Sliding mesh algorithm for CFD analysis of helicopter rotor–fuselage aerodynamics

The study of rotor–fuselage interactional aerodynamics is central to the design and performance analysis of helicopters. However, regardless of its significance, rotor–fuselage aerodynamics has so far been addressed by very few authors. This is mainly due to the difficulties associated with both experimental and computational techniques when such complex configurations, rich in flow physics, are considered. In view of the above, the objective of this study is to develop computational tools suitable for rotor–fuselage engineering analysis based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). To account for the relative motion between the fuselage and the rotor blades, the concept of sliding meshes is introduced. A sliding surface forms a boundary between a CFD mesh around the fuselage and a rotor‐fixed CFD mesh which rotates to account for the movement of the rotor. The sliding surface allows communication between meshes. Meshes adjacent to the sliding surface do not necessarily have matching nodes or even the same number of cell faces. This poses a problem of interpolation, which should not introduce numerical artefacts in the solution and should have minimal effects on the overall solution quality. As an additional objective, the employed sliding mesh algorithms should have small CPU overhead. The sliding mesh methods developed for this work are demonstrated for both simple and complex cases with emphasis placed on the presentation of the inner workings of the developed algorithms. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于CFD的方形截面导弹纵向虚拟飞行模拟

通过将飞行力学模型及操纵控制舵面的控制律同流体力学方程耦合求解, 能够完成基于CFD方法的虚拟飞行模拟. 通过这种方法实现了方形截面导弹的纵向虚拟飞行模拟. 着重介绍了将飞行力学方程及舵偏控制律耦合到CFD解算器中的方法, 以及用于复杂外形的需要随飞行器及舵偏一起运动的多块结构网格更新方法,研究成果未来可用于非线性条件下飞行器稳定性及控制律的检验. 完成了方形截面导弹纵向虚拟飞行模拟,包括纵向俯仰自由度的迎角保持机动和通过舵面的偏转控制飞行器迎角按照预定的变化量减小; 通过两种典型机动动作的模拟,证明发展的耦合计算方法以及所采用的配平算法可以成功地应用于虚拟飞行模拟中.      

剪刀式尾桨涡流干扰机理和气动特性研究

采用非常规剪刀式尾桨对直升机整体性能有着重要影响,关于其复杂流动干扰机理的研究尚处在发展之中. 为了掌握剪刀式尾桨的流动干扰机理和参数影响规律,建立了适合于悬停状态下剪刀式尾桨干扰涡流场分析的计算流体力学(computational fluid dynamics, CFD) 数值模拟方法. 采用积分形式的Reynolds-averagedNavier-Stokes (RANS) 方程作为旋翼流场求解控制方程,围绕旋翼流场的结构网格采用嵌套网格方法生成. 在CFD 方法验证基础之上,对悬停状态下两种不同构型剪刀式尾桨桨尖涡的涡核位置和强度的演变规律进行了定量分析,并对流场中桨尖涡与桨叶的贴近干扰、碰撞、破碎运动,同时准确捕捉了不同尺度涡之间的相互干扰、融合的过程进行了分析. 进一步研究了剪刀角和轴间距参数对不同构型剪刀式尾桨气动特性的影响规律. 计算结果表明,剪刀式尾桨流场中存在复杂的桨-涡干扰和涡-涡干扰现象,剪刀角和轴间距对剪刀式尾桨的气动特性有重要影响,L 构型剪刀式尾桨气动性能整体优于U 构型剪刀式尾桨.      

Validation of actuator disc circulation distribution for unsteady virtual blades model

The actuator disc method is an engineering approach to reduce computer resources in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of helicopter rotors or aeroplane propellers. Implementation of an actuator disc based on rotor circulation distribution allows for approximations to be made while reproducing the blade tip vortices. Radial circulation distributions can be formulated according to the nonuniform Heyson-Katzoff “typical load” in hover. In forward flight, the nonuniform disk models include “azimuthal” sin and cos terms to reproduce the blade cyclic motion. The azimuthal circulation distribution for a forward flight mode corresponds to trimmed conditions for the disk rolling and pitching moments. The amplitude of the cos harmonic is analysed and compared here with presented in references data and CFD simulations results.     

A framework for CFD analysis of helicopter rotors in hover and forward flight

A framework is described and demonstrated for CFD analysis of helicopter rotors in hover and forward flight. Starting from the Navier–Stokes equations, the paper describes the periodic rotor blade motions required to trim the rotor in forward flight (blade flapping, blade lead‐lag and blade pitching) as well as the required mesh deformation. Throughout, the rotor blades are assumed to be rigid and the rotor to be fully articulated with separate hinges for each blade. The employed method allows for rotors with different numbers of blades and with various rotor hub layouts to be analysed. This method is then combined with a novel grid deformation strategy which preserves the quality of multi‐block structured, body‐fitted grids around the blades. The coupling of the CFD method with a rotor trimming approach is also described and implemented. The complete framework is validated for hovering and forward flying rotors and comparisons are made against available experimental data. Finally, suggestions for further development are put forward. For all cases, results were in good agreement with experiments and rapid convergence has been obtained. Comparisons between the present grid deformation method and transfinite interpolation were made highlighting the advantages of the current approach. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Improved Pore Network Model for the Computation of the Saturated Permeability of Porous Rock

A model to estimate the permeability of a porous sample based on a 3D image of its pore space, obtained by X-ray computed tomography (CT) and applying a threshold algorithm on the CT image, is developed. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used to directly compute the saturated fluid flow in a sample. This is called the direct method. The direct method is relatively accurate, but computationally very expensive. Therefore, a new pore network approach is presented. Pore networks simplify the pore space to a network of nodes that are hydraulically connected by links. A finite difference CFD method is then applied to simulate the fluid flow inside the links and to compute the local permeability values of the links in the network according to Darcy’s law. As these links are relatively small, this demands less computational resources than a CFD simulation on the whole sample. Once the local permeabilities in the network are known, the permeability of the entire network can be calculated.     

A simple sliding‐mesh interface procedure and its application to the CFD simulation of a tidal‐stream turbine

An effective way of using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate flow about a rotating device—for example, a wind or marine turbine—is to embed a rotating region of cells inside a larger, stationary domain, with a sliding interface between. This paper describes a simple but effective method for implementing this as an internal Dirichlet boundary condition, with interfacial values obtained by interpolation from halo nodes. The method is tested in two finite‐volume codes: one using block‐structured meshes and the other unstructured meshes. Validation is performed for flow around simple, isolated, rotating shapes (cylinder, sphere and cube), comparing, where possible, with experiment and the alternative CFD approach of fixed grid with moving walls. Flow variables are shown to vary smoothly across the sliding interface. Simulations of a tidal‐stream turbine, including both rotor and support, are then performed and compared with towing‐tank experiments. Comparison between CFD and experiment is made for thrust and power coefficients as a function of tip‐speed ratio (TSR) using Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence models and large‐eddy simulation (LES). Performance of most models is good near the optimal TSR, but simulations underestimate mean thrust and power coefficients in off‐design conditions, with the standard k– ? turbulence model performing noticeably worse than shear stress transport k– ω and Reynolds‐stress‐transport closures. LES gave good predictions of mean load coefficients and vital information about wake structures but at substantial computational cost. Grid‐sensitivity studies suggest that Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes models give acceptable predictions of mean power and thrust coefficients on a single device using a mesh of about 4 million cells. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of flapping‐wing insect hovering flight at unsteady flow

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was conducted to study the unsteady aerodynamics of a virtual flying bumblebee during hovering flight. The integrated geometry of bumblebee was established to define the shape of a three‐dimensional virtual bumblebee model with beating its wings, accurately mimicking the three‐dimensional movements of wings during hovering flight. The kinematics data of wings documented from the measurement to the bumblebee in normal hovering flight aided by the high‐speed video. The Navier–Stokes equations are solved numerically. The solution provides the flow and pressure fields, from which the aerodynamic forces and vorticity wake structure are obtained. Insights into the unsteady aerodynamic force generation process are gained from the force and flow‐structure information. The CFD analysis has established an overall understanding of the viscous and unsteady flow around the virtual flying bumblebee and of the time course of instantaneous force production, which reveals that hovering flight is dominated by the unsteady aerodynamics of both the instantaneous dynamics and also the past history of the wing. A coherent leading‐edge vortex with axial flow and the attached wingtip vortex and trailing edge vortex were detected. The leading edge vortex, wing tip vortex and trailing edge vortex, which caused by the pressure difference between the upper and the lower surface of wings. The axial flow, which include the spanwise flow and chordwise flow, is derived from the spanwise pressure gradient and chordwise pressure gradient, will stabilize the vortex and gives it a characteristic spiral conical shape. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

蜻蜓滑翔时柔性褶皱前翅气动特性分析

蜻蜓是自然界优秀的飞行家,滑翔是其常见且有效的飞行模式.蜻蜓优异的飞行能力来源于其翅膀的巧妙结构,褶皱是蜻蜓翅膀上最为显著的结构之一,不仅提高了翅膀的刚度,还改变了其气动特性,而飞行过程中柔性翅膀会产生变形是蜻蜓翅膀的另一特性.为揭示蜻蜓在滑翔时,柔性褶皱前翅的变形,探究褶皱和柔性的共同作用对其气动特性的影响,基于逆向工程,依据前人的测量数据和研究成果,通过三维建模软件建立了蜻蜓三维褶皱前翅的计算流体力学(computational fluiddynamics,CFD)模型和计算结构力学(computational structuralmechanics,CSD)模型,并通过模态分析验证了此模型有足够的精度.基于CFD方法和CFD/CSD双向流固耦合计算方法分别对蜻蜓滑翔飞行时刚性和柔性褶皱前翅的气动特性进行了数值模拟,结果表明,柔性褶皱前翅受气动载荷后,翅脉和翅膜产生形变,柔性前翅上下表面压力差相较于刚性前翅减小了,从而其升力和阻力也减小了,而在大攻角时,变形后的前缘脉诱导出比刚性前翅更强的前缘涡.因此在攻角小于10$^\circ$时刚性前翅的气动特性优于柔性前翅,继续增大攻角,柔性前翅的气动特性则优于刚性前翅.前翅受载后气动响应时间短,翅尖的变形最大,仅仅产生了垂直于翅膀所在平面方向上的变形,而没有发生扭转,翼根处受到应力最大,褶皱上凸部分承受蜻蜓滑翔时前翅的主要载荷.      

基于POD和代理模型的静气动弹性分析方法

静气动弹性问题考虑弹性结构与定常气动力间的相互耦合作用,对飞行器的性能和安全具有显著的影响.在现代飞行器设计阶段,计算流体力学(CFD)/计算结构力学(CSD)直接耦合方法是精确考察静气动弹性影响的重要手段.然而,基于CFD技术的气动力仿真手段在耦合过程中计算量大且耗时长,难以满足设计阶段的需求.因此,为了兼顾计算精度与效率,文章采用本征正交分解(POD)和Kriging代理模型相结合的模型降阶方法,替代CFD求解过程并耦合有限元分析(FEA)方法,建立了高效、准确的静气动弹性分析框架.相较于传统的以模态法为主的静气动弹性分析方法,该方法能够解决更为复杂的静气动弹性问题以及提供静气动弹性变形过程中的气动分布载荷.针对典型三维跨声速HIRENASD机翼模型开展的马赫数、迎角变化的算例验证表明:由建立的静气动弹性分析方法与CFD/CSD直接耦合方法计算得到机翼翼梢处的静变形量间的相对误差在5%以内;同时该方法预测静平衡位置处的气动分布载荷的误差在5%以内,静气动弹性分析的计算效率至少提升了6倍.     

用鲁棒Riemann求解器和运动重叠网格计算旋翼粘性绕流

发展了一种基于鲁棒Riemann求解器和运动重叠网格技术计算直升机悬停旋翼流场的方法。基于惯性坐标系,悬停旋翼流场是非定常流场,控制方程为可压缩Reynolds平均Navier-Stoke方程,其对流项采用Roe近似Reimann求解器离散,使用改进的五阶加权基本无振荡格式进行高阶重构,非定常时间推进采用含牛顿型LUSGS子迭代的全隐式双时间步方法。为实施旋转运动和便于捕捉尾迹,计算采用运动重叠网格技术。计算得到的桨叶表面压力分布及桨尖涡涡核位置都与实验结果吻合较好。数值结果表明:所发展方法对桨尖涡具有较高的分辨率,对激波具有较好的捕捉能力,该方法可进一步推广到前飞旋翼粘性绕流的计算。     

Design,manufacturing, and flight testing of a fixed wing micro air vehicle with Zimmerman planform

An optimized and comprehensive method is used to design and manufacture a fixed wing micro air vehicle (MAV) with Zimmerman planform. The design process includes four stages which are the specification of the flight mission, determination of the best aspect ratio, identification of the optimum wing loading and thrust loading values, and estimation of the weight of the structural components of the MAV. To do this, various statistical and analytical methods are utilized. Based on an aerodynamic analysis, the results show that an optimum aspect ratio that maximizes the performance of the Zimmerman MAV for a well-defined cruise speed is determined. Considering six possible flights, a constraint analysis is performed and an optimum wing loading value is determined. It is shown that the computational method is beneficial to determine the exact masses for the structural components including the wing, fuselage, and vertical tail. Using the 3D panel method, the determination of the shape of the reflexed airfoil for the MAV is successfully done by minimizing the drag force and the angle of attack to use less powerful motor and avoid any stall effect, respectively. A stability analysis is then performed to check the safe flight of the designed vehicle. During test flight, the results show that the designed Zimmerman MAV satisfies the pre-defined specification. The final characteristics of the manufactured MAV are: wingspan of 44 cm, weight of 450 g, aspect ratio of 1.51, cruise speed of 20 m/s, and flight endurance of 20 min.     

一种冲击波作用下结构毁伤算法研究

针对爆炸冲击波与建筑物结构相互作用过程,分析了冲击波与结构碎块作用机理,发展了一种能够模拟建筑物结构破坏及冲击波传播过程的计算模型和方法。采用建筑物结构工程毁伤载荷作为判据,处理结构在冲击波作用下的破坏问题;利用流固耦合界面算法处理结构运动引起的泄压效应,利用“虚拟网格通气技术”处理结构碎块对冲击波的阻碍作用,模拟了冲击波作用下典型建筑物的毁伤过程及冲击波传播过程。结果表明,该模型在模拟冲击波与结构的作用过程中,压力计算结果与非结构动网格模拟结果符合较好;在典型建筑物毁伤过程的数值模拟中,计算得到的建筑物毁伤效果和冲击波超压分布与建筑物物理毁伤特点符合。     

Methodologies for weight estimation of fixed and flapping wing micro air vehicles

One of the important steps in the sizing process of fixed and flapping wing micro air vehicles (MAVs) is weight estimation of the electrical and structural components. In order to enhance the flight performance and endurance of MAVs, it is required to carefully estimate their weight with a minimum error. In this study, methodologies to estimate the weight of fixed and flapping wing MAVs are proposed. After dividing the total weight of the MAV into weights of structural and electrical components, these two weights are separately identified. The weight of the MAV electrical components is estimated by using engineering design techniques and the weight of the structure is identified by using statistical and computational methods. The proposed methodology for structural weight estimation is based on calculating the percentage of the used material in the construction of different parts of MAVs and then presenting the weight of each part in terms of the wing surface. The proposed computational method gives the exact estimation for the weight of each structure component, such as wing, tail, fuselage, and etc. Based on the offered method for weight estimation of MAVs, the weight estimation of a fixed wing MAV with inverse Zimmerman planform and a flapping wing MAV named “Thunder I” are experimentally shown. This developed methodology gives guidelines for weight estimation and determination of the structural weight percentages in order to design and fabricate efficient fixed and flapping wing MAVs.     

基于离散元法的干湿颗粒系统仿真

介绍了基于离散元法的干湿颗粒系统仿真软件DEMSIM。对于干颗粒系统,DEMSIM可以分析二维和三维颗粒系统的弹性和塑性接触碰撞过程;对于湿颗粒系统,DEMSIM采用传统的液桥模型;对于颗粒-流体系统,DEMSIM采用CFD-DEM细观耦合模型模拟。一系列典型算例的模拟分析,验证了干湿颗粒系统仿真软件DEMSIM的精度和有效性。     

旋翼尾流与地面干扰时地面涡现象的研究

用Ｎ－Ｓ方程对近地飞行时旋翼尾流与地面干扰时产生的地面涡现象进行了数值计算旋翼对流场的作用由分布在特定区域内的动量源项模拟结果表明，旋翼尾流撞到地面后的卷起和轴向流动的拉伸作用是形成地面涡的原因；地面边界层形成的二次分离涡向地面涡内输入（与尾流所携带的涡量）相反的涡量，而使地面涡保持平衡；地面涡的存在和运动使旋翼附近流场大大改变     

Estimation of solid concentration in solid–liquid two-phase flow in horizontal pipeline using inverse-problem approach

In this study, an inverse-problem method was applied to estimate the solid concentration in a solid–liquid two-phase flow. An algebraic slip mixture model was introduced to solve the forward problem of solid–liquid convective heat transfer. The time-average conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy, as well as the volume fraction equation were computed in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The solid concentration in the CFD model was controlled using an external program that included the inversion iteration, and an optimal estimation was performed via experimental measurements. Experiments using a fly-ash–water mixture and sand–water mixture with different solid concentrations in a horizontal pipeline were conducted to verify the accuracy of the inverse-problem method. The estimated results were rectified using a method based on the relationship between the estimated results and estimation error; consequently, the accuracy of the corrected inversion results improved significantly. After a verification through experiments, the inverse-problem method was concluded to be feasible for predicting the solid concentration, as the estimation error of the corrected results was within 7% for all experimental samples for a solid concentration of less than 50%. The inverse-problem method is expected to provide accurate predictions of the solid concentration in solid–liquid two-phase flow systems.     

An unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes solver for large eddy simulation of turbulent flows

An unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes solver that uses a dual time stepping method combined with spatially high‐order‐accurate finite differences, is developed for large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flows. The present solver uses a primitive variable formulation that is based on the artificial compressibility method and various convergence–acceleration techniques are incorporated to efficiently simulate unsteady flows. A localized dynamic subgrid model, which is formulated using the subgrid kinetic energy, is employed for subgrid turbulence modeling. To evaluate the accuracy and the efficiency of the new solver, a posteriori tests for various turbulent flows are carried out and the resulting turbulence statistics are compared with existing experimental and direct numerical simulation (DNS) data. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lattice Boltzmann‐based single‐phase method for free surface tracking of droplet motions

A 2D single‐phase free surface tracking model, based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is developed for simulating droplet motion. In contrast to the conventional multi‐phase models, it is not necessary to simulate the motion of the gas phase using this 2D single‐phase algorithm, and thus improves the computational efficiency without sacrificing the underlying physics. A method for special treatment of the relevant boundary conditions in the single‐phase algorithm is proposed and also validated. Numerical simulations are carried out for the motion of a free falling droplet with or without considering gravity and droplet spreading under gravity. The simulations of the LBM are found to be consistent with the results obtained from commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software Fluent. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A two-phase, two-component model for vertical upward gas-liquid annular flow

In this paper, a new two-fluid two-component computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed to simulate vertical upward two-phase annular flow. The two-phase VOF scheme is utilized to model the roll wave flow, and the gas core is described by a two-component phase consisting of liquid droplets and gas phase. The entrainment and deposition processes are taken into account by source terms of the governing equations. Unlike the previous models, the newly developed model includes the effect of liquid roll waves directly determined from the CFD code, which is able to provide more detailed and, the most important, more self-standing information for both the gas core flow and the film flow as well as their interactions. Predicted results are compared with experimental data, and a good agreement is achieved.