Abstract
Kinematic rotary control is here proposed conceptually to enhance energy harvesting from Transverse Galloping. The effect of actively orientating the galloping body with respect to the incident flow, by imposing externally a rotation of the body proportional to the motion-induced angle of attack, is studied. To this end, a theoretical model is developed and analyzed, and numerical computations employing the Lattice Boltzmann Method are carried out. Good agreement is found between theoretical model predictions and numerical simulations results. It is found that it is possible to increase significantly the efficiency of energy harvesting with respect to the case without active rotation, which opens the path to consider this idea in practical realizations.
Highlights
The applied interest in the field of Flow-Induced vibrations has been enlarged by considering phenomena like Transverse Galloping or Vortex-induced Vibrations as the means to harvest useful energy from fluid flows
Bernitsas and his group of collaborators [1,2] proposed a system for electric power generation from marine/river currents taking advantage of the phenomenon of oscillations induced by vortex detachment in cylinders (Vortex-Induced Vibrations)
Different concepts of energy extraction based on Transverse Galloping have appeared, with a focus on the large scale where a significant production of electric energy is desired [4], or to generate small amounts of electrical energy that can be used, for example, to supply electrical power to autonomous sensors and actuators and to avoid their dependence on batteries; see, for example, [5,6,7,8,9]
Summary
The applied interest in the field of Flow-Induced vibrations has been enlarged by considering phenomena like Transverse Galloping or Vortex-induced Vibrations as the means to harvest useful energy from fluid flows. Flow-Induced vibration phenomenon, in order to extract as much as possible part of the kinetic energy from the incoming flow and to transfer it to the body, in the form of mechanical oscillatory energy, and subsequently convert this mechanical energy into electrical energy by electromagnetic, piezoelectric, or electrostatic means. Bernitsas and his group of collaborators [1,2] proposed a system for electric power generation from marine/river currents taking advantage of the phenomenon of oscillations induced by vortex detachment in cylinders (Vortex-Induced Vibrations). Energies 2020, 13, 91 like in Vortex-Induced Vibrations), which can only appear for specific cross-sections in which a variation of the motion-induced angle of attack produces a transverse fluid force in the direction of the velocity of oscillation.
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