The thermal structure of a wind-driven Reynolds ridge

In this study, we investigate the nature of a Reynolds ridge formed by wind shear. We have simultaneously imaged the water surface, with a deposit of a monolayer of the surfactant, oleyl alcohol, subject to different wind shears, by using a high-resolution infrared (IR) detector and a high-speed (HS) digital camera. The results reveal that the regions around the wind-driven Reynolds ridge, which have subtle manifestations in visual imagery, possess surprisingly complex hydrodynamical and thermal structures when observed in the infrared. The IR measurements reveal a warm, clean region upstream of the ridge, which is composed of the so called fishscale structures observed in earlier investigations. The region downstream of the ridge is composed of colder fluid which forms two counter-rotating cells. A region of intermediate temperature, which we call the mixing (wake) region, forms immediately downstream of the ridge near the channel centerline. By measuring the velocity of the advected fishscales, we have determined a surface drift speed of about 2% of the wind speed. The spanwise length-scale of the structures has also been used to estimate the wind shear. In addition, a comparison of IR and visual imagery shows that the thermal field is a very sensitive indicator of the exact position of the ridge itself.     

A mechanistic IR calibration technique for boiling heat transfer investigations

This paper presents a new calibration technique to improve the accuracy of infrared thermometry in boiling heat transfer investigations.The technique is suitable for heaters consisting of a thin, infrared (IR) opaque conductive film coated on one side of a flat and IR semi-transparent substrate. The conductive film is in contact with the liquid and acts as the boiling surface. The IR camera sees the boiling surface through the substrate. If the substrate is not completely transparent, the radiation emitted by the IR opaque film is partially absorbed and contaminated by the radiation emitted by the substrate itself. Therefore, the correlation between the IR radiation measured by the IR camera and the temperature of the boiling surface (IR opaque film) is not unique, but depends on the temperature distribution in the substrate.To solve this issue, we developed a model that solves the coupled conduction/radiation inverse problem in the heater. The problem is inverse because the boundary condition for the conduction problem (the boiling surface temperature) is not known. The IR camera measures the combined radiation emitted by the boiling surface, emitted by the substrate and also the reflection of the background radiation; from that information one has to reconstruct the boiling surface temperature.The technique is unique in that it takes into account the spectral dependence of optical properties in the optical materials. For this reason, it is particularly suitable for heaters where the optical properties of the conductive film and the substrate materials depend on the wavelength of the IR radiation.Using this technique, we can measure with improved accuracy the time-dependent 3D temperature distribution in the heater, as well as local temperature and local heat flux distributions on the boiling surface. The validation of the technique was carried out using transient conduction experiments. Then, the technique was applied to transient pool boiling experiments to prove its feasibility and show the potential applications.     

On the influence of elevated surface temperatures on hypersonic shock wave/boundary layer interaction at a heated ramp model

Although important flow parameters as Mach number, Reynolds number and total enthalpy can be reproduced in most hypersonic experiments quite well, due to different surface temperature effects in wind tunnel and flight, scaling as well as specific flow properties of shock wave/boundary layer interactions are different. This especially holds for short-duration facilities like, e.g. shock tunnels where due to short running times the models remain more or less at ambient temperature. To overcome this shortcoming, an experimental study has been conducted using a preheatable ramp model with 15° ramp angle. This allowed us to adjust the surfaces to an arbitrary temperature just before the experiment started. Pressure and heat flux measurements clearly showed the effect of varying surface and free stream temperatures. These results are supported by schlieren pictures and infrared measurements. The comparison of the measurements with theoretical and numerical results shows a good agreement. Separation bubble scaling laws proposed by Katzer and Davis have been applied and partially confirmed using the local conditions of the boundary layer at separation.     

Study on the Use of Motion Compensation Techniques to Determine Heat Sources. Application to Large Deformations on Cracked Rubber Specimens

This paper deals with the determination of the thermal response of elastomeric materials subjected to cyclic loading. In this case, the material undergoes large deformations, so a suitable motion compensation technique has been developed to track the material points and their temperature during the test. Special attention is paid to the Narcissus effect and to the detector matrix of the infrared camera used in the study. Heat sources are then derived from the temperature maps. The thermoelastic inversion phenomenon has been experimentally evidenced during a cyclic test performed on an elastomeric notched specimen. The heat source distribution close to the crack tip has also been deduced from the temperature maps, thus highlighting the relevance of the approach.     

Experimental analysis of a stochastic model for estimating wind-borne compact debris trajectory in turbulent winds

The impact of flying debris against building envelopes during high winds is a major source of structural damage. For example, damage produced by Hurricanes Katrina and Ike in the United States on the facades of tall buildings, located in urban areas, has been documented. It is therefore of relevance to analyze the vulnerability of tall buildings to debris-induced non-structural damage in the general context of performance-based wind engineering. In order to analyze the random trajectory of debris in highly turbulent winds, a numerical model combined with a probability-based algorithm was recently proposed by the authors (Moghim and Caracoglia, 2013). This model investigates the trajectory of “compact debris”, defined as point-mass objects of negligible mass moments of inertia and for which the aerodynamics is predominantly controlled by the drag force. The model replicates both the inherent randomness in debris properties and the effect of wind shear and atmospheric turbulence to estimate debris trajectory and the likelihood of impact against vertical building facades in a probabilistic setting.This paper describes the comparison between numerical model results and wind tunnel experiments. Tests were carried out in the Northeastern University׳s small scale wind tunnel in both smooth flow and grid-generated turbulent flow. The motion of spheres and cubes, simulating compact debris objects, was investigated in two dimensions (2D) on a vertical plane.The 2D motion of compact objects of various sizes was captured by a high-speed digital camera at different flow speeds. Experimental results showed to be consistent with numerical simulations. They also confirmed that not only mean flow speed but also turbulence features can have a non-negligible effect on the trajectory of compact objects.     

Experimental tests of dropwise cooling on infrared-transparent media

The present work is aimed at analyzing the cooling of hot solid surfaces induced by liquid droplets. In particular, the study is focused on the non-intrusive measurement of the transient contact temperature between impinging droplets and hot solid surfaces.

An experimental apparatus was built and set up in order to approach the non-trivial problem of the measurement of a solid–liquid interface temperature after droplet impingement. The solid–liquid interface temperature was monitored from below through a transparent-to-infrared material. That material had been coated with a very thin layer of high-emissivity, opaque paint on its upper side, so that it could effectively respond to the infrared camera located below.

The paper reports the main results that have been collected to date, with particular regard to the approaches used to coat the transparent solid. Some considerations are also expressed about the effectiveness of the proposed method and about the improvements that are currently being implemented to get new and more accurate interface temperature measurements.     

双目视觉技术在高超声速颤振风洞试验中的应用

以验证高超声速颤振风洞试验技术为目标,为了获取试验模型在风洞流场激励下的位移形貌,运用风洞试验的方法研究了某翼面模型的颤振特性。采用一种基于双目视觉系统的试验方法,系统主要由CCD相机、图像采集卡和控制计算机组成,通过立体视觉标定和数字图像处理技术解算出模型变形的形貌。试验结果表明,该方法应用成功,与CFD/CSD数值计算结果比对良好,验证了该技术在高超声速风洞试验中应用的可行性。     

CFD wind tunnel test: Field velocity patterns of wind on a building with a refuge floor

This paper reports a CFD wind tunnel study of wind patterns on a square-plan building with a refuge floor at its mid-height level. In this study, a technique of using calibrated power law equations of velocity and turbulent intensity applied as the boundary conditions in CFD wind tunnel test is being evaluated by the physical wind tunnel data obtained by the Principal Author with wind blowing perpendicularly on the building without a refuge floor. From the evaluated results, an optimised domain of flow required to produce qualitative agreement between the wind tunnel data and simulated results is proposed in this paper. Simulated results with the evaluated technique are validated by the wind tunnel data obtained by the Principal Author. The results contribute to an understanding of the fundamental behaviour of wind flow in a refuge floor when wind is blowing perpendicularly on the building. Moreover, the results reveal that the designed natural ventilation of a refuge floor may not perform desirably when the wind speed on the level is low. Under this situation, the refuge floor may become unsafe if smoke was dispersed in the leeward side of the building at a level immediately below the refuge floor.     

Estimation of Fatigue Limits from Temperature Data Measured by IR Thermography

To determine the fatigue limits of materials, fatigue testing, which is time-consuming and very expensive, is required. In order to overcome these shortcomings, estimating methods for fatigue limits based on temperature changes measured by IR camera have been proposed, and research and development of such methods have been widely conducted. In the current paper, a non-lock-in type, inexpensive IR camera was used for rotational bending fatigue testing to estimate the fatigue limit from temperature changes independent from loading signals. The results indicated that it is possible to estimate the fatigue limit from the time-temperature change curves measured under various stress conditions and converted stress amplitude-temperature change curves. The estimated results were sufficiently accurate and thus we confirmed that it is promising to estimate the fatigue limit by a non-lock-in type, inexpensive IR camera. The inflection point of a stress amplitude-temperature change curve can be determined by approximating a curve by two straight lines and finding the combination of the lines for which the sum of the residuals between the curve and the lines is the smallest. Although the temperature changes depended on the loading history (the number of loading cycles), the results of fatigue limit estimation changed little. Therefore, the proposed method is practically accurate as a simple estimation method. We also measured the behavior of stress-stroke for each loading history (the number of loading cycles) in tension-compression fatigue testing and confirmed that temperature changes during fatigue testing are associated with plastic strain energy.     

Assessment of Digital Image Correlation as a method of obtaining deformations of a structure under fluid load

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is employed for the measurement of full-field deformation during fluid–structure interaction experiments in a wind tunnel. The methodology developed for the wind tunnel environment is quantitatively assessed. The static deformation error of the system is shown to be less than 0.8% when applied to a curved aerofoil specimen moved through known displacements using a micrometre. Enclosed camera fairings were shown to be required to minimise error due to wind induced camera vibration under aerodynamic loading. The methodology was demonstrated using a high performance curved foil, from a NACRA F20 sailing catamaran, tested within the University of Southampton RJ Mitchell, 3.5 mx2.4 m, wind tunnel. The aerodynamic forces induced in the wind tunnel are relatively small, compared with typical hydrodynamic loading, resulting in small deformations. The coupled deflection and blade twist is evaluated over the tip region (80–100% Span, measured from the root) for a range of wind speeds and angles of attack. Steady deformations at low angles of attack were shown to be well captured however unsteady deformations at higher angles of attack were observed as an increase in variability due to hardware limitations in the current DIC system. It is concluded that higher DIC sample rates are required to assess unsteady deformations in the future. The full field deformation data reveals limited blade twist for low angles of attack, below the stall angle. For larger angles, however, there is a tendency to reduce the effective angle of attack at the tip of the structure, combined with an unsteady structural response. This capability highlights the benefits of the presented methodology over fixed-point measurements as the three dimensional foil deflections can be assessed over a large tip region. In addition, the methodology demonstrates that very small deformations and twist angles can be resolved.     

Application of photogrammetry to surface flow visualization

The construction of three-dimensional surface flow fields is an extremely difficult task owing largely to the fragmented information available in the form of 2D images. Here, the method of photogrammetric resection based on a comprehensive camera model has been used to map oil flow visualization images on to the surface grid of the model. The data exported in the VRML format allow for user interaction in a manner not possible with 2D images. The technique is demonstrated here using the surface oil flow visualization images of a simplified landing gear model at low speed in a conventional wind tunnel without any specialized rigs for photogrammetry. The results are not limited to low-speed regimes and show that this technique can have significant impact on understanding the flow physics associated with the surface flow topology of highly three-dimensional separated flows on complex models.     

Application of digital speckle pattern interferometry for fluid velocimetry in wind tunnel flows

This paper shows the feasibility of using digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI) as a fluid velocimetry technique in high speed gaseous flows. The light scattered from an illuminated plane was recorded with a CCD camera at the same time as a uniform reference beam. A fibre optic was used to bring this reference beam from the laser cavity to the CCD camera. The comparison of two subsequent frames gives information about the velocity field. DSPI was applied to a Von Karman street flow set up in a wind tunnel. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were also obtained for comparison with the information provided by DSPI. A system for increasing the measurement region when using short coherence length lasers is proposed. Received: 15 June 2000/Accepted: 8 September 2000     

Full-Field Surface 3D Shape and Displacement Measurements Using an Unfocused Plenoptic Camera

Full-field surface 3D shape and displacement measurements using a single commercial unfocused plenoptic camera (Lytro Illum) are reported in this work. Before measurements, the unfocused plenoptic camera is calibrated with two consecutive steps, including lateral calibration and depth calibration. Each raw image of a checkerboard pattern recorded by Lytro Illum is first extracted to an array of sub-aperture images (SAIs), and the center sub-aperture images (CSAIs) at diverse poses are used for lateral calibration to determine intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. The parallax maps between the CSAI and the remaining SAIs at each pose are then determined for depth parameters estimation using depth calibration. Furthermore, a newly developed physical-based depth distortion model is established to correct the serious distortion of the depth field. To realize shape and deformation measurements, the raw images of a test sample with speckle patterns premade on its surface are captured by Lytro Illum and extracted to arrays of SAIs. The parallax maps between the CSAI and the target SAIs are obtained using subset-based digital image correlation. Based on the pre-computed intrinsic and depth parameters and the disparity map, the full-field surface 3D shape and displacement of a test object are finally determined. The effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach are evaluated by a set of experiments involving the shape reconstruction of a cylinder, in-plane and out-of-plane displacement measurements of a flat plate and 3D full-field displacement measurements of a cantilever beam. The preliminary results indicate that the proposed method is expected to become a novel approach for full-field surface 3D shape and displacement measurements.     

Statistics of the surface temperature field of an air/water interface under air flow

Experimental results are presented that reveal the relationship between the root mean square of the surface temperature field of an air/water interface (σ) and the heat flux (q′′) emanating from that interface, over a range of wind speeds. Experiments were conducted for wind speeds ranging from 1.0 to 4.0 m/s to determine if and how the σ versus q′′ relationship was affected by wind speed. Consistent surfactant coverage conditions were maintained for wind speeds ranging from 1.0 to 2.6 m/s, and these are the focus of the results presented herein. For wind speeds above 2.6 m/s the surfactant was consistently pushed downstream, resulting in an inhomogeneous surface condition for the air/water interface. For wind speeds less than 2.6 m/s the relationship between σ and q′′ is approximately linear and is weakly dependent on wind speed. The surface temperature field was obtained by infrared (IR) imaging. Sample IR images are presented in addition to the σ versus q′′ data. IR images are presented for surfaces covered with insoluble surfactants (liquid phase and solid phase), a soluble surfactant, and a clean water surface.

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Study on transient aerodynamic characteristics of parachute opening process

In the research of parachute, canopy inflation process modeling is one of the most complicated tasks. As canopy often experiences the largest deformations and loadings during a very short time, it is of great difficulty for theoretical analysis and experimental measurements. In this paper, aerodynamic equations and structural dynamics equations were developed for describing parachute opening process, and an iterative coupling solving strategy incorporating the above equations was proposed for a small-scale, flexible and flat-circular parachute. Then, analyses were carried out for canopy geometry, time-dependent pressure difference between the inside and outside of the canopy, transient vortex around the canopy and the flow field in the radial plane as a sequence in opening process. The mechanism of the canopy shape development was explained from perspective of transient flow fields during the inflation process. Experiments of the parachute opening process were conducted in a wind tunnel, in which instantaneous shape of the canopy was measured by high velocity camera and the opening loading was measured by dynamometer balance. The theoretical predictions were found in good agreement with the experimental results, validating the proposed approach. This numerical method can improve the situation of strong dependence of parachute research on wind tunnel tests, and is of significance to the understanding of the mechanics of parachute inflation process. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10377006). The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.     

Experiments with three-dimensional riblets as an idealized model of shark skin

The skin of fast sharks exhibits a rather intriguing three-dimensional rib pattern. Therefore, the question arises whether or not such three-dimensional riblet surfaces may produce an equivalent or even higher drag reduction than straight two-dimensional riblets. Previously, the latter have been shown to reduce turbulent wall shear stress by up to 10%. Hence, the drag reduction by three-dimensional riblet surfaces is investigated experimentally. Our idealized 3D-surface consists of sharp-edged fin-shaped elements arranged in an interlocking array. The turbulent wall shear stress on this surface is measured using direct force balances. In a first attempt, wind tunnel experiments with about 365,000 tiny fin elements per test surface have been carried out. Due to the complexity of the surface manufacturing process, a comprehensive parametric study was not possible. These initial wind tunnel data, however, hinted at an appreciable drag reduction. Subsequently, in order to have a better judgement on the potential of these 3D-surfaces, oil channel experiments are carried out. In our new oil channel, the geometrical dimensions of the fins can be magnified 10 times in size as compared to the initial wind tunnel experiments, i.e., from typically 0.5 mm to 5 mm. For these latter oil channel experiments, novel test plates with variable fin configuration have been manufactured, with 1,920–4,000 fins. This enhanced variability permits measurements with a comparatively large parameter range. As a result of our measurements, it can be concluded, that 3D-riblet surfaces do indeed produce an appreciable drag reduction. We found as much as 7.3% decreased turbulent shear stress, as compared to a smooth reference plate. However, in direct comparison with 2D riblets, the performance of 3D-riblets is still inferior by about 1.7%. On the other hand, it appears conceivable, with a careful design of the fin shape (possibly supported by theory), that this inferiority in performance might be reduced. Nevertheless, at present, it seems to be rather unlikely, that 3D-riblets can significantly outperform 2D-riblets. Finally, one interesting finding remains to be mentioned: The optimum drag reduction for short 3D-riblets occurs at a lower rib height than for longer 3D-riblets or for infinitely long 2D-riblets. The same observation had been made previously on shark scales of different species with differing rib lengths, but no explanation could be given. Received: 1 March 1999/Accepted: 16 July 1999     

A study of nucleate bubble growth on microstructured surface through high speed and infrared visualization

We studied bubble growth on a microstructured surface during nucleate boiling using optical high-speed and infrared (IR) cameras. The effects of structured surfaces on bubble growth and dynamics were examined and their role analyzed with the use of simple models. A smooth, bare surface was prepared, and four microstructured test sample surfaces were fabricated with microscale gaps ranging from 5 to 80 µm. The optical high-speed camera was used to observe the bubble growth profile with high temporal resolution; the IR camera was focused on the underside of the sample for direct visualization of the boiling process. Overall, the microstructured surfaces produced more bubbles, a lower frequency and nucleation site density than the bare surface for the low heat flux range (100–300 kW/m²), corresponding to the isolated bubble growth regime. The liberated bubble size was dependent on the size of the microstructure gap. Analysis of the high-speed images revealed that the liquid between the microstructures did not evaporate during bubble growth; however, during the initial growth stage, there was a brief period in which the liquid at the nucleation site evaporated. The large surface area and relatively high number of nucleation points contributed to enhanced bubble growth on the structured surfaces.     

高导C/C材料在疏导式热防护中的应用探索

针对高超声速飞行器飞行时气动加热严重的问题,为了保证高升阻比外形,提出疏导式热防护结构,建立了一套内置高导C/C材料的疏导式热防护结构原理模型,通过数值模拟和电弧风洞的方法对疏导式热防护结构进行了分析,得到内置高导C/C材料的防热效果.数值模拟结果表明来流马赫数为8时,模型驻点温度下降了500度,柱面最低升高了380度,实现了热流从高温区到低温区的疏导,减弱了端头的热载荷,强化了端头的热防护能力.通过电弧风洞试验可以获得相似的结果,内置普通C/C材料表层抗氧化层出现严重烧蚀,而内置高导C/C材料基本不变,验证了数值模拟方法的准确性以及内置高导C/C材料疏导式热防护结构的有效性.     

Infrared imagery of an air/CO2 axisymmetric jet

This experiment uses an infrared imaging system to investigate a subsonic, non-isoenergetic, air/CO₂ axisymmetric jet. The classical limitations of using IR imagery with hot gases are presented and a novel approach to overcome these limitations is proposed. The results suggest that radial and axial irradiant profiles measured with the IR imager, when non-dimensionalized, collapse onto curves of similarity. This behavior could allow temperature, velocity, and concentration profiles to be deduced from the IR image.     

Mapping temperature distributions in flows using radiating high-porosity meshes

A technique to visualise and measure temperature distributions in gas flows is described which places fine, highly-emissive planar meshes in the heated flow and images them with an IR camera. Fine meshes with high porosity are used to minimise the disturbance to the flow field and ensure that the local mesh temperature is close to the local gas temperature. The radiation received by the camera is a function of both the temperature and the emissivity of the body visualised. In the case of a porous mesh, the camera will visualise both the mesh surface and the background through the mesh apertures. An effective emissivity, which combines the relative area fraction and emissivity of the mesh can be obtained via calibration. This effective emissivity is used to reduce the intensity data to temperature distributions. Attention must be paid to the ratio of the size of the projected camera pixel to the mesh opening size to ensure accuracy. The technique is demonstrated on a number of buoyant jet flows and the potential application of the technique to higher temperature flows is discussed.