Evolution of disturbances in a laminarized supersonic boundary layer on a swept wing

Experimental data on stability of a three-dimensional supersonic boundary layer on a swept wing are presented. The experiments are performed on a swept wing model with a lenticular profile with a 40° sweep angle of the leading edge at a zero angle of attack. The supersonic boundary layer on the swept wing was laminarized with the use of distributed roughness. A pioneering study of interaction of traveling and stationary disturbances is performed. Some specific features of this interaction are identified. The main reason for turbulence emergence in a supersonic boundary layer on a swept wing is demonstrated to be secondary crossflow instability. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 40–46, March–April, 2008.     

Effect of wing–wake interaction on aerodynamic force generation on a 2D flapping wing

This paper is motivated by the works of Dickinson et al. (Science 284:1954–1960, 1999) and Sun and Tang (J Exp Biol 205:55–70, 2002) which provided two different perspectives on the influence of wing–wake interaction (or wake capture) on lift generation during flapping motion. Dickinson et al. (Science 284:1954–1960, 1999) hypothesize that wake capture is responsible for the additional lift generated at the early phase of each stroke, while Sun and Tang (J Exp Biol 205:55–70, 2002) believe otherwise. Here, we take a more fundamental approach to study the effect of wing–wake interaction on the aerodynamic force generation by carrying out simultaneous force and flow field measurements on a two-dimensional wing subjected to two different types of motion. In one of the motions, the wing at a fixed angle of attack was made to follow a motion profile described by “acceleration-constant velocity-deceleration”. Here, the wing was first linearly accelerated from rest to a predetermined maximum velocity and remains at that speed for set duration before linearly decelerating to a stop. The acceleration and deceleration phase each accounted for only 10% of the stroke, and the stroke covered a total distance of three chord lengths. In another motion, the wing was subjected to the same above-mentioned movement, but in a back and forth manner over twenty strokes. Results show that there are two possible outcomes of wing–wake interaction. The first outcome occurs when the wing encounters a pair of counter-rotating wake vortices on the reverse stroke, and the induced velocity of these vortices impinges directly on the windward side of the wing, resulting in a higher oncoming flow to the wing, which translates into a higher lift. Another outcome is when the wing encounters one vortex on the reverse stroke, and the close proximity of this vortex to the windward surface of the wing, coupled with the vortex suction effect (caused by low pressure region at the center of the vortex), causes the net force on the wing to decrease momentarily. These results suggest that wing–wake interaction does not always lead to lift enhancement, and it can also cause lift reduction. As to which outcome prevails depend very much on the flapping motion and the timing of the reverse stroke.     

Linear stability of three-dimensional boundary layers

Stability of compressible three-dimensional boundary layers on a swept wing model is studied within the framework of the linear theory. The analysis based on the approximation of local self-similarity of the mean flow was performed within the Falkner-Skan-Cooke solution extended to compressible flows. The calculated characteristics of stability for a subsonic boundary layer are found to agree well with the measured results. In the case of a supersonic boundary layer, the results calculated for a Mach number M = 2 are also in good agreement with the measured spanwise scales of nonstationary vortices of the secondary flow. The calculated growth rates of disturbances, however, are substantially different from the measured values. This difference can be attributed to a high initial amplitude of disturbances generated in the experiment, which does not allow the linear stability theory to be applied. The evolution of natural disturbances with moderate amplitudes is fairly well predicted by the theory. The effect of compressibility on crossflow instability modes is demonstrated to be insignificant. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 3–14, March–April, 2008.     

Calculation of pressure on an airfoil contour in an unsteady separated flow

Simple formulas for calculating the pressure and the total hydrodynamic reactions acting on an arbitrarily moving airfoil are derived within the framework of the model of plane unsteady motion of an ideal incompressible fluid. Several vortex wakes may be shed from the airfoil owing to changes in velocity circulation around the airfoil contour. Cases with nonclosed and closed contours are considered. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 109–113, May–June, 2008.     

The temporal evolution of a pair of streamwise vortices

A detailed investigation of the velocity and vorticity fields of a pair of vortices growing over a 75°-sweep delta wing is carried out through LDV measurements of three components of velocity and vorticity. Data are obtained along one of the vortices. The wing is undergoing a ramp-like pitch-up motion. The evolution of the flow field in four planes normal to the free-stream velocity is captured at 100 time instants through the wing motion. The delta wing is pitched through angles of attack ranging from 28° to 68°. From the velocity data at each incidence, the corresponding vorticity field is calculated. Hysteresis effects on vortex development and breakdown are studied through axial velocity and vorticity contours. The topologies of streamlines and vortex lines are compared with the corresponding topologies of the steady case. It is found that vortex breakdown can be detected first by a drastic reduction of the axial velocity. This phenomenon is developing in a non-axisymmetric fashion, beginning at the inboard side of the vortex. This is followed by a reduction of the axial vorticity component and finally by a reversal of the azimuthal vorticity component.This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Project No. AFOSR-91-0310 and was monitored by Major Daniel Fant.     

The flow in a planar-radial vortex chamber. 2. Vortex structure of the flow

A vortex structure of an air flow with a characteristic size of vortices comparable with the primary vortex size was observed in a vortex chamber of planar-radial geometry for the first time. The vortex component of the flow velocity along the chamber radius and its axis was calculated. Lavrent'ev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 41–49, January–February, 2000.     

To formulating a nonlinear initial-boundary problem of an unsteady separated flow around an airfoil

A general formulation of a nonlinear initial-boundary problem of an unsteady separated flow around an airfoil by an ideal incompressible fluid is considered. The problem is formulated for a complex velocity. Conditions of shedding of vortex wakes from the airfoil are analyzed in detail. The proposed system of functional relations allows constructing algorithms for solving a wide class of problems of the wing theory. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 48–56, March–April, 2007.     

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.     

Analogy between a flapping wing and a wind turbine with a vertical axis of revolution

Based on an analysis of available experimental data, the hypothesis about an analogy between a flapping wing and a wind turbine of the Darrieus rotor type is justified. It is demonstrated that the torque on the shaft of the Darrieus rotor is generated by thrust forces acting on the blades in a pulsed flow. A conclusion is drawn that it is necessary to perform aerodynamic calculations of blades on the basis of the nonlinear theory of the wing in an unsteady flow with allowance for the airfoil thickness. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 152–155, March–April, 2009.     

On the aerodynamic characteristics of hovering rigid and flexible hawkmoth-like wings

Insect wings are subjected to fluid, inertia and gravitational forces during flapping flight. Owing to their limited rigidity, they bent under the influence of these forces. Numerical study by Hamamoto et al. (Adv Robot 21(1–2):1–21, 2007) showed that a flexible wing is able to generate almost as much lift as a rigid wing during flapping. In this paper, we take a closer look at the relationship between wing flexibility (or stiffness) and aerodynamic force generation in flapping hovering flight. The experimental study was conducted in two stages. The first stage consisted of detailed force measurement and flow visualization of a rigid hawkmoth-like wing undergoing hovering hawkmoth flapping motion and simple harmonic flapping motion, with the aim of establishing a benchmark database for the second stage, which involved hawkmoth-like wing of different flexibility performing the same flapping motions. Hawkmoth motion was conducted at Re = 7,254 and reduced frequency of 0.26, while simple harmonic flapping motion at Re = 7,800 and 11,700, and reduced frequency of 0.25. Results show that aerodynamic force generation on the rigid wing is governed primarily by the combined effect of wing acceleration and leading edge vortex generated on the upper surface of the wing, while the remnants of the wake vortices generated from the previous stroke play only a minor role. Our results from the flexible wing study, while generally supportive of the finding by Hamamoto et al. (Adv Robot 21(1–2):1–21, 2007), also reveal the existence of a critical stiffness constant, below which lift coefficient deteriorates significantly. This finding suggests that although using flexible wing in micro air vehicle application may be beneficial in term of lightweight, too much flexibility can lead to deterioration in flapping performance in terms of aerodynamic force generation. The results further show that wings with stiffness constant above the critical value can deliver mean lift coefficient almost the same as a rigid wing when executing hawkmoth motion, but lower than the rigid wing when performing a simple harmonic motion. In all cases studied (7,800 ≤ Re ≤ 11,700), the Reynolds number does not alter the force generation significantly.     

An inviscid model for vortex shedding from a deforming body

An inviscid vortex sheet model is developed in order to study the unsteady separated flow past a two-dimensional deforming body which moves with a prescribed motion in an otherwise quiescent fluid. Following Jones (J Fluid Mech 496, 405–441, 2003) the flow is assumed to comprise of a bound vortex sheet attached to the body and two separate vortex sheets originating at the edges. The complex conjugate velocity potential is expressed explicitly in terms of the bound vortex sheet strength and the edge circulations through a boundary integral representation. It is shown that Kelvin’s circulation theorem, along with the conditions of continuity of the normal velocity across the body and the boundedness of the velocity field, yields a coupled system of equations for the unknown bound vortex sheet strength and the edge circulations. A general numerical treatment is developed for the singular principal value integrals arising in the solution procedure. The model is validated against the results of Jones (J Fluid Mech 496, 405–441, 2003) for computations involving a rigid flat plate and is subsequently applied to the flapping foil experiments of Heathcote et al. (AIAA J, 42, 2196–2204, 2004) in order to predict the thrust coefficient. The utility of the model in simulating aquatic locomotion is also demonstrated, with vortex shedding suppressed at the leading edge of the swimming body.      

Nonstationary hydrodynamic characteristics of a double grid of profiles

The flow about a double grid of solid profiles of arbitrary shape which vibrate in a stream of an ideal incompressible fluid is considered. Behind the grid profiles, the nonstationary vortex traces simulated by the lines of contact velocity discontinuity are taken into account. The problem is reduced to the solution of a system of two integral equations relative to the fluid velocity on the initial profiles of the double grid under the assumption that the vibration amplitudes are small. Formulas for calculating the nonstationary forces and moments are derived. The dependences of these forces on the shape, mutual positions, and laws of vibration of the grid profiles are studied. Lavrent’ev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 150–155, July–August, 1999.     

Reynolds number effects on leading edge vortex development on a waving wing

The waving wing experiment is a fully three-dimensional simplification of the flapping wing motion observed in nature. The spanwise velocity gradient and wing starting and stopping acceleration that exist on an insect-like flapping wing are generated by rotational motion of a finite span wing. The flow development around a waving wing at Reynolds number between 10,000 and 60,000 has been studied using flow visualization and high-speed PIV to capture the unsteady velocity field. Lift and drag forces have been measured over a range of angles of attack, and the lift curve shape was similar in all cases. A transient high-lift peak approximately 1.5 times the quasi-steady value occurred in the first chord length of travel, caused by the formation of a strong attached leading edge vortex. This vortex appears to develop and shed more quickly at lower Reynolds numbers. The circulation of the leading edge vortex has been measured and agrees well with force data.     

Model of vortex ring formation

A semi-empirical model of vortex ring formation during exhaustion of a pulsed submerged jet from a circular orifice is presented. Formulas for determining the parameters of the vortex ring, depending on the conditions of formation of the latter, are derived. The calculated characteristics of the vortex ring as functions of criteria determining the vortex formation process are demonstrated to be in good agreement with experimental data. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 6, pp. 25–36, November–December, 2008.     

Self-similar problem of separated ideal-fluid flow over an expanding plate

The research carried out in [1–8] is developed by considering the self-similar problem of the unsteady separated flow over a plate expanding from a point with the constant velocity D of a plane-parallel stream of ideal fluid with velocity V_∞. At infinity the flow is uniform, steady and normal to the surface of the plate. A wide range of values of the parameter α=V_∞/D is investigated. On the value of α there depends, in particular, the direction of shedding of the vortex sheets (VS) which, in accordance with the Joukowsky-Chaplygin condition, occur in separated flow over a plate. A comparison is made with the results obtained when the sheets are replaced by vortex filaments (VF). In accordance with [9] the choice of the intensity of the VF ensures, like the introduction of VS, the finiteness of the flow velocity at the edges of the plate. Within the framework of the unsteady analogy and the law of plane sections the problem of the flow over a delta wing at an angle of attack reduces to the unsteady flow over an expanding plate investigated. In addition to [3, 9], this question was also examined in [10–15]. In [11–15] and in [3] the analysis is based on VS and in [9, 10] on VF. Special attention is paid to the topology of the flow, in particular, to the structure of the so-called conical streamlines and their points of convergence and divergence (this was done in [3] for a special, nonlinear law of expansion of the plate and a variable free-stream velocity). The results obtained for the models with VS and VF are compared over a broad range of values of α, not only with respect to the integral characteristics, as in [12], but also with respect to the flow patterns. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 62–69, September–October, 1988.     

Secondary flow in boundry layers of a gas induced by transverse sliping

A study is made of the secondary flows which arise in the boundary layers on a semi-infinite plate and on an infinite cone (supersonic regime) in the presence of the transverse slipping effect. The selfsimilar velocity profiles are determined, and the recoil force acting in the region of the leading edge of the plate is calculated, along with the distribution of the density of the axial torque along the generator of the cone. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 159–162, September–October, 1988.     

Experimental study of laminar-turbulent transition on a swept wing with local boundary-layer suction at subsonic velocities

The effect of local suction of the boundary layer gas near the leading edge of the upper surface of a swept wing (with the sweep anglex=35°) on the extent of the laminar flow region is studied on a large half-model at subsonic velocities. Various experimental methods were used. The data are subjected to a comparative analysis. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 65–73, July–August, 1998.     

Impact of short-span strip on oscillating-wing tip vortex

The impact of 12 spoiler–tab configurations, of different heights and widths, on the tip vortex generated by an oscillating NACA 0015 wing was investigated experimentally. For an oscillating wing equipped with a spoiler, the peak tangential velocity and core and total circulation were greatly reduced compared to a tab, regardless of its width, while the core radius remained largely unaffected with its center displaced vertically above the baseline wing. The most noticeable impact of a spoiler with a reduced height was its potential in alleviating the blade–vortex interaction (BVI) strength. Meanwhile, the largest favorable impact on the critical vortex flow parameters was achieved via a 25%-span spoiler–tab combination with a height of 5 and 2.5% chord, respectively. A contrary effect on the BVI suppression, especially during pitch-up, was, however, observed. The impact on the BVI can be improved by reducing the height of the spoiler at the expense of unfavorable change in the vortex strength and displacement.     

Spontaneous swirling in axisymmetric MHD flows of an ideally conducting fluid with closed streamlines

The region of instability of the Hill-Shafranov viscous MHD vortex with respect to azimuthal axisymmetric perturbations of the velocity field is determined numerically as a function of the Reynolds number and magnetization in a linear formulation. An approximate formulation of the linear stability problem for MHD flows with circular streamlines is considered. The further evolution of the perturbations in the supercritical region is studied using a nonlinear analog model (a simplified initial system of equations that takes into account some important properties of the basic equations). For this model, the secondary flows resulting from the instability are determined. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 40–50, May–June, 2007.