Energy harvesting of a heaving and forward pitching wing with a passively actuated trailing edge

This study experimentally investigates the energy harvesting capabilities of an oscillating wing with a passively actuated trailing edge. The oscillation kinematics are composed of a combined heaving and forward pitching motions, where the pitching axis is well behind the wing center of mass. Passive actuation is attained by connecting the trailing edge with the wing body using a torsion rod. The degree of flexibility of the trailing edge is represented by the Strouhal number based on the trailing edge natural frequency. The trailing edge passive response is studied for oscillation Strouhal numbers of 0.017, 0.025 and 0.033. Instantaneous aerodynamic forces are measured in a closed loop wind tunnel at a Reynolds number of 40 000, based on the free stream velocity and the wing chord length. Measured results include the effective angle of attack induced by the trailing edge actuation as well as the lift and moment during the oscillation cycle. For the imposed kinematics in this study, the pitching motion has a positive contribution to the mean power output whereas the heaving motion has a relatively small but negative contribution. Additionally, by decreasing the natural frequency of the trailing edge closer to that of the imposed oscillation frequency, the magnitude of the lift and moment forces and hence the mean power output, increases. It is found that there exists a strong correlation between mean power output and the effective angle of attack, shown through the passive trailing edge response, resulting in an increase in energy harvesting potential.     

Numerical experiments on the stability of leading edge boundary layer flow: A two-dimensional linear study

A numerical study is performed in order to gain insight to the stability of the infinite swept attachment line boundary layer. The basic flow is taken to be of the Hiemenz class with an added cross-flow giving rise to a constant thickness boundary layer along the attachment line. The full Navier-Stokes equations are solved using an initial value problem approach after two-dimensional perturbations of varying amplitude are introduced into the basic flow. A second-order-accurate finite difference scheme is used in the normal-to-the-wall direction, while a pseudospectral approach is employed in the other directions; temporally, an implicit Crank-Nicolson scheme is used. Extensive use of the efficient fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm has been made, resulting in substantial savings in computing cost. Results for the two-dimensional linear regime of perturbations are in very good agreement with past numerical and theoretical investigations, without the need for specific assumptions used by the latter, thus establishing the generality of our method.     

A note on the unsteady boundary layers over a flat plate

The unsteady boundary layer over a semi-infinite flat plate was investigated in this paper. The flow involves the unsteady flow over a flat plate with leading edge accretion or ablation. The momentum boundary layer was further analyzed and it was shown that the leading edge ablation had a similar effect to the wall mass injection or upstream wall movement making the fluid blown away from the wall. The thermal boundary layer of the same flow was also studied. Results show that the leading edge accretion or ablation can greatly change the fluid motion and the heat transfer characteristics.     

Similarity solution of thermal boundary layers for laminar narrow axisymmetric jets

In this work, the similarity equation describing the thermal boundary layers of laminar narrow axisymmetric jets is derived based on boundary layer assumptions. The equation is solved exactly. Some properties of the thermal jet are discussed. By introducing new-defined non-dimensional coordinates, the similarity solution results in a “universal” format. The results can also be applied in the boundary layer problem of species diffusion.     

NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF THE SINGULARLY PERTURBED PROBLEM WITH NONLOCAL BOUNDARY CONDITION

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＴｈｉｓｐａｐｅｒｉｓｃｏｎｃｅｒｎｅｄｗｉｔｈｔｈｅｎｕｍｅｒｉｃａｌｓｏｌｕｔｉｏｎ ,ｂｙｆｉｎｉｔｅｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｃｅｍｅｔｈｏｄ ,ｏｆｔｈｅｆｏｌｌｏｗｉｎｇｓｉｎｇｕｌａｒｌｙｐｅｒｔｕｒｂｅｄｎｏｎｌｏｃａｌｂｏｕｎｄａｒｙｖａｌｕｅｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ :Ｌｕ≡-εｕ″ +ａ(ｘ)ｕ=ｆ(ｘ)　　 ( 0 <ｘ<ｌ) ,( 1 )Ｌ0 ｕ≡-εｕ′( 0 ) +γｕ( 0 ) =μ0 , ( 2 )Ｌ1ｕ≡ｕ(ｌ) -δｕ(ｄ) =μｌ　　 ( 0 <ｄ<ｌ) ,( 3 )ｗｈｅｒｅεｉｓａｓｍａｌｌｐｏｓｉｔｉｖｅｐａｒａｍｅｔｅｒ,…     

Viscous boundary layers in flows through a domain with permeable boundary

The effect of small viscosity on nearly inviscid flows of an incompressible fluid through a given domain with permeable boundary is studied. The Vishik–Lyusternik method is applied to construct a boundary layer asymptotic at the outlet in the limit of vanishing viscosity. Mathematical problems with both consistent and inconsistent initial and boundary conditions at the outlet are considered. It is shown that in the former case, the viscosity leads to a boundary layer only at the outlet. In the latter case, in the leading term of the expansion there is a boundary layer at the outlet and there is no boundary layer at the inlet, but in higher order terms another boundary layer appears at the inlet. To verify the validity of the expansion, a number of simple examples are presented. The examples demonstrate that asymptotic solutions are in quite good agreement with exact or numerical solutions.     

Active flow control for reduction of fluctuating aerodynamic forces of a blunt trailing edge profiled body

Vortex shedding in the wake of two-dimensional bluff bodies is usually accompanied by three dimensional instabilities. These instabilities result in streamwise and vertical vorticity components which occur at a certain spanwise wavelength. The spanwise wavelength of the instabilities (λ_Z) depends on several parameters, including profile geometry and Reynolds number. The objective of the present work is to study the three dimensional wake instabilities for a blunt trailing edge profiled body, comprised of an elliptical leading edge and a rectangular trailing edge, and to manipulate these instabilities to control the aerodynamic forces. Results of numerical simulations of flow around the body at Re(d) = 400, 600, and 1000, as well as planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) flow visualizations at Re(d) = 600 and 1000 are analyzed to determine the wake vorticity structure and λ_Z. Based on the findings of these analyses, an active flow control mechanism for attenuation of the fluctuating aerodynamic forces on the body is proposed. The flow control mechanism is comprised of a series of trailing edge injection ports distributed across the span, with a spacing equal to λ_Z. Injection of a secondary flow leads to amplification of the three dimensional instabilities and disorganization of the von Kármán vortex street. Numerical simulations indicate that the flow control mechanism can attenuate the fluctuating aerodynamic forces at lower Reynolds numbers (Re(d) = 400 and 600) where λ_Z is constant in time. However, the control mechanism loses its effectiveness at Re(d) = 1000, due to the temporal variations of λ_Z.     

Numerical studies on evolution of secondary streamwise vortices in transitional boundary layers

Formation and evolution of secondary streamwise vortices in the compressible transitional boundary layers over a flat plate are studied using a direct numerical simulation method with high-order accuracy and highly effective non-reflecting characteristic boundary conditions. Generation and development processes of the secondary streamwise vortices in the complicated transitional boundary flow are clearly analyzed based on the of numerical results, and the effects on the formation of the ring-like vortex that is vital to the boundary layer transition are explored. A new mechanism forming the ring-like vortex through the mutual effect of the primary and secondary streamwise vortices is expressed.     

Numerical solution of multiple hole problem by using boundary integral equation

This paper studies a numerical solution of multiple hole problem by using a boundary integral equation. The studied problem can be considered as a supposition of many single hole problems. After considering the interaction among holes, an algebraic equation is formulated, which is then solved by using an iteration technique. The hoop stress around holes can be finally determined. One numerical example is provided to check its accuracy.     

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.     

粘性可压混合层时间稳定性对称紧致差分求解

基于可压扰动方程组的一阶改型 ,将高精度对称紧致格式引入边值法数值线性稳定性分析。对所获非线性离散特征值问题给出了一个通用形式二阶迭代局部算法 ,实现了时间模式和空间模式的统一求解 ,并将扰动特征值及其特征函数同时得到。据此分析了可压平面自由混合层时间稳定性 ,涉及二维 /三维扰动波、粘性 /无粘扰动波、第一 /第二模态、特征函数、伪特征值谱等。研究表明 ,压缩性效应和粘性效应对最不稳定扰动波数和增长率呈相似的减抑作用 ;在 Mc=1附近 ,从高波数段开始 ,粘性效应可强化二维不稳定扰动波由第一模态向第二模态的过渡     

Numerical method for unsteady compressible boundary layers driven by compression or expansion wave

A numerical analysis is presented for the unsteady compressible laminar boundary layer driven by a compression or expansion wave. Approximate or series expansion methods have been used for the problems because of the characteristics of the governing equations, such as non-linearity, coupling with the thermal boundary layer equation and initial conditions. Here a transformation of the governing equations and the numerical linearization technique are introduced to deal with the difficulties. First, the governing equations are transformed for the initial conditions by Howarth and semisimilarity variables. These transformations reduce the number of independent variables from three to two and the governing equations from partial to ordinary differential equations at the initial point. Next, the numerical linearization technique is introduced for the non-linearity and the coupling with the thermal boundary layer equation. Because the non-linear terms are linearized without sacrifice of numerical accuracy, the solutions can be obtained without numerical iterations. Therefore the exact numerical solution, not approximate or series expansion, can be obtained. Compared with the approximate or series expansion method, this method is much improved. Results are compared with the series expansion solutions.     

Turbulent spots in boundary layers in a free-piston shock-tunnel flow

In this paper, experiments to detect turbulent spots in the transitional boundary layers, formed on a flat plate in a free-piston shock tunnel flow, are reported. Experiments indicate that thin-film heat-transfer gauges are suitable for identifying turbulent-spot activity and can be used to identify parameters such as the convection rate of spots and the intermittency of turbulence.     

Stability characteristics of laminar boundary layers over compliant walls

The stability characteristics of laminar boundary layers over compliant walls was studied by the linear theory. Unlike the previous authors, the coupled motion of the fluid and solid was required to satisfy the continuity conditions of both the velocity and stress at the interface. Results of calculations show that as the speed ratio or density ratio exceeds a certain threshold value, the two types of unstable waves will no longer be distinguishable, and the tangential component of the disturbance stress is no longer negligible. So the neglect of it, as the previous authors did, is unjustified. The project is supported by the National Natural Science Fundation of China.     

Numerical prediction of turbulent boundary layer noise from a sharp-edged flat plate

An efficient hybrid uncorrelated wall plane waves–boundary element method (UWPW-BEM) technique is proposed to predict the flow-induced noise from a structure in low Mach number turbulent flow. Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are used to estimate the turbulent boundary layer parameters such as convective velocity, boundary layer thickness, and wall shear stress over the surface of the structure. The spectrum of the wall pressure fluctuations is evaluated from the turbulent boundary layer parameters and by using semi-empirical models from literature. The wall pressure field underneath the turbulent boundary layer is synthesized by realizations of uncorrelated wall plane waves (UWPW). An acoustic BEM solver is then employed to compute the acoustic pressure scattered by the structure from the synthesized wall pressure field. Finally, the acoustic response of the structure in turbulent flow is obtained as an ensemble average of the acoustic pressures due to all realizations of uncorrelated plane waves. To demonstrate the hybrid UWPW-BEM approach, the self-noise generated by a flat plate in turbulent flow with Reynolds number based on chord Re_c = 4.9 × 10⁵ is predicted. The results are compared with those obtained from a large eddy simulation (LES)-BEM technique as well as with experimental data from literature.     

Numerical simulations of compressible mixing layers with a discontinuous Galerkin method

Discontinuous Galerkin(DG) method is known to have several advantages for flow simulations,in particular,in fiexible accuracy management and adaptability to mesh refinement. In the present work,the DG method is developed for numerical simulations of both temporally and spatially developing mixing layers. For the temporally developing mixing layer,both the instantaneous fiow field and time evolution of momentum thickness agree very well with the previous results. Shocklets are observed at higher convective Mach numbers and the vortex paring manner is changed for high compressibility. For the spatially developing mixing layer,large-scale coherent structures and self-similar behavior for mean profiles are investigated. The instantaneous fiow field for a three-dimensional compressible mixing layer is also reported,which shows the development of largescale coherent structures in the streamwise direction. All numerical results suggest that the DG method is effective in performing accurate numerical simulations for compressible shear fiows.     

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.     

Hairpin vortices in the largest scale of turbulent boundary layers

We have conducted direct numerical simulations of a turbulent boundary layer for the momentum-thickness-based Reynolds number ${\mathit{Re}}_{\theta }$ = 180–4600. To extract the largest-scale vortices, we coarse-grain the fluctuating velocity fields by using a Gaussian filter with the filter width comparable to the boundary layer thickness. Most of the largest-scale vortices identified by isosurfaces of the second invariant of the coarse-grained velocity gradient tensor are similar to coherent vortices observed in low-Reynolds-number regions, that is, hairpin vortices or quasi-streamwise vortices inclined to the wall. We also develop a percolation analysis to investigate the threshold-dependence of the isosurfaces and objectively identify the largest-scale hairpin vortices in terms of the coarse-grained vorticity, which leads to the quantitative evidence that they never disappear even in fully developed turbulent regions. Hence, we conclude that hairpin vortices exist in the largest-scale structures irrespective of the Reynolds number.