Delay Flow Separation Research Articles

Implementation of tubercles on Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs): An Aerodynamic Perspective

In recent days, enhancement of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) by mitigating flow deteriorating effects like dynamic stalling, unsteady wake is given great importance. The following article focuses on implementing four different tubercles on the blades’ leading edge and studying its performance and flow characteristics using CFD techniques. Results indicate that the addition of tubercles generated counter-rotating vortices and delayed flow separation and helped control dynamic stalling. Between azimuth angles 70°–160°, the flow was seen to separate only along the trough regions of the blade and remained attached along the peak regions, thus providing more torque and power. In addition to the enhancements in the flow characteristics, a 28% increase in power coefficient was observed for the optimal configuration at the optimal tip speed ratio. Additionally, a 14% increase in maximum lift generated by the blade was observed. Preliminary aeroacoustics analysis revealed a 12% and 20% decrease in the noise emissions along the blade tip and mid-plane of the turbine, respectively. Hence, it can be shown that tubercles effectively control dynamic stall, reduce noise emissions, and increase the power output of VAWTs.

Control of the turbulent wake flow behind a circular cylinder by asymmetric sectoral hydrophobic coatings

We demonstrate that sectoral coating by a hydrophobic fluoropolymer is an effective method for controlling flow separation and the turbulent wake behind a cylinder in high Reynolds number flows (Re = 2.2 × 105). Time-resolved particle image velocimetry measurements show that the shape of the wake and trajectory of large-scale vortex structures are inclined due to delayed flow separation on one side of the cylinder. Near-wall, high-resolution visualization reveals that this effect is related to micro-bubbles traveling along the coated surface. The properties of the coatings and bubble presence did not deteriorate, even after many hours of continuous facility operation.

Analysis of laminar boundary-layer separation in retarded flow over bodies of revolution

The laminar boundary-layer separation phenomenon is an interesting and important aspect of boundary-layer flows. It occurs in various physical situations because of a decrease in wall shear stress caused by retarded flow velocity, among other things. Flow separation can be prevented or delayed by utilizing bodies of revolution because the surface transverse curvature produces a favorable pressure gradient, which in turn increases the wall shear stress that keeps the flow attached to the surface. Bodies of revolution, whose body contours follow a power-law form, also play a vital role in delaying flow separation. Bodies of revolution of varying cross sections and involving surface transverse curvature are utilized to examine their effects on flow separation. In particular, a convex transverse curvature has been considered owing to its effects on the nature of the favorable pressure gradient, which delays the flow separation. A Görtler-type retarded flow velocity was considered in this study to investigate the flow separation process. A detailed analysis is provided to understand the flow separation by calculating the separation points under various assumptions. It has been observed that the body contour exponent n and the convex transverse curvature parameter k play an assistive role in the delay of boundary-layer separation even under the influence of strong retardation. The results are presented through various tables and graphs to highlight the role of the power-law exponent of external velocity m, convex transverse curvature parameter k, and body contour exponent n on the separation points.

Calculation of flow separation in a retarded boundary-layer over a moving continuous sheet

Theoretical investigations of fundamental boundary-layer flows are always given prime importance in the field of boundary-layer theory. In particular, among the boundary-layer flows occurring on planner geometries, importance had been given to the flows occurring over the surfaces of finite length. The boundary-layer flows due to moving continuous surfaces were introduced about half a century later to the famous Blasius flow. Unfortunately, no significant attention had been given to these flows with regard to the investigation of boundary-layer properties in these flows. Consequently, a great gap has been created between these two important categories of boundary-layer flows. It is a matter of fact that the flows due to moving continuous surfaces are richer in physics; offer favorable impact, and involve interesting technological applications. One of the important hallmarks of these flows is that they offer a significantly increased wall skin-friction as compared to the flows over surfaces of finite length. Therefore these flows appear to be profitable in situations that are more vulnerable to flow separation. To explore this fact the current study considers a variety of retarded wall velocities to calculate the delay in flow separation for the flows due to moving continuous surfaces in comparison to those occurring on a surface of finite length. It is observed that in the flows due to a moving continuous surface the flow separation is greatly delayed in comparison to the flows over surfaces of finite length. Moreover, the role of wall suction velocity, in this regard, is to be further amplified in these flows. Overall, it is concluded that the continuous surfaces are more useful in order to delay flow separation as compared to the surfaces of finite length.

Aeroelastic response of a propulsive rotor blade with synthetic jets

Understanding the aeroelastic response of a propulsive rotor blade is critical to implementing active flow control techniques to mitigate blade structural vibration. In this experimental study, the coupling between rotor blade aerodynamic loading and first flap mode bending and torsion is explored. The three-bladed rotor is 2.58 m in diameter, and contains a NACA 0012 airfoil with zero pre-built twist. Each blade contains 20 high-performance synthetic jet actuators distributed along the span and are activated with a constant mean jet velocity of 66.3 m/s. The rotor was tested at rotor speeds, Ω of 250, 500, 750, and 1000 revolutions per minute (RPM) and collective blade pitch angles, θc of 2, 5, and 8 degrees. Rotor thrust and torque were measured using a high-capacity load cell, and the flow near the blade tip was measured using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) techniques. Blade bending and torsion was measured at three equally spaced radial stations on the blade root, middle, tip regions defined by r/R= 0.32, 0.64, and 0.96 respectively using three onboard electronic accelerometers. Synthetic jets reduce the near-wall streamwise velocity deficit and turbulence intensity in the near wall flow, improving the sectional lift coefficient of the blade and delaying flow separation which results in marginally higher thrust and lower torque loading of up to 7.4% and 4.3 % respectively. At higher rotor speeds of 750 and 1000 RPM, there is a pronounced non-linear increase in bending and torsion along blade span. In the blade tip region, the streamwise flow undergoes a significant decrease in velocity and momentum, which contributes to instabilities in the boundary layer with early-stage unsteady flow separation at θc= 8°. This is correlated to a dramatic rise in the baseline power spectral density (PSD) at the blade’s natural frequency along with an increase in root mean square (rms) of bending acceleration and blade pitch angle, where the maximum values measured are arms= 0.74 g and θrms= 1.45°.

Flow Separation Control over an Airfoil Using Plasma Co-Flow Jet

A NACA0025 coflow jet airfoil model, including the inner and outer airfoils, was designed and manufactured through 3D printing technology. Using the duct connecting the leading- and trailing-edge slots formed by the inner and outer airfoils, eight plasma actuators are arranged in the duct and synchronously driven by two high-voltage alternating-current sources to realize the plasma coflow jet (PCFJ) flow control technique. The test angle of attack range is 8–30°, and the Reynolds number is 68,000. The induced airflow characteristics were studied, and the flow control mechanism of the PCFJ airfoil was explored using the detailed two-component particle image velocimetry technique. The results in the quiescent air show that in addition to the injection at the leading-edge slot and the suction at the trailing-edge slot, the actuators on the upper surface of the inner airfoil provide local flow acceleration and momentum injection. The results in the wind tunnel show that the PCFJ airfoil has a better performance in delaying flow separation, and its time-averaged flow separation position is delayed by 46% compared with the baseline airfoil. The mixing shear layer that becomes turbulent in advance and the subsequent coherent vortex structures, the injection at the leading edge and suction at the trailing edge, and local flow acceleration and momentum injection of the plasma actuators are the key factors for the mechanism of separation delaying of the PCFJ flow control technique.

Drag Reduction by Application of Different Shape Designs in a Sport Utility Vehicle

Road vehicles drag is a direct consequence of a large wake area generated behind. This area is created owing to the vehicle shape, which is determined by the class, functional and aesthetic of the vehicle. Aerodynamic characteristics are a ramification and not the reason for the vehicle architecture. To enhance pressure recovery in the wake region, hence reduce drag, three different passive flow control techniques were applied to sport-utility-vehicle (SUV). A three-dimensional SUV was designed in CATIA, and a numerical flow simulation was conducted using Ansys-Fluent to evaluate the aerodynamic effectiveness of the proposed flow control approaches. A closed rectangular flap as an add-on device modifies the wake vortex system topology, enhances vortex merging, and increases base pressure which leads to a drag reduction of 15.87%. The perforated roof surface layer was used to delay flow separation. The measured base pressure values indicate a higher-pressure recovery, which globally reflected in a drag reduction of 19.82%. Finally, air guided through side rams was used as steady blowing. A steady passive air jet introduced at the core of the longitudinal trailing vortices leads to a confined wake area. The net effects appear in a global increase in the base pressure values and the pronounced drag reduction of 22.67%.

Aerodynamic Investigation of Double Surface Airfoil

Aircraft industry has been deeply concerned about reduction of drag by reducing flow separation and improving the aerodynamic efficiency of flight vehicles, particularly in commercial and military market by adopting various methods. Reduction of flow separation is a concept by which we can increase aerodynamic efficiency. The purpose of the project is to perform an experimental investigation on aerodynamic performance of NACA 0012 airfoil model with and without splits. It is evident from this research work that the airfoil model with split possesses greater aerodynamic performance by producing lesser overall drag. This is due to the delay in flow separation from the surface.

A Novel Biologging Tag that Minimizes the Hydrodynamic Loading on Marine Animals

Although biologging tags, which are externally attached sensor packages deployed on marine animals, have become essential conservation tools, a core issue with current tag designs is that they are rarely tested for hydrodynamics and may generate substantial hydrodynamic loading (drag and lift forces) on animals. This may cause tags to impede animal physiology, give rise to injuries at the site of attachment, and cause tags to relay unrepresentative data. This study aims to design a new biologging tag form that houses the DTAG3 electronics and reduces the total drag and lift induced on marine animals. One starting model (GPS Phone Tag referred to as Model 0), three iterations, and the final design (Model D), were constructed using CAD software. They were tested with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to obtain and analyze the drag and lift force. All models were tested at speeds between 1-5 m/s, with 400 trials. The Model D includes a narrow elliptical shape to maintain laminar boundary layers, a pointed tail shape to avoid flow separation, canards for frontal downforce, tabs to reduce form drag, streamlined hydrophones, and dimples to delay flow separation. The CFD simulation results demonstrated that Model D reduced drag by up to 56% and lift by upto 86% compared to Model 0. These results show the potential benefit of this design in reducing the impact of biologging tags on the behavior and energetics of marine animals, and in providing an unbiased and holistic view of the animal behavior for conservation management actions.

Aeroacoustic Optimization of the Bionic Leading Edge of a Typical Blade for Performance Improvement

New, innovative optimization approaches to improve turbomachine performance and reduce turbomachine noise are significant in engineering. In this paper, based on the bionic concept, a wave structure is used to shape the leading edge of the blade. Using an NACA0018 blade as the basic blade, a united parametric approach controlled by three parameters is proposed to configure the wavy leading edge. Then, a new optimization strategy boosting design efficiency is established to output the optimal design results. Finally, the corresponding performance and flow mechanism are analyzed. Taking into account the existence of the hub wall and the shroud wall from the closed impeller, a near-wall adjustment factor is added, the significance of which is herein demonstrated. An optimal bionic blade is successfully obtained by the optimization strategy, which can reduce the mean drag coefficient by about 6% and the overall sound pressure level by about 3 dB, in relative to the original blade. Mechanism analysis revealed that the wave structure can induce spanwise velocity at the leading edge and cause a further delay in flow separation in the downstream region, synchronously reducing drag and noise.

Numerical method to predict ice accretion shapes and performance penalties for rotating vertical axis wind turbines under icing conditions

This paper proposes a numerical method to predict the ice accretion shapes and aerodynamic performance of rotating vertical axis wind turbine (VAWTs) under icing conditions. A multiple reference frame (MRF) and sliding mesh technique (SMT) are combined to efficiently reflect the unsteady icing effects on rotating wind turbines. The SMT calculates the flow field considering the rotational and unsteady effects of the VAWTs. The MRF can efficiently clarify the rotational effects of the droplet field and ice accretion. Using the MRF technique, a series of icing simulations is implemented in which the ice shapes are updated at azimuth angle intervals of 36°. Using the proposed method, ice shapes in agreement with those obtained in icing wind tunnel tests can be obtained. Moreover, ice that is evenly distributed over the blade surface under glaze ice conditions can be examined instead of only the forms concentrated on the leading-edge, such as ice horns. The overall output power of an ice-covered VAWT is noted to be significantly reduced. Massive flow separation is induced owing to the increased airfoil thickness at azimuthal angles between 0° and 180°. Nevertheless, the performance of the thickened airfoil is enhanced owing to the delayed flow separation via dynamic stall in azimuthal angles between 180° and 270°.

THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT OUTWARD AND INWARD PROTRUSION POSITIONS ON THE NACA 1410 AIRFOIL SECTION AT VARIOUS ANGLES OF ATTACK

The current work aims to increase the NACA 1410 airfoil's aerodynamic efficiency by altering its surface qualities for various angles of attack. The NACA 1410 airfoil's lower surface has semicircular outward and inward protrusions for a more advantageous profile. The lift and drag coefficients were calculated using CFD, at various attack angles, from -2º to 18º. An ANSYS Fluent Workbench model of the NACA 1410 airfoil was used to investigate flow characteristics at 3 x 105 Reynolds numbers. The semicircular protrusions caused turbulence, reducing pressure drag and increasing lift, delaying flow separation. The NACA1410 profile has protrusions facing outward, increasing the pitch moment coefficient. The inward protrusion was found to be more advantageous in the study of the effects of surface alterations on airfoils at various angles of attack.

A study of drag reduction with textile roughness on a cyclist model

Efforts were made to examine the effect of textile roughness for the reduction of aerodynamic drag experienced on a cyclist model. First of all, flow visualization experiments were conducted in a water channel with a 1/5 scale cyclist model to identify the flow separation lines on the contoured surface. Subsequently, based on the information learned, the idea of delaying flow separation on the model surface was implemented by means of sport suits. Seven sport suits featuring different textile materials and local roughness patterns were tested on a full-scale cyclist model in wind tunnel experiments, in addition to a reference case without a sport suit. From the CD data deduced, we identified a critical condition in most of the cases studied, featuring a least drag coefficient occurred at a Reynolds number within the flow speed range studied. For the best case found, the drag coefficient is amounted 7.5% less than that of the reference case at the same Reynolds number. Furthermore, the Cp and Cprms values reduced from the pressure measurements on the cyclist model with the sport suits unveil a trend that the reduction of drag actually infers the retreat of the local flow separation lines toward the rear side of the body accompanied with less severe the flow unsteadiness.

Numerical and Experimental Analysis of 3D Micro-Corrugated Wing in Gliding Flight

Abstract In this study, computational fluid dynamics analysis was performed on a three-dimensional model of a Libellulidae wing to determine aerodynamic performance in gliding flight. The wing is comprised of various corrugated features alongside the spanwise and chordwise directions, as well as twist. The detailed features of real 3D dragonfly wing models, including all the corrugations through both span and chord, have not been considered in the past for a detailed aerodynamic analysis. The simulations were conducted by solving the Navier-Stokes equations to demonstrate gliding performance over a range of angles of attack at low Reynolds numbers. The numerical model was validated against experimental data obtained from a fabricated corrugated wing model using particle image velocimetry. The numerical results demonstrate that bio-inspired wings with corrugations compared to flat profile wings generate more lift with lower drag, trapping the vortices in the valleys of wing corrugation leading to delayed flow separation and delayed stall. The experimental and numerical results demonstrate that the methodology presented in this study can be used to measure bio-inspired 3D wing flow characteristics, including the influence of complex corrugations on aerodynamic performance. These findings contribute to the advancement of knowledge required for designing an optimized bioinspired micro air vehicle.

Numerical investigation of flow separation control over an airfoil using fluidic oscillator

Leading edge flow separation control over a stalled National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 0015 airfoil using a fluidic oscillator (FO) is investigated by means of numerical simulation possibly for the first time to elucidate the flow control mechanism and evaluate control authority. The flow is assumed to be two-dimensional and fully turbulent and resolved using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes calculations with the elaborate Reynolds stress turbulence model employed. Our simulation is proved to be able to successfully resolve the basic characteristics of a FO operating in quiescent air, which include both the qualitative prominent flow structures and quantitative jet oscillation frequency. It is seen that the driving force behind the self-induced and self-sustaining oscillation of jet flow inside the oscillator is Coanda effect induced alternating development of a recirculation bubble on either side of the mixing chamber walls. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the flow control procedure over an airfoil at Reynolds number of Re = 4.8 × 105 and an elucidation of the flow control mechanism. It is found that the most prominent flow feature resulting from the interplay between an oscillating jet and external crossflow over an airfoil is the production of spanwise vortices. The strong entrainment effect of the induced spanwise vortices is the dominant mechanism leading to the mitigation of flow separation. Periodic jet oscillation generates a series of downstream moving vortices over an airfoil surface and results in a greatly delayed flow separation. The recovery of a strong suction pressure peak near the leading edge and significant lift enhancement and drag reduction reflects the improvement of an aerodynamic performance of the airfoil under control. Also observed is the phenomenon of local flow frequency lock-in to forcing frequency near the leading edge region. Moreover, the mass supply rate at the inlet of the oscillator is found to have an appreciable effect on the flow control authority. A higher mass flow usually leads to a better flow control performance.

Computational and Experimental Study of Nozzle Performance for Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines

A computational and experimental study was conducted on nozzle geometries for rocket application rotating detonation engines (RDEs). Three geometries, including a nozzleless blunt body typically employed in RDE combustor hot-fire testing and two aerospike nozzles, were investigated. Simulations of the exhaust flow of a rotating high-frequency, high-pressure ratio wave based on rocket RDE test results were related to comparable constant-pressure conditions. Computational and experimental results showed the high momentum added by the highest-pressure detonation products influences the exhaust plume differently than a comparable steady flowfield fed by the same average product gas flow rate. In particular, the RDE exhaust flow tended to enhance entrainment on the nozzleless blunt body recirculation region and delay flow separation on nozzle expansion surfaces due to overexpansion compared to a constant-pressure engine. Results have important ramifications for isolating RDE combustor performance from nozzle effects and must be considered for future design of nozzle geometries to exploit the high-frequency, high-pressure ratio outflow of an RDE.

Passive separation control of shortfin mako shark skin in a turbulent boundary layer

This experimental investigation discusses the effectiveness of shortfin mako shark skin to passively control turbulent boundary layer separation. Experiments were conducted in a water tunnel facility with the shark skin specimens mounted on a smooth flat plate subjected to an adverse pressure gradient. The two skin specimens have shark scales with different sizes, shapes, and bristling angles. The flank region scales (B2) are slender, tall, and can bristle at 50°, while the scales in the region between flank and dorsal fin (B1) are wide, short, and can bristle at 30°. The adverse pressure gradient on the plate was generated by a rotating cylinder. DPIV measurements indicate that unpainted scales B2 can fully control or delay boundary layer separation and reduce the fraction of time the flow is reversed. The bristling of the scales caused fluctuation in the skin friction curve and the single spike intensity of the normal stress very close to the wall. These capabilities are directly related to the scale bristling angle. In contrast, the low bristling angle of the scales from region B1 did not impede the reversing flow, and therefore separation was enhanced. The increase in Reynold’s stress fluctuations away from the wall indicated that the separation region increased in size due to vortex structures further from the wall. Once the bristling mechanism of the B2 scales was eliminated by painting over the skin, the scales functioned as a rough surface but still promoted separation delay. In addition, the streamwise Reynolds stress profile for the flow over the painted scales measured after separation occurred, along with the high intensity of the normal stress near the surface are both characteristics of a flow over a rough surface. In summary, the shark skin surface showed an ability to both delay and increase flow separation depending on the capabilities of the scale bristling to inhibit reversing flow.

Kajian Aerodinamika Pada Model Kendaraan dengan Penerapan Kontrol Aktif Suction

As the air flow reaches the rear part of the vehicle the flow will undergo separation generated by friction and fluid viscosity, and creating wake, considerably large turbulent area with low pressure at the rear of the vehicle which results in pressure drag which can reduce vehicle performance. The research was carried out with a computational and experimental approach. The test model used in this study is a model of a family van model which is a modification of the Ahmed body model. The rear part of the vehicle model is equipped with an active control feature in the form of a suction with a slant angle (α) of 35 ° . The upstream speed and suction speed are 11.1 m/s and 0.5 m/s, respectively. The results obtained indicate that the application of active suction control is able to reduce wake formation and delay flow separation compared to the uncontrolled model, and is able to increase the minimum pressure coefficient on the rear wall of the vehicle model with an increase of 41.49%, and is able to reduce the drag coefficient by 11.0260% for the approach. computation and 11.0080% for the experimental approach.

Fluidic-Oscillator-Based Pulsed Jet Actuators for Flow Separation Control

The control of flow separation on aerodynamic surfaces remains a fundamental goal for future air transportation. On airplane wings and control surfaces, the effects of flow separation include decreased lift, increased drag, and enhanced flow unsteadiness and noise, all of which are detrimental to flight performance, fuel consumption, and environmental emissions. Many types of actuators have been designed in the past to counter the negative effects of flow separation, from passive vortex generators to active methods like synthetic jets, plasma actuators, or sweeping jets. At the Chair of Aerodynamics at TU Berlin, significant success has been achieved through the use of pulsed jet actuators (PJA) which operate by ejecting a given amount of fluid at a specified frequency through a slit-shape slot on the test surface, thereby increasing entrainment and momentum in a separating boundary layer and thus delaying flow separation. Earlier PJAs were implemented using fast-switching solenoid valves to regulate the jet amplitude and frequency. In recent years, the mechanical valves have been replaced by fluidic oscillators (FO) in an attempt to generate the desired control authority without any moving parts, thus paving the way for future industrial applications. In the present article, we present in-depth flow and design analysis which affect the operation of such FO-based PJAs. We start by reviewing current knowledge on the mechanism of flow separation control with PJAs before embarking on a detailed analysis of single-stage FO-based PJAs. In particular, we show that there is a fundamental regime where the oscillation frequency is mainly driven by the feedback loop length. Additionally, there are higher-order regimes where the oscillation frequency is significantly increased. The parameters that influence the oscillation in the different regimes are discussed and a strategy to incorporate this new knowledge into the design of future actuators is proposed.

Fluidic-Oscillator-Based Pulsed Jet Actuators for Flow Separation Control

The control of flow separation on aerodynamic surfaces remains a fundamental goal for future air transportation. On airplane wings and control surfaces, the effects of flow separation include decreased lift, increased drag, and enhanced flow unsteadiness and noise, all of which are detrimental to flight performance, fuel consumption, and environmental emissions. Many types of actuators have been designed in the past to counter the negative effects of flow separation, from passive vortex generators to active methods like synthetic jets, plasma actuators, or sweeping jets. At the Chair of Aerodynamics at TU Berlin, significant success has been achieved through the use of pulsed jet actuators (PJA) which operate by ejecting a given amount of fluid at a specified frequency through a slit-shape slot on the test surface, thereby increasing entrainment and momentum in a separating boundary layer and thus delaying flow separation. Earlier PJAs were implemented using fast-switching solenoid valves to regulate the jet amplitude and frequency. In recent years, the mechanical valves have been replaced by fluidic oscillators (FO) in an attempt to generate the desired control authority without any moving parts, thus paving the way for future industrial applications. In the present article, we present in-depth flow and design analysis which affect the operation of such FO-based PJAs. We start by reviewing current knowledge on the mechanism of flow separation control with PJAs before embarking on a detailed analysis of single-stage FO-based PJAs. In particular, we show that there is a fundamental regime where the oscillation frequency is mainly driven by the feedback loop length. Additionally, there are higher-order regimes where the oscillation frequency is significantly increased. The parameters that influence the oscillation in the different regimes are discussed and a strategy to incorporate this new knowledge into the design of future actuators is proposed.