rate frequency.     

Measurements in the flow around a marine propeller at the stern of an axisymmetric body

Experiments were performed in a wind tunnel to study the flow around an axisymmetric body driven by a marine propeller. Measurements were made in the boundary layer and wake of the bare body, on the body with only a dummy hub rotating, and finally, with the propeller in operation. Part 1 of this paper described the experimental arrangement and instrumentation. Also, circumferentially-averaged results were presented to clarify certain aspects of the overall flow. In the present part, measurements made with a triplesensor hotwire are analyzed using phase-averaging techniques to reconstruct the instantaneous velocity and Reynolds-stress fields downstream of the propeller and show the evolution of the wakes of individual blades, blade-tip vortices, and the complex flow associated with vortices generated at hub-blade junctions. It is found that the blade wakes and features of the tip and hub flow are evident up to about two propeller diameters, beyond which the wake of the body-propeller combination can be regarded as a rotationally-symmetric flow.     

舵几何特征对桨-舵系统尾流场演化的影响

发生在桨和舵之间的干扰会影响螺旋桨尾流的演化,导致尾流场中的湍流在下游增强,恶化船舶的振动和噪声性能,深入分析舵几何参数对桨-舵系统尾流场演化的影响能够为推进器尾流场的调节和减振降噪提供新思路.因此,从弦长、剖面和梯形舵入手分析不同的舵几何参数对螺旋桨尾流场演化特性的影响,使用大漩涡模拟方法模拟流场中的湍流结构,对不同舵弦长、剖面下的螺旋桨尾涡结构演化进行了分析,在舵弦长、剖面影响螺旋桨尾流场演化的研究的基础上分析了梯形舵对螺旋桨尾涡结构的影响,进一步分析了梯形舵影响下的螺旋桨尾流场中湍动能的分布.结果表明舵的弦长和剖面均会影响螺旋桨尾流场的演化,这种影响表现为更大的弦长和更厚的剖面会促进螺旋桨梢涡在舵压力面上的偏移,更薄的舵剖面会带来更强烈的螺旋桨毂涡偏移;涡管轮廓和舵表面脉动压力的对比均表明梯形舵会促进螺旋桨尾流场沿逆舵梯度方向偏移,从而导致螺旋桨的尾涡结构在舵两侧及下游呈现不对称分布,桨-舵系统下游的湍流结构与螺旋桨尾涡-舵碰撞过程、螺旋桨尾涡-舵随边涡干扰过程、螺旋桨梢涡-螺旋桨毂涡干扰有关,偏移更大的螺旋桨尾涡结构会在尾流场中更早地引起湍动能增强.     

Instantaneous and time-averaged flow fields of multiple vortices in the tip region of a ducted propulsor

The instantaneous and time-averaged flow fields in the tip region of a ducted marine propulsor are examined. In this flow, a primary tip-leakage vortex interacts with a secondary, co-rotating trailing edge vortex and other co- and counter-rotating vorticity found in the blade wake. Planar particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) is used to examine the flow in a plane approximately perpendicular to the mean axis of the primary vortex. An identification procedure is used to characterize multiple regions of compact vorticity in the flow fields as series of Gaussian vortices. Significant differences are found between the vortex properties from the time-averaged flow fields and the average vortex properties identified in the instantaneous flow fields. Variability in the vortical flow field results from spatial wandering of the vortices, correlated fluctuations of the vortex strength and core size, and both correlated and uncorrelated fluctuations in the relative positions of the vortices. This variability leads to pseudo-turbulent velocity fluctuations. Corrections for some of this variability are performed on the instantaneous flow fields. The resulting processed flow fields reveal a significant increase in flow variability in a region relatively far downstream of the blade trailing edge, a phenomenon that is masked through the process of simple averaging. This increased flow variability is also accompanied by the inception of discrete vortex cavitation bubbles, which is an unexpected result, since the mean flow pressures in the region of inception are much higher than the vapor pressure of the liquid. This suggests that unresolved fine-scale vortex interactions and stretching may be occurring in the region of increased flow variability.     

The wake flow downstream of a propeller-rudder system

We report wall-resolved, large-eddy simulations for the case of a propeller operating upstream of a hydrofoil, mimicking a rudder. Our primary objective is the identification of wake features that are unique to this coupled system, when compared to open-water cases, which are usually the focus of experiments and computations in the literature. We were able to achieve unprecedented levels of numerical resolution, which capture the dynamics of all energetic eddies in the flow by using a scalable, conservative, structured solver in cylindrical coordinates. The boundary conditions on the rotating propeller and hydrofoil were enforced via an immersed boundary formulation. The largest values of turbulent stresses in the wake of the hydrofoil are achieved outwards from the radial coordinate of the tip of the propeller blades. This is due to spanwise gradients across the hydrofoil (in the direction parallel to the span of the hydrofoil), producing a displacement of the pressure side legs of the tip vortices towards outer coordinates, where they experience shear with the wake of the hydrofoil. The evolution of turbulence is non-monotonic across the streamwise direction. This is a consequence of the growing shear resulting from the complex interactions involving the shear layers from the trailing edge, the tip vortices and the two branches of the hub vortex coming from the two sides of the hydrofoil. Such a shear is reinforced by the spanwise velocities developed by the two branches of the propeller wake across the hydrofoil. Compared to an isolated propeller, these phenomena enhance turbulence production. The present results highlight that a downstream hydrofoil, typical of surface ships, is able to significantly intensify the wake signature of a propeller.     

Analysis of unstable vortical structure in a propeller wake affected by a simulated hull wake

A two-frame PIV (particle image velocimetry) technique was used to investigate the flow characteristics of a complicated propeller wake influenced by a hull wake. As the propeller is significantly affected by the hull wake of a marine vessel, measurements of the propeller wake under the hull wake are certainly needed for more reliable validation of numerical predictions. Velocity field measurements were conducted in a cavitation tunnel with a simulated hull wake. Generally, the hull wake generated by the hull of a marine ship may cause different loading distributions on the propeller blade in both the upper and the lower propeller planes. The unstable propeller wake caused by the ship’s hull was interpreted in terms of turbulent kinetic energy (T _KE) to obtain useful information for flow modeling. The unstable or unsteady phenomenon in the upper propeller wake was identified by using the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method to characterize the coherent flow structure with turbulent kinetic energy. Strong unsteadiness appeared in the second and higher modes, largely affecting the downstream flow characteristics. The first eigenmode can be used to appropriately identify the tip vortex positions even in the unstable downstream region, which are helpful for establishing reliable wake modeling.     

PIV analysis of near-wake behind a sphere at a subcritical Reynolds number

The vortical structure of near-wake behind a sphere is investigated using a PIV technique in a circulating water channel at Re = 11,000. The measured velocity fields show a detailed vortical structure in the recirculation region such as recirculation vortices, reversed velocity zone, and out-of-plane vorticity distribution. The vorticity distribution of the sphere wake shows waviness in cross-sectional planes. The time-averaged turbulent structures are consistent with the visualized flow showing the onset of shear layer instability. The spatial distributions of turbulent intensities provide turbulent statistics for validating numerical predictions.     

Three-dimensional wake dynamics of a blunt and divergent trailing edge airfoil

The wake dynamics of an airfoil with a blunt and divergent trailing edge is investigated experimentally at relatively high Reynolds. The near wake topology is examined versus different levels of free stream turbulence FST and angles of attack, while the downstream wake evolution is characterized at various levels of FST. The FST is found to have a significant effect on the shapes of turbulence profiles and on the downstream location where the flow reaches its quasi-asymptotic behavior. Streamwise vortices (ribs) corresponding to spanwise variations of turbulence quantities are identified in the near wake region. Simultaneous multi-point hot-wire measurements indicate that their spatial arrangement is similar to Williamson’s (Ann Rev Fluid Mech 29:477–539, 1996) mode B laminar wake flow topology. The results suggest that the statistical spanwise distribution of ribs is independent of FST effects and angle of attack as long as the vortex shedding Strouhal number remains approximately similar.     

Controlling the near vortex wake of a swept half-wing by means of mini-flaps

The effect of mini-flaps on the flow pattern in the near vortex wake behind a model swept half-wing is investigated. The distributions of the time-average flow velocity were measured in a subsonic wind tunnel, in a section normal to the freestream velocity vector located at a distance of 3.8 wing half-spans from its trailing edge. When mini-flaps are mounted on both upper and lower wing surfaces, two vortices (tip and auxiliary) of the same sign are observable in the above-mentioned flow section; they are separated by an extended region of vorticity of the opposite sign. The model angle-of-attack effect on the intensities of the tip and auxiliary vortices is estimated.     

Asymmetric vortex shedding flow past an inclined flat plate at high incidence

This paper reports an experimental investigation of the vortex shedding wake behind a long flat plate inclined at a small angle of attack to a main flow stream. Detailed velocity fields are obtained with particle-image velocimetry (PIV) at successive phases in a vortex shedding cycle at three angles of attack, α=20°, 25° and 30°, at a Reynolds number Re≈5,300. Coherent patterns and dynamics of the vortices in the wake are revealed by the phase-averaged PIV vectors and derived turbulent properties. A vortex street pattern comprising a train of leading edge vortices alternating with a train of trailing edge vortices is found in the wake. The trailing edge vortex is shed directly from the sharp trailing edge while there are evidences that the formation and shedding of the leading edge vortex involve a more complicated mechanism. The leading edge vortex seems to be shed into the wake from an axial location near the trailing edge. After shedding, the vortices are convected downstream in the wake with a convection speed roughly equal to 0.8 the free-stream velocity. On reaching the same axial location, the trailing edge vortex, as compared to the leading edge vortex, is found to possess a higher peak vorticity level at its centre and induce more intense fluid circulation and Reynolds stresses production around it. It is found that the results at the three angles of attack can be collapsed into similar trends by using the projected plate width as the characteristic length of the flow.     

Measurements in the flow around a marine propeller at the stern of an axisymmetric body

An experimental study of the flow around and behind an axisymmetric body driven by a marine propeller is reported. Experiments were performed in a wind tunnel to document this complex, unsteady, three-dimensional, turbulent shear flow. Measurements were made in the boundary layer and wake of the bare body with a fixed dummy hub for the propeller, with the dummy hub rotating, and finally, with the propeller in operation. A five-hole yaw probe was employed for the mean-flow measurements, and two- and threesensor hotwires were used to obtained the mean and turbulent velocity fields. Part 1 of this two-part paper describes the experimental arrangement and circumferentially-averaged results which clarify certain overall aspects of the flow when it is viewed as a rotationally-symmetric flow. These are of special interest in marine hydrodynamics. In Part 2, the triple-sensor hotwire data are analyzed using phase-averaging techniques to reconstruct the instantaneous velocity and Reynolds-stress fields downstream of the propeller to show the evolution of the wakes of individual blades, blade-tip vortices, and the complex flow associated with vortices generated at hub-blade junctions.     

Rollup region of a turbulent trailing vortex issued from a blade with flow separation

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the near field of a tip vortex generated by a blade at moderate incidence. The experiments were conducted at Re=15 000 and the boundary layer over the blade separated around midchord on the upper surface. Laser-Doppler measurements of the turbulent flow (Tu=1.5%) were performed at various stations downstream of the blade. The three components of the mean velocity field and turbulent attributes were quantified at cross-planes, characterizing both the blade wake and the tip vortex structure. This allowed the analysis of the rollup and initial stages of decay of the tip vortex in the light of known theories and models. The axial velocity defect at the center of the vortex core evolved as x⁻¹ log x, without displaying any significant outgrowth imposed by the separated flow upstream. Momentum balances were also carried out at a station downstream to the conclusion of vortex rollup. The approximate axisymmetry of the flow field in the trailing vortex was used to formulate the balances in a cylindrical coordinate system. Among other observations, it was seen that an adverse axial pressure gradient developed in the vortex core, which reinforced the tenacity of the axial velocity defect. In contrast, an area influenced by a favorable pressure gradient was found outside the core.     

High resolution PIV measurements around a model turbine blade trailing edge film-cooling breakout

Film cooling downstream of a model turbine blade trailing edge has been studied experimentally. High resolution particle image velocimetry was used to obtain spatially resolved mean velocity and turbulence measurements in the immediate vicinity of the trailing edge breakout. The mean velocity measurements imply the presence of a pair of counter-rotating longitudinal vortices shed from the sides of the breakout lands. The turbulent shear stress measurements above the breakout are significantly intensified as blowing ratio is increased. These results suggest that there is a strong mixing between the film cooling slot jets and the mainstream flow which degrades the film cooling effectiveness.     

Structure of Tip Leakage Flow in a Forward-Swept Axial-Flow Fan

An experimental analysis using three-dimensional laser Dopplervelocimetery (LDV) measurements and computational analysis usingthe Reynolds stress model of the commercial code, FLUENT, wereconducted to give a clear understanding on the structure of thetip leakage flow in a forward-swept axial-flow fan operating atthe peak efficiency condition, and to emphasize the necessity ofusing an anisotropic turbulence model for the accurate predictionof the tip leakage vortex. The rolling-up of the tip leakage flowwas initiated near the position of the maximum static pressuredifference, which was located at approximately 12% axial tipchord downstream from the leading edge of the blade, and developedalong the centerline of the pressure trough on the casing. Areverse flow between the blade tip and the casing due to the tipleakage vortex acted as a blockage on the through-flow. As aresult, high momentum flux was observed below the tip leakagevortex. As the tip leakage vortex proceeded to the aft part of theblade passage, the strength of the tip leakage vortex decreaseddue to the strong interaction with the through-flow and the casingboundary layer, and the diffusion of the tip leakage vortex byhigh turbulence. Through the comparative study of turbulencemodels, it was clearly shown that an anisotropic turbulence model,e.g., Reynolds stress model, should be used to predict reasonablyan anisotropic nature of the turbulent flow fields inside the tipleakage vortex. In comparison with LDV measurement data, thecomputed results predicted the complex viscous flow patternsinside the tip region in a reliable level.     

Near-wake flow structure downwind of a wind turbine in a turbulent boundary layer

Wind turbines operate in the surface layer of the atmospheric boundary layer, where they are subjected to strong wind shear and relatively high turbulence levels. These incoming boundary layer flow characteristics are expected to affect the structure of wind turbine wakes. The near-wake region is characterized by a complex coupled vortex system (including helicoidal tip vortices), unsteadiness and strong turbulence heterogeneity. Limited information about the spatial distribution of turbulence in the near wake, the vortex behavior and their influence on the downwind development of the far wake hinders our capability to predict wind turbine power production and fatigue loads in wind farms. This calls for a better understanding of the spatial distribution of the 3D flow and coherent turbulence structures in the near wake. Systematic wind-tunnel experiments were designed and carried out to characterize the structure of the near-wake flow downwind of a model wind turbine placed in a neutral boundary layer flow. A horizontal-axis, three-blade wind turbine model, with a rotor diameter of 13 cm and the hub height at 10.5 cm, occupied the lowest one-third of the boundary layer. High-resolution particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure velocities in multiple vertical stream-wise planes (x–z) and vertical span-wise planes (y–z). In particular, we identified localized regions of strong vorticity and swirling strength, which are the signature of helicoidal tip vortices. These vortices are most pronounced at the top-tip level and persist up to a distance of two to three rotor diameters downwind. The measurements also reveal strong flow rotation and a highly non-axisymmetric distribution of the mean flow and turbulence structure in the near wake. The results provide new insight into the physical mechanisms that govern the development of the near wake of a wind turbine immersed in a neutral boundary layer. They also serve as important data for the development and validation of numerical models.     

Phase sampling in the analysis of a propeller wake

A phase sampling procedure is used for the analysis of the non-steady, periodic flow field in the near wake of a marine propeller. This method allows to obtain a true ensemble averaging of the experimental measurements. The average is made over a large number of repeated experiments each of which is taken during a complete revolution of the propeller. The measurements are carried out in a recirculating water tunnel with a two-channel laser Doppler velocimeter. The computer-aided evaluation of the experimental results visualizes the following characteristic features of the wake: (1) the vortex sheet developing from the trailing edge; (2) a sudden increase of the axial velocity in the core of the tip vortex; (3) a boundary layer effect near the shaft of the propeller. From the analysis of the direction of vortex rotation along the radial direction of the blade, it is possible to derive information on the working conditions of the propeller.     

Characteristics of a trailing flap flow with small separation

Detailed measurements of pressure and velocity characteristics are reported for the flow on and downstream of a trailing flap, whose 16 degree angle of incidence resulted in boundary layer separation, a small region of recirculating flow, and a curved downstream wake. Emphasis is placed on the region of recirculating flow and on the downstream wake. The characteristics were quantified by the use of pressure, hot-wire, and flying hot-wire probes. The flow characteristics are compared to those of a similar flow but with a larger region of recirculation reported by Thompson and Whitelaw (1985). The relative importance of the terms in the transport equations for mean momentum and turbulence energy are quantified and the implications of the results for viscous-inviscid interaction methods and turbulence modelling are discussed.     

Particle image velocimetry （PIV） measurements of tip vortex wake structure of wind turbine

Large-view flow field measurements using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique with high resolution CCD cameras on a rotating 1/8 scale blade model of the NREL UAE phase VI wind turbine are conducted in the engineering-oriented Φ3.2 m wind tunnel.The motivation is to establish the database of the initiation and development of the tip vortex to study the flow structure and mechanism of the wind turbine.The results show that the tip vortex first moves inward for a very short period and then moves out...     

Turbulent flow and loading on a tidal stream turbine by LES and RANS

This paper presents results from numerical simulations of a 3-bladed horizontal axis tidal stream turbine. Initially, Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) k–ω Shear Stress Transport eddy-viscosity and Launder–Reece–Rodi models were used for code validation and testing of a newly implemented sliding mesh technique for an unstructured finite volume code. Wall- and blade-resolved large-eddy simulations (LES) were then performed to study the complete geometry at various tip speed ratios (TSR). Thrust and power coefficients were compared to published experimental measurements obtained from a towing tank for a range of TSR (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) at a fixed hub pitch angle. A strong meandering is observed downstream of the supporting tower due to interaction between the detached tip vortices and vortex shedding from the support structure. The wake profiles and rate of recovery of velocity deficit show high sensitivity to the upstream turbulence intensities. However, the mean thrust and power coefficients were found to be less sensitive to the upstream turbulence. Comparisons between RANS and LES are also presented for the mean sectional blade pressures and mean wake velocity profiles. The paper also presents an overview of modelling and numerical issues relating to simulations for such rotating geometries.