Effect of flow regime change from subsonic to transonic on the air loads of an oscillating airfoil

In this research, the effect of flow regime change from subsonic to transonic on the air loads of a pitching NACA0012 airfoil is investigated. To do this, the effect of change in flow regime on the lift and pitching moment coefficients hysteresis cycles is studied. The harmonic balance approach is utilized for numerical calculation due to its low computational time. Verifications are also made with previous works and good agreements are observed. The assessment of flow regime change on the aforementioned hysteresis cycles is accomplished in the Mach number range of M=0.65–0.755. The reduced frequency and pitch amplitude also vary from k=0.03 to 0.1 and α₀=1–2.51°, respectively. Results show that the effect of increase in Mach number is to increase and decrease the lift coefficient during downstroke and upstroke, respectively, whereas at low reduced frequencies, the effect of increase in Mach number may lead to a reverse manner when airfoil moves toward its extremum angle of attack. Results also reveal that as the pitch amplitude varies, the shape of lift coefficient hysteresis cycle depends more on the pitch amplitude than on the appearance of shock. It is shown that as the Mach number increases, the incidence angles correspond to the extremum pitching moment, and depending on the reduced frequency, lie between zero and extremum angle of attack. These incidence angles shift toward the extremum angle of attack as the reduced frequency decreases. Results also show that the increase in pitch amplitude at low Mach number, in such a way that leads to the formation of shock around the extremum angle of attack, causes the extremum pitching moment to appear around these angles and at high Mach number, depending on the reduced frequency, the extremum pitching moment incidence angles would be between zero and extremum incidence angle.     

Time-averaged topological flow patterns and their influence on vortex shedding of a square cylinder in crossflow at incidence

Flow characteristics around the square cylinder and their influence on the wake properties are studied. Time-averaged flow patterns on the surfaces of square cylinder in a cross-stream at incidence are experimentally probed by surface-oil flow technique and analyzed by flow topology for Reynolds numbers between 3.9×10⁴ and 9.4×10⁴ as the incidence angle changes from 0° to 45°. Vortex shedding characteristics are measured by a single-wire hot-wire anemometer for Reynolds numbers between 5×10³ and 1.2×10⁵. The effects of topological flow patterns on the wake properties then are revealed and discussed. Flows around the square cylinder are identified as three categories: the subcritical, supercritical, and wedge flows according to the prominently different features of the topological flow patterns. The Strouhal number of vortex shedding, turbulence in the wake, and wake width present drastically different behaviors in different characteristic flow regimes. A critical incidence angle of 15° separates the subcritical and supercritical regimes. At the critical incidence angle the wake width and shear-layer turbulence present minimum values. The minimum wake width appearing at the critical incidence angle, which leads to the maximum Strouhal number, is due to the reattachment of one of the separated boundary layer to the lateral face of the square cylinder. If the Strouhal numbers are calculated based on the wake width instead of the cross-stream projection width of cylinder, the data in the subcritical and supercritical regimes are well correlated into two groups, which would approach constants at high Reynolds numbers.     

Influence of pitching angle of incidence on the dynamic stall behavior of a symmetric airfoil

This study presents the influence of pitch angle of an airfoil on its near-field vortex structure as well as the aerodynamic loads during a dynamic stall process. Dynamic stall behavior in a sinusoidally pitching airfoil is usually analyzed at low to medium reduced frequencies and with the maximum angle of attack of the airfoil not exceeding 25°. In this work, we study dynamic stall of a symmetric airfoil at medium to high reduced frequencies even as the maximum angle of attack goes from 25° to 45°. The evolution and growth of the laminar separation bubble, also known as a dynamic stall vortex, at the leading edge and the trailing edge are studied as the pitch cycle goes from the minimum to the maximum angle of attack. The effect of reduced frequencies on the vortex structure as well as the aerodynamic load coefficients is investigated. The reduced frequency is shown to be a bifurcation parameter triggering period doubling behavior. However, the bifurcation pattern is dependent on the variation of the pitch angle of incidence of the airfoil.     

Assessment of 2D/3D numerical modeling for deep dynamic stall experiments

The results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in two and three spatial dimensions are compared to pressure measurements and particle image velocimetry (PIV) flow surveys to assess the suitability of numerical models for the simulation of deep dynamic stall experiments carried out on a pitching NACA 23012 airfoil. A sinusoidal pitching motion with a 10° amplitude and a reduced frequency of 0.1 is imposed around two different mean angles of attack of 10° and 15°. The comparison of the airloads curves and of the pressure distribution over the airfoil surface shows that a three-dimensional numerical model can better reproduce the flow structures and the airfoil performance for the deep dynamic stall regime. Also, the vortical structures observed by PIV in the flow field are better captured by the three-dimensional model. This feature highlighted the relevance of three-dimensional effects on the flow field in deep dynamic stall.     

Aerodynamics of laminar separation flutter at a transitional Reynolds number

Experimental observations of self-sustained pitch oscillations of a NACA 0012 airfoil at transitional Reynolds numbers were recently reported. The aeroelastic limit cycle oscillations, herein labelled as laminar separation flutter, occur in the range 5.0×10⁴≤Re_c≤1.3×10⁵. They are well behaved, have a small amplitude and oscillate about θ=0°. It has been speculated that laminar separation leading to the formation of a laminar separation bubble, occurring at these Reynolds numbers, plays an essential role in these oscillations. This paper focuses on the Re_c=7.7×10⁴ case, with the elastic axis located at 18.6% chord. Considering that the experimental rig acts as a dynamic balance, the aerodynamic moment is derived and is empirically modelled as a generalized Duffing–van-der-Pol nonlinearity. As expected, it behaves nonlinearly with pitch displacement and rate. It also indicates a dynamically unstable equilibrium point, i.e. negative aerodynamic damping. In addition, large eddy simulations of the flow around the airfoil undergoing prescribed simple harmonic motion, using the same amplitude and frequency as the aeroelastic oscillations, are performed. The comparison between the experiment and simulations is conclusive. Both approaches show that the work done by the airflow on the airfoil is positive and both have the same magnitude. The large eddy simulation (LES) computations indicate that at θ=0°, the pitching motion induces a lag in the separation point on both surfaces of the airfoil resulting in negative pitching moment when pitching down, and positive moment when pitching up, thus feeding the LCO.     

Non-symmetric bi-stable flow around the Ahmed body

The flow around the Ahmed body at varying Reynolds numbers under yawing conditions is investigated experimentally. The body geometry belongs to a regime subject to spanwise flow instability identified in symmetric flow by Cadot and co-workers (Grandemange et al., 2013b). Our experiments cover the two slant angles 25° and 35° and Reynolds numbers up to 2.784 × 10⁶. Special emphasis lies on the aerodynamics under side wind influence. For the 35° slant angle, forces and moments change significantly with the yawing angle in the range 10° ≤ |β| ≤ 15°. The lift and the pitching moment exhibit strong fluctuations due to bi-stable flow around a critical angle β of ±12.5°, where the pitching moment changes sign. Time series of the forces and moments are studied and explained by PIV measurements in the flow field near the rear of the body.     

Experimental study of pitching and plunging airfoils at low Reynolds numbers

Measurements of the unsteady flow structure and force time history of pitching and plunging SD7003 and flat plate airfoils at low Reynolds numbers are presented. The airfoils were pitched and plunged in the effective angle of attack range of 2.4°–13.6° (shallow-stall kinematics) and ?6° to 22° (deep-stall kinematics). The shallow-stall kinematics results for the SD7003 airfoil show attached flow and laminar-to-turbulent transition at low effective angle of attack during the down stroke motion, while the flat plate model exhibits leading edge separation. Strong Re-number effects were found for the SD7003 airfoil which produced approximately 25 % increase in the peak lift coefficient at Re = 10,000 compared to higher Re flows. The flat plate airfoil showed reduced Re effects due to leading edge separation at the sharper leading edge, and the measured peak lift coefficient was higher than that predicted by unsteady potential flow theory. The deep-stall kinematics resulted in leading edge separation that led to formation of a large leading edge vortex (LEV) and a small trailing edge vortex (TEV) for both airfoils. The measured peak lift coefficient was significantly higher (~50 %) than that for the shallow-stall kinematics. The effect of airfoil shape on lift force was greater than the Re effect. Turbulence statistics were measured as a function of phase using ensemble averages. The results show anisotropic turbulence for the LEV and isotropic turbulence for the TEV. Comparison of unsteady potential flow theory with the experimental data showed better agreement by using the quasi-steady approximation, or setting C(k) = 1 in Theodorsen theory, for leading edge–separated flows.     

Fluid–structure coupling for an oscillating hydrofoil

Fluid-structure investigations in hydraulic machines using coupled simulations are particularly time-consuming. In this study, an alternative method is presented that linearizes the hydrodynamic load of a rigid, oscillating hydrofoil. The hydrofoil, which is surrounded by incompressible, turbulent flow, is modeled with forced and free pitching motions, where the mean incidence angle is 0° with a maximum angle amplitude of 2°. Unsteady simulations of the flow, performed with ANSYS CFX, are presented and validated with experiments which were carried out in the EPFL High-Speed Cavitation Tunnel. First, forced motion is investigated for reduced frequencies ranging from 0.02 to 100. The hydrodynamic load is modeled as a simple combination of inertia, damping and stiffness effects. As expected, the potential flow analysis showed the added moment of inertia is constant, while the fluid damping and the fluid stiffness coefficients depend on the reduced frequency of the oscillation motion. Behavioral patterns were observed and two cases were identified depending on if vortices did or did not develop in the hydrofoil wake. Using the coefficients identified in the forced motion case, the time history of the profile incidence is then predicted analytically for the free motion case and excellent agreement is found for the results from coupled fluid–structure simulations. The model is validated and may be extended to more complex cases, such as blade grids in hydraulic machinery.     

Numerical study of large amplitude,nonsinusoidal motion and camber effects on pitching airfoil propulsion

The effects of large amplitude and nonsinusoidal motion on pitching airfoil aerodynamics for thrust generation were numerically studied with a 2-D NACA0012 airfoil used, and various 2-D NACA asymmetric airfoils were applied for camber effect study. The large amplitude effect study has been undertaken over a wide range of reduced frequency k (from 6 to 18) and pitching amplitude θ (from 5° to 30°) at Re=1.35×10⁴ with sinusoidal pitching profile used. It is shown that the large pitching amplitude results in much more thrust generated than that at low pitching amplitude and the increase of thrust with amplitude becomes slow when the amplitude reaches some degree. However, the propulsive efficiency noticeably decreases with the increase of θ at a fixed k.An adjustable parameter K was employed to realize various nonsinusoidal motions and the effect of nonsinusoidal motion was investigated with various unsteady parameters (θ, k) applied. The results reveal that nonsinusoidal motion has a noticeable effect on the aerodynamic performance, as it affects the instantaneous force coefficients, maximum thrust coefficients and flow structures. An increase in K results in a better thrust generation performance at fixed θ and k, especially for K>0. It is also shown that the larger K noticeably influences the wake pattern and induces a stronger reverse von Karman vortex street in the wake, which in turn leads to the increased thrust. The camber study was performed on various 2-D NACA airfoils with different cambers and camber locations undergoing sinusoidal pitching motion at θ=5° and Re=1.35×10⁴. It is found that varying camber offers little improvement in thrust generation performance.     

High fidelity numerical simulation of airfoil thickness and kinematics effects on flapping airfoil propulsion

High-fidelity numerical simulations with the spectral difference (SD) method are carried out to investigate the unsteady flow over a series of oscillating NACA 4-digit airfoils. Airfoil thickness and kinematics effects on the flapping airfoil propulsion are highlighted. It is confirmed that the aerodynamic performance of airfoils with different thickness can be very different under the same kinematics. Distinct evolutionary patterns of vortical structures are analyzed to unveil the underlying flow physics behind the diverse flow phenomena associated with different airfoil thickness and kinematics and reveal the synthetic effects of airfoil thickness and kinematics on the propulsive performance. Thickness effects at various reduced frequencies and Strouhal numbers for the same chord length based Reynolds number (=1200) are then discussed in detail. It is found that at relatively small Strouhal number (=0.3), for all types of airfoils with the combined pitching and plunging motion (pitch angle 20°, the pitch axis located at one third of chord length from the leading edge, pitch leading plunge by 75°), low reduced frequency (=1) is conducive for both the thrust production and propulsive efficiency. Moreover, relatively thin airfoils (e.g. NACA0006) can generate larger thrust and maintain higher propulsive efficiency than thick airfoils (e.g. NACA0030). However, with the same kinematics but at relatively large Strouhal number (=0.45), it is found that airfoils with different thickness exhibit diverse trend on thrust production and propulsive efficiency, especially at large reduced frequency (=3.5). Results on effects of airfoil thickness based Reynolds numbers indicate that relative thin airfoils show superior propulsion performance in the tested Reynolds number range. The evolution of leading edge vortices and the interaction between the leading and trailing edge vortices play key roles in flapping airfoil propulsive performance.     

Flow around four cylinders arranged in a square configuration

This paper presents an experimental study of the flow around four circular cylinders arranged in a square configuration. The Reynolds number was fixed at Re=8000, the pitch-to-diameter ratio between adjacent cylinders was varied from P/D=2 to 5 and the incidence angle was changed from α=0° (in-line square configuration) to 45° (diamond configuration) at an interval of 7.5°. The flow field was measured using digital Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to examine the vortex shedding characteristics of the cylinders, together with direct measurement of fluid dynamic forces (lift and drag) on each cylinder using a piezoelectric load cell. Depending on the pitch ratio, the flow could be broadly classified as shielding regime (P/D≤2), shear layer reattachment regime (2.5≤P/D≤3.5) and vortex impinging regime (P/D≥4). However, this classification is valid only in the case that the cylinder array is arranged nearly in-line with the free stream (α≈0°), because the flow is also sensitive to α. As α increases from 0° to 45°, each cylinder experiences a transition of vortex shedding pattern from a one-frequency mode to a two-frequency mode. The flow interference among the cylinders is complicated, which could be non-synchronous, quasi-periodic or synchronized with a definite phase relationship with other cylinders depending on the combined value of α and P/D. The change in vortex pattern is also reflected by some integral parameters of the flow such as force coefficients, power spectra and Strouhal numbers.     

Numerical analysis of the flow pattern and vortex breakdown over a pitching delta wing at supersonic speeds

A supersonic compressible flow over a 60° swept delta wing with a sharp leading edge undergoing pitching oscillations is computationally studied. Numerical simulations are performed by the finite volume method with the use of the k?ω turbulence model for various Mach numbers and angles of attack. Variations of flow patterns in a crossflow plane, hysteresis loops associated with the vortex core location, and vortex breakdown positions during a pitching cycle are investigated. Trends for various Mach numbers, mean angles of attack, pitching amplitudes, and pitching frequencies are illustrated.     

Flow characteristics and flow-induced forces of a stationary and rotating triangular cylinder with different incidence angles at low Reynolds numbers

In this paper, the problem of two-dimensional fluid flow past a stationary and rotationally oscillating equilateral triangular cylinder with a variable incident angle, Reynolds number, oscillating amplitude, and oscillating frequency is numerically investigated. The computations are carried out by using a two-step Taylor-characteristic-based Galerkin (TCBG) algorithm. For the stationary cases, simulations are conducted at various incident angles of α=0.0–60.0° and Reynolds numbers of Re=50–160. For the oscillation cases, the investigations are done at various oscillating amplitudes of θ_max=7.5–30.0° and oscillating frequencies of F_s/F_o=0.5–3.0 considering two different incidence angles (α=0.0°, 60.0°) and three different Reynolds numbers (Re=50, 100, 150). The results show that the influences of key parameters (incidence angle, Reynolds number, oscillating amplitude, and oscillating frequency) are significant on the flow pattern and hydrodynamic forces. For the stationary cases, at smaller angle of incidence (α≤30.0°), Reynolds number has a large impact on the position of the separation points. When α is between 30.0° and 60.0°, it was found that the separation points are located at the rear corners. From a topological point of view, the diagram of flow pattern is summarized, including two distinct patterns, namely, main separation and vortex merging. A deep analysis of the influence of Reynolds number and incidence angles on the mean pressure coefficient along the triangular cylinder surface is presented. Additionally, for the oscillating cases, the lock-on phenomenon is captured. The dominant flow patterns are 2S mode and P+S mode in lock-on region at α=0.0°. It is found at α=60.0°, however, that the flow pattern is predominantly 2S mode. Furthermore, except for the case of F_s/F_o=2.0, the mean drag decreases as the oscillating amplitude increases for each Reynolds number at α=0.0°. At α=60.0°, the minimum mean drag for F_s/F_o=1.5 is lower than that for stationary case, and occurs at θ_max=15.0° (Re=100) and θ_max=22.5° (Re=150), respectively. Finally, the effect of Reynolds number on a rotational oscillation cylinder is elucidated.     

Direct numerical simulation of three-dimensional flow past a yawed circular cylinder of infinite length

Direct numerical simulation of flow past a stationary circular cylinder at yaw angles (α) in the range of 0–60° was conducted at Reynolds number of 1000. The three-dimensional (3-D) Navier–Stokes equations were solved using the Petrov–Galerkin finite element method. The transition of the flow from 2-D to 3-D was studied. The phenomena that were observed in flow visualization, such as the streamwise vortices, the vortex dislocation and the instability of the shear layer, were reproduced numerically. The effects of the yaw angle on wake structures, vortex shedding frequency and hydrodynamic forces of the cylinder were investigated. It was found that the Strouhal number at different yaw angles (α) follows the independence principle. The mean drag coefficient agrees well with the independence principle. It slightly increases with the increase of α and reaches a maximum value at α=60°, which is about 10% larger than that when α=0°. The root-mean-square (r.m.s.) values of the lift coefficient are noticeably dependent on α.     

Vortex shedding from two finite circular cylinders in a staggered configuration

Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to measure the vortex shedding frequencies for two circular cylinders of finite height arranged in a staggered configuration. The cylinders were mounted normal to a ground plane and were partially immersed in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer. The Reynolds number based on the cylinder diameter was Re_D=2.4×10⁴, the cylinder aspect ratio was AR=9, the boundary layer thickness relative to the cylinder height was δ/H=0.4, the centre-to-centre pitch ratio was varied from P/D=1.125 to 5, and the incidence angle was incremented in small steps from α=0° to 90°. The Strouhal numbers were obtained behind the upstream and downstream cylinders using hot-wire anemometry. From the behaviour of the Strouhal number data obtained at the mid-height position, the staggered configuration could be broadly classified by the pitch ratio as closely spaced (P/D<1.5), moderately spaced (1.5?P/D?3), or widely spaced (P/D>3). The closely spaced staggered finite cylinders were characterized by the same Strouhal number measured behind both cylinders, an indication of single bluff-body behaviour. Moderately spaced staggered finite cylinders were characterized by two Strouhal numbers at most incidence angles. Widely spaced staggered cylinders were characterized by a single Strouhal number for both cylinders, indicative of synchronized vortex shedding from both cylinders at all incidence angles. For selected staggered configurations representative of closely spaced, moderately spaced, or widely spaced behaviour, Strouhal number measurements were also made along the vertical lengths of the cylinders, from the ground plane to the free end. The power spectra showed that for certain cylinder arrangements, because of the influences of the cylinder–wall junction and free-end flow fields, the Strouhal numbers and flow patterns change along the cylinder.     

Dependence of flow classification on the Reynolds number for a two-cylinder wake

This work aims to investigate the dependence of flow classification on the Reynolds number (Re) for the wake of two staggered cylinders. The Re examined ranges from 1.5×10³ to 2.0×10⁴. The pitch ratio, P^⁎=P/d examined is 1.2–6.0 (d is the cylinder diameter), and angle (α) is 0–90°, where P is the center-to-center spacing between two cylinders and α is the angle between the incident flow and the line through the cylinder centers. Two single hotwires were used to measure simultaneously the fluctuating streamwise velocities (u) in the vortex streets generated by the two cylinders. The power spectral density functions and the Strouhal numbers were then obtained from the u signals, based on which the flow structure pattern or mode could be determined. Over two hundred configurations of two staggered cylinders have been examined for each Re. It is found that Re has an appreciable effect on the dependence of the flow mode on P^⁎ and α. The observation is connected to the Re effect on the generic features of a two-cylinder wake such as flow separation, boundary layer thickness, gap flow deflection and vortex formation length.     

Flow field characteristics study of a flapping airfoil using computational fluid dynamics

The flow field of a flapping airfoil in Low Reynolds Number (LRN) flow regime is associated with complex nonlinear vortex shedding and viscous phenomena. The respective fluid dynamics of such a flow is investigated here through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based on the Finite Volume Method (FVM). The governing equations are the unsteady, incompressible two-dimensional Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations. The airfoil is a thin ellipsoidal geometry performing a modified figure-of-eight-like flapping pattern. The flow field and vortical patterns around the airfoil are examined in detail, and the effects of several unsteady flow and system parameters on the flow characteristics are explored. The investigated parameters are the amplitude of pitching oscillations, phase angle between pitching and plunging motions, mean angle of attack, Reynolds number (Re), Strouhal number (St) based on the translational amplitudes of oscillations, and the pitching axis location (x/c). It is shown that these parameters change the instantaneous force coefficients quantitatively and qualitatively. It is also observed that the strength, interaction, and convection of the vortical structures surrounding the airfoil are significantly affected by the variations of these parameters.     

Three-dimensional simulations of flow past two circular cylinders in side-by-side arrangements at right and oblique attacks

The flow past two identical circular cylinders in side-by-side arrangements at right and oblique attack angles is numerically investigated by solving the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations using the Petrov–Galerkin finite element method. The study is focused on the effect of flow attack angle and gap ratio between the two cylinders on the vortex shedding flow and the hydrodynamic forces of the cylinders. For an oblique flow attack angle, the Reynolds number based on the velocity component perpendicular to the cylinder span is defined as the normal Reynolds number Re_N and that based on the total velocity is defined as the total Reynolds number Re_T. Simulations are conducted for two Reynolds numbers of Re_N=500 and Re_T=500, two flow attack angles of α=0° and 45° and four gap ratios of G/D=0.5, 1, 3 and 5. The biased gap flow for G/D=0.5 and 1 and the flip-flopping bistable gap flow for G/D=1 are observed for both α=0° and 45°. For a constant normal Reynolds number of Re_N=500, the mean drag and lift coefficients at α=0° are very close to those at α=45°. The difference between the root mean square (RMS) lift coefficient at α=0° and that at α=45° is about 20% for large gap ratios of 3 and 5. From small gap ratios of 0.5 and 1, the RMS lift coefficients at α=0° and 45° are similar to each other. The present simulations show that the agreement in the force coefficients between the 0° and 45° flow attack angles for a constant normal Reynolds number is better than that for a constant total Reynolds number. This indicates that the normal Reynolds number should be used in the implementation of the independence principle (i.e., the independence of the force coefficients on the flow attack angle). The effect of Reynolds number on the bistable gap flow is investigated by simulating the flow for Re_N=100–600, α=0° and 45° and G/D=1. Flow for G/D=1 is found to be two-dimensional at Re_N=100 and weak three-dimensional at Re_N=200. While well defined biased flow can be identified for Re_N=300–600, the gap flow for Re_N=100 and 200 changes its biased direction too frequently to allow stable biased flow to develop.     

Investigation of the development of unsteady flow separation from a model swept wing

The results of an experimental wind-tunnel investigation of the flow patterns on the swept wing of a model aircraft realized for pitching oscillations with an amplitude A _α = 5° with respect to setup angles of attack α₀ = 10 and 16° are presented.     

Stereoscopic and tomographic PIV of a pitching plate

This paper applies particle image velocimetry (PIV) to a simplified, canonical, pitch-hold-return problem of a pitching plate in order to gain some understanding of how three dimensionality develops in such flows. Data from a progression of PIV studies, from stereoscopic PIV yielding three-component, two-dimensional (3C-2D) data to tomographic PIV yielding three-component, three-dimensional (3C-3D) data are presented thus providing progressively more detailed information. A comparison of results is made between the two techniques. The PIV study is performed in a water tunnel facility with cross-sectional area 500 × 500 mm, and involves a full-span (nominally two-dimensional) plate, suspended between a wall end boundary condition and a free surface, pitching at a dimensionless pitch rate of K _c  = 0.93 in flow at Re = 7,500. Results demonstrate the existence of spanwise flows in both the leading edge and trailing edge vortices, but with strong directionality in the leading edge vortex towards the wall end boundary condition. Observations of instantaneous flow patterns suggest also the existence of three-dimensional coherent vortex filament structures in the outer regions of the leading edge vortex.