Downstream Vortex Research Articles

Actuation manifold from snapshot data

We propose a data-driven methodology to learn a low-dimensional manifold of controlled flows. The starting point is resolving snapshot flow data for a representative ensemble of actuations. Key enablers for the actuation manifold are isometric mapping as encoder, and a combination of a neural network and a $k$ -nearest-neighbour interpolation as decoder. This methodology is tested for the fluidic pinball, a cluster of three parallel cylinders perpendicular to the oncoming uniform flow. The centres of these cylinders are the vertices of an equilateral triangle pointing upstream. The flow is manipulated by constant rotation of the cylinders, i.e. described by three actuation parameters. The Reynolds number based on a cylinder diameter is chosen to be $30$ . The unforced flow yields statistically symmetric periodic shedding represented by a one-dimensional limit cycle. The proposed methodology yields a five-dimensional manifold describing a wide range of dynamics with small representation error. Interestingly, the manifold coordinates automatically unveil physically meaningful parameters. Two of them describe the downstream periodic vortex shedding. The other three describe the near-field actuation, i.e. the strength of boat-tailing, the Magnus effect and forward stagnation point. The manifold is shown to be a key enabler for control-oriented flow estimation.

CRRT circuit venous air chamber design and intra-chamber flow dynamics: a computational fluid dynamics study

BackgroundVenous air trap chamber designs vary considerably to suit specific continuous renal replacement therapy circuits, with key variables including inflow design and filter presence. Nevertheless, intrachamber flow irregularities do occur and can promote blood coagulation. Therefore, this study employed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to better understand how venous air trap chamber designs affect flow.MethodsThe flow within a venous air trap chamber was analyzed through numerical calculations based on CFD, utilizing large eddy simulation. The working fluid was a 33% glycerin solution, and the flow rate was set at 150 ml/min. A model of a venous air trap chamber with a volume of 15 ml served as the computational domain. Calculations were performed for four conditions: horizontal inflow with and without a filter, and vertical inflow with and without a filter. Streamline plots and velocity contour plots were generated to visualize the flow.ResultsIn the horizontal inflow chamber, irrespective of filter presence, ultimately the working fluid exhibited a downstream vortex flow along the chamber walls, dissipating as it progressed, and being faster near the walls than in the chamber center. In the presence of a filter, the working fluid flowed uniformly toward the outlet, while in the absence of a filter the flow became turbulent before reaching the outlet. These observations indicate a streamlining effect of the filter.In the vertical inflow chamber, irrespective of filter presence, the working fluid flowed vertically from the inlet into the main flow direction. Part of the working fluid bounced back at the chamber bottom, underwent upward and downward movements, and eventually flowed out through the outlet. Stagnation was observed at the top of the chamber. Without a filter, more working fluid bounced back from the bottom of the chamber.ConclusionsCFD analysis estimated that the flow in a venous air trap chamber is affected by inflow method and filter presence. The “horizontal inflow chamber with filter” was identified as the design creating a smooth and uninterrupted flow throughout the chamber.

Numerical investigation on secondary injection and thrust vector control in a planar double divergent nozzle

In this work, the performance of secondary injection thrust vector control of an altitude adaptive planar double divergent supersonic nozzle is numerically investigated. The compressible turbulent flow is solved using the kT−kL−ω transition-sensitive eddy-viscosity model. An analytical model to predict the separation distance and penetration height due to secondary fluid injection is developed based on the blunt-body theory, and it shows good agreement with the numerical estimation. The computational results indicate that injection pressure, injector location and injection angle significantly impact the thrust vector control performance. The core flow is disrupted by the momentum injection from the secondary fluid, causing the flow field structure to become asymmetrical. The wall pressure imbalance between the upper and lower nozzle increases as the secondary jet pressure elevates. Further, the thrust vectoring amplification factor is improved when the injector is placed downstream near the outlet since the shock reflection is circumvented. Indeed, that resulted in the generation of a large lateral thrust force. Most importantly, for a high injector slot angle, the primary downstream vortex disappears, and a strong secondary upstream vortex is generated, which shifts the primary upstream vortex opposite to the core flow, subsequently the shock separation is advanced. In addition, a secondary injector fitted near the exit with high inclination angles and injection pressure generated a lateral thrust of 20%.

Wake flow behind a transversely rotating sphere confined in a pipe at low Reynolds numbers

Direct numerical simulations are performed to investigate the flow past a transversely rotating sphere confined in a pipe. Three sphere diameters of d=0.2D, 0.5D, and 0.8D (D is the pipe diameter) and sphere Reynolds numbers (based on the sphere cross-sectional mean velocity and d) of Res=250–500 are considered. The simulation results highlight the combined effects of the blockage ratio (BR=d/D) and the nondimensionalized rotation rate Ω in the range of 0.2–1.2 on the wake flow. For each BR, with increasing Res and Ω, the wake flow undergoes a transition of the flow pattern from steady symmetry and unsteady symmetry to unsteady asymmetry. For BR=0.2, the variation in flow behaviors with Ω is similar to those reported in the previous studies on a transversely rotating sphere subjected to a uniform flow. With increasing BR from 0.2 to 0.5, the unsteady asymmetric wake flow is characterized by distorted near-wake vortex rings and a series of staggered inward rolled-up vortex arcs on the double streamwise vortex threads, which results in a low-frequency modulation of the unsteady wake flow. These rolled-up vortex arcs are connected with downstream quasi-streamwise vortices and form hairpin-like vortices. Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) analysis shows that the distorted near-wake vortex rings are associated with the antisymmetric DMD mode at the adjacent frequency around the symmetric primary DMD mode. With BR=0.8, there is a drastic increase in the sphere's force coefficients. A more complex wake flow behavior is found due to a strong interaction between the wake flow and the near-pipe-wall flow. At Ω=1.2, dominant asymmetric flow structures are characterized by impingement of the vortex filaments. The low-frequency modulation of these wake structures is also analyzed using the DMD analysis.

Fluid-acoustic monolithic simulation based on spectral element method to solve flows past a slotted circular cylinder at low Reynolds numbers

Aerodynamic noise resulting from the flow around cylinders is a significant engineering challenge in aviation and wind engineering. The phenomenon of alternating vortex shedding in the flow leads to vibration and noise generation. However, accurately describing both the flow field and the sound field is challenging due to the significant difference in magnitude between them. To tackle this issue, this work introduces the application of the spectral element method (SEM) and flow-acoustic monolithic simulation for solving the two-dimensional compressible Navier–Stokes equations at low Reynolds numbers. This study is to investigate the reduction of flow-induced noise through the implementation of slotting technology on a circular cylinder. This study focuses on examining two different slit width ratios, s/d = 0.15 and 0.25, with a slit angle of attack of 0°. A comparative analysis is conducted between a complete circular cylinder and a slotted circular cylinder. The findings indicate that the slotted cylinder exhibits reduced intensity of vortex shedding and an extended region of downstream vortex generation compared to the complete cylinder. Notably, when s/d = 0.25, the slotted cylinder demonstrates minimal noise generation. Even at s/d = 0.15, a significant reduction in flow-induced noise is observed. These results highlight the potential of utilizing slotting technology on cylinders to effectively mitigate aerodynamic noise. The application of SEM and flow-acoustic monolithic simulation shows their relevance in analyzing and designing noise mitigation techniques in aerodynamics. This work can develop innovative solutions to reduce noise and improve the performance of various applications in aviation and wind engineering.

Aerodynamic performance and wake development of NACA 0018 airfoil with serrated gurney flaps

Improving the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil is important for optimising the rotor efficiency of the vertical axis wind turbines. As a simple passive control method, the Gurney flap is widely used to improve the aerodynamic performance of airfoils. In this paper, we study the impact of applying a novel serrated gurney flap with different heights on the NACA 0018 airfoil. An improved delayed detached eddy simulation method is adopted to investigate the lift-enhancing mechanism of the serrated gurney flap and the evolution of the downstream vortex system. The results show that the serrated gurney flap can effectively increase the airfoil lift coefficient and the lift-to-drag ratio. The improvement of the serrated gurney flap on the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil is more pronounced at moderate angles of attack. Further analysis of the downstream wake shows that a pair of vortices wraps over both sides of the airfoil and rotates perpendicular to the wake flow, which is produced by the columnar vortex upstream of the flap. These vortices mixed with the wake and accelerated the dissipation of the separated vortex on the suction surface of the airfoil.

Interaction between the helical vortices shed by contra-rotating propellers

Large eddy simulation is adopted to analyze the interaction between the tip vortices shed by two contra-rotating propellers, by using a computational grid consisting of 4.6 × 109 points. Despite the complexity of the wake topology, the results of the computations show an excellent agreement with the measurements from an earlier experimental study on the same system. The interaction between the tip vortices shed by the two propellers produces vortex rings. Each of them consists of six helical sides, which are connected by U-shaped vortex lobes. The three upstream lobes of each vortex ring move to outer radial coordinates, as a result of their shear with the downstream lobes of the upstream vortex ring. In contrast, the downstream U-shaped lobes move to inner radial coordinates, as a result of their shear with the upstream lobes of the downstream vortex ring. This interaction results in an overall expansion of the wake of the contra-rotating propellers. The regions of shear between the U-shaped lobes of consecutive vortex rings are the areas of the largest turbulent stresses, which achieve higher levels than those produced in the wake of the two front and rear propellers working alone. This complex flow physics also triggers a faster instability of the wake system, breaking its coherence at more upstream coordinates, in comparison with the isolated propellers.

Multiobjective optimization of Vortex Generators for heat transfer enhancement in turbulent flows

Convective heat transfer can be enhanced by streamwise vortices and coherent flow structures produced downstream Vortex Generators (VGs). The thermal performance depends on the VG shape which controls the intensity and topology of the vortices. Thus, VG shape optimization is a major challenge in designing sustainable and efficient heat exchangers. In the present study, a multi-objective optimization is performed through large space exploration design to find optimal VG shapes that adapt to different flow regimes. Simulations are carried out in parallel plate turbulent flow for three different Reynolds numbers; Re1=4600,Re2=9920, and Re3=30050. The present numerical results are first validated against numerical and experimental data from the open literature. Then, and for the first time, seven design parameters are investigated, based on VG shape dimensions. The new optimized VG show a thermal enhancement factor between 11 and 35%, relative to a smooth channel case, and between 3 and 14%, relative to different VG shapes from the recent open literature. The present results are analyzed in details by focusing on the physics of the flow structure and its correlation to the convective heat transfer enhancement using local criteria for flow visualization and vortex intensity quantification.

Effect of Perforation on Vortex Characteristics of a Microvortex Generator Mounted on a Flat Plate

Abstract The effects of perforation on the characteristics of the downstream vortex of a microvortex generator (MVG) mounted on a flat plate, are numerically investigated in this paper. A single rectangular MVG with circular and square perforation, at different locations on the MVG, is mounted on a flat plate at 16 deg installation angle with respect to the flow direction. The MVG is placed inside a turbulent boundary layer at Reynolds number of 16,293 based on MVG height and freestream velocity. The analysis is conducted using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) modeling. The results of the analysis show that the MVG vortex is most effective when the perforation is located at the center and lower side of the MVG. The vortex strength for MVG with this perforated location is found to be much higher than the MVG without any perforation.

Effects of Downstream Vortex Generators on Film Cooling a Flat Plate Fed by Crossflow

Abstract Counter-rotating vortices, formed by the interaction of film-cooling jets and the hot gas flow, adversely affect the performance of conventional film-cooling designs. Downstream vortex generators have been shown to improve cooling effectiveness by mitigating the effects of the counter-rotating vortices and by deflecting the cooling jet laterally. In this study, computational and experimental methods were used to examine how cylindrical film-cooling holes (D = 3.2 mm, L/D = 6, p/D = 3, α = 30 deg) with and without downstream vortex generators perform when the coolant supply channel is perpendicular to the direction of the hot gas. For this study, the hot gas had a temperature of 650 K and an average Mach number of 0.23. The hot-gas-to-coolant temperature ratio was 1.9, and two blowing ratios (0.75 and 1.0) were studied. Results from the computational fluid dynamics study show how crossflow affects the interaction between the film-cooling jet and hot gas flow with and without downstream vortex generators. The experimental measurements were based on infrared thermography in a conjugate heat transfer environment. Results were obtained for film-cooling performance in terms of overall effectiveness, film effectiveness, and local heat transfer coefficients. The downstream vortex generators can increase the laterally averaged effectiveness by a factor of 1.5 relative to cylindrical holes, but this higher performance is restricted to low crossflow velocities and higher blowing ratios.

Novel bionic wave-shaped tip clearance toward improving hydrofoil energy performance and suppressing tip leakage vortex

The tip leakage vortex (TLV) is inevitable in hydraulic machinery with tip clearance, which leads to a decrease in runner efficiency and an increase in pressure fluctuation. In this paper, a novel method of bionic wave-shaped tip clearance was designed to improve the energy performance and suppress the TLV. The results show that the fluctuating entropy production was changed by the novel wave-shaped tip clearance. When the period number of the novel wave-shaped tip clearance is 1, the TLV scale decreases. The total entropy production decreases. The maximum increases in the lift and lift-drag ratio are 1.08 % and 5.11 %, respectively, under inlet velocity 5 m/s condition. When the period of the novel wave-shaped tip clearance increases to 4, the large-scale TLV is decomposed into several smaller vortex. The upstream vortex structure interacted with the downstream vortex and was intercepted for further development. The TLV core pressure increased. However, the entropy production rate increased, the lift and lift-drag ratio decreased. Analysis of novel wave-shaped tip clearance with different sizes was also carried out. When the amplitude of the novel wave-shape is equal to the tip clearance size, the inhibition effect on TLV is optimal and the performance improvement is the greatest.

Numerical simulation for axis switching of pulsating jet issued from rectangular nozzle at low Reynolds number

Axis switching of a jet ejected from a rectangular nozzle affects flow mixing characteristics. To elucidate such a mixing mechanism, the axis switching and vortex structure deformation should be investigated in detail. This study performed a numerical analysis of the axis switching of a pulsating jet ejected from a rectangular nozzle at a low Reynolds number. At all aspect ratios, a rectangular vortex ring similar to the shape of the nozzle cross-section is periodically shed downstream, and the side of the vortex ring deforms into a hairpin shape downstream. A vortex pair is generated inside the vortex ring downstream of the nozzle corner. When the aspect ratio is AR = 1.0, the vortex pair consists of symmetrical vortices, while as AR increases, the asymmetry of the vortex pair enlarges. At AR = 1.0, regeneration of a vortex ring occurs downstream. For AR = 2.0, alternately on the long and short sides of the nozzle, an upstream vortex ring overtakes a downstream vortex ring. Regardless of AR, downstream near the nozzle, as the vortex pair existing inside the vortex ring distorts the vortex ring, the positions of the side and corner of the vortex ring exchange, resulting in a 45° axis switching. For AR > 1.0, further downstream, the hairpin part of the vortex ring on the long side develops away from the jet center compared to the short side, causing a 90° axis switching. As a result, high turbulence occurs over a wide area, strengthening the mixing action. As AR increases, intensive interference between the vortex rings on the upstream and downstream sides diffuses the vortices downstream. Then, as turbulence by the diffused vortices widely occurs, the mixing effect is further strengthened.

Multicolor dye-based flow structure visualization for seal-whisker geometry characterized by computer vision

Pinniped vibrissae possess a unique and complex three-dimensional topography, which has beneficial fluid flow characteristics such as substantial reductions in drag, lift, and vortex induced vibration. To understand and leverage these effects, the downstream vortex dynamics must be studied. Dye visualization is a traditional qualitative method of capturing these downstream effects, specifically in comparative biological investigations where complex equipment can be prohibitive. High-fidelity numerical simulations or experimental particle image velocimetry are commonplace for quantitative high-resolution flow measurements, but are computationally expensive, require costly equipment, and can have limited measurement windows. This study establishes a method for extracting quantitative data from standard dye visualization experiments on seal whisker geometries by leveraging novel but intuitive computer vision techniques, which maintain simplicity and an advantageous large experimental viewing window while automating the extraction of vortex frequency, position, and advection. Results are compared to direct numerical simulation (DNS) data for comparable geometries. Power spectra and Strouhal numbers show consistent behavior between methods for a Reynolds number of 500, with minima at the canonical geometry wavelength of 3.43 and a peak frequency of 0.2 for a Reynolds number of 250. The vortex tracking reveals a clear increase in velocity from roll-up to 3.5 whisker diameters downstream, with a strong overlap with the DNS data but shows steady results beyond the limited DNS window. This investigation provides insight into a valuable bio-inspired engineering model while advancing an analytical methodology that can readily be applied to a broad range of comparative biological studies.

Large-Eddy simulations on interaction flow structures of pulsed jets in a crossflow

Numerical investigations of pulsed jets in a crossflow are carried out using large-eddy simulation. The flow mechanism and coherent structure evolution of pulsed jets with different frequencies (f = 20 Hz, 50 Hz, and 100 Hz) are analyzed and compared with the steady-state jet. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method is used to analyze the effect of different vortex structures in the flow field, which further elaborates the influence mechanism of frequency on pulse jets in the crossflow. The results show that under the same velocity ratio, the normal penetration depth of pulsed jets to the crossflow are greater than that of the steady-state jet. Due to the pulsating effect, the pulsed jets will form a large-scale shear layer vortex, which strengthens the turbulence pulsation and promotes the mixing between jets and the crossflow. As the pulse frequency increases, the scale of the vortex rings in the downstream shear layer will become smaller but the number will increase, and fine vortex clusters will be formed around them. At f = 50 Hz, the counter-rotating vortex pair (CVP) and the jet front shear layer vortex have a greater influence in the flow field, followed by the downstream shear layer vortex, and the wake vortex has the least influence in the flow field. At f = 20 Hz and 100 Hz, the wake vortex has a greater influence in the flow field than that at f = 50 Hz.

Analysis of hydrodynamic characteristics and loss mechanism of hydrofoil under high Reynolds number

Hydrofoil is widely used in hydraulic machinery, the complex shear flow and wake vortex with it can cause energy dissipation of system, affecting the stable operation of the unit. This paper takes the guide vane of a Francis turbine as the research object, and adopts the SST k−ω turbulence model to simulate the complex unsteady flow in a three-dimensional hydrofoil-channel. Entropy production theory is introduced to evaluate the energy dissipation. The effects of attack angle, gap ratio and Reynolds number on the flow loss are studied. The results show that: (1) In the hydrofoil-channel, the dissipation caused by the velocity gradient always dominates the irregular flow of fluid field. So the loss caused by the turbulent dissipation term is the main source of the loss in mainstream zone, accounting for more than 95%, while the loss caused by the viscous dissipation term accounts for only about 2% of the total loss, which can be almost ignored; (2) Changing the attack angle have a significant effect on the flow separation of the suction surface and the shear effect in the wake vortex zone, causing the energy loss to fluctuate accordingly. And 2.5° is the optimal attack angle. On this working condition, the loss decreases to the minimum value of 2.2714W/K and 0.1432 m, a decrease of 57% compared to the initial value; (3) The bottom boundary of channel suppress the development of wing tip vortex, reducing gap ratio will reduce the loss caused by wake vortex to some extent. Among them, S = 0.3 is the optimal gap ratio. Under this operating condition, the loss is 2.2941W/K and 0.1447m, a decrease of 56% compared to the initial value; (4) Affected by flow separation and wake vortexes, more than 80% of energy loss occurs in the middle and downstream zones. The effects of attack angle, gap ratio and Reynolds number on the fluid field are different. Increasing attack angle and flow velocity significantly exacerbate the flow separation and shear flow, while reducing gap ratio would inhibit the adverse flow in downstream wing tip vortex zone.

Research on Internal Flow Field Characteristics of Straight-Groove Texture Using Three-Dimensional Modeling

Surface texture modification is a reasonable strategy for improving the tribological property of friction pairs. The internal flow behavior of the surface texture significantly impacts its performance. In this study, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is constructed to explore the internal flow behavior of the straight-groove texture in the thrust bearing. The influences of the Reynolds number, depth ratio, and area ratio of the straight-groove texture on the internal flow behavior are systematically investigated. Furthermore, the streamline and tribological performance parameters are checked to reveal the mechanism of the groove texture influencing the tribological properties. It is found that the vortex and cavitation significantly affect the tribological performance of textured surfaces under hydrodynamic lubrication. The cavitation and upstream vortex areas increase with the Reynolds number, while the downstream vortex area shows a reverse trend. The increase in depth ratio strengthens the upstream and downstream vortexes while reducing the cavitation area. Additionally, a method is proposed to determine the location of the cavitation within the groove texture. Certain operating conditions create the optimal texture depth ratio and area ratio, which could maximize the load-carrying capacity (LCC) of the oil film, and the friction coefficient is relatively small.

Numerical Research on the Jet Mixing Mechanism of the De-Swirling Lobed Mixer Integrated with OGV

The outlet guide vane (OGV) is integrated with the lobed mixer to improve the exhaust system’s performance with a high core inlet swirl. The best location for integrating the OGV is along the central line of the lobe’s trough and near the exit plane of the lobed mixer. Two types of lobed mixers (the scalloped reference lobed mixer and the scalloped de-swirling lobed mixer) integrating with/without OGVs, are numerically researched under eight inlet swirl conditions ranging from 0° to 35°. The simulation used the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method with Shear Stress Transport (SST) model based on an unstructured mesh of 30 million cells. The reserved outlet flow angle of the de-swirling lobed mixer is beneficial for enhancing the strength of downstream streamwise vortices and accelerating the jet mixing. After integrating with OGV: it can significantly suppress the leakage vortex between the lobe trough and the central body and the backflow downstream of the central body; on the other hand, it can further increase the strength and scale of streamwise vortices by expanding the radial range of inner secondary flow, thereby accelerating mixing and reducing total pressure loss & thrust loss. Under the design condition, the integrated de-swirling lobed mixer can increase thrust by 3.18% and reduce the mixing loss by 31.17% compared with the reference lobed mixer. Even under non-design conditions, the integrated de-swirling lobed mixer can still use upstream inlet swirl to enhance the streamwise vortices and accelerate the jet mixing within the conditions studied in this paper. The outlet jet uniformity of the integrated de-swirling lobed mixer is better than that of the integrated reference lobed mixer for the case with the same core inlet swirl. Compared with the latter, the former also has better tolerance to the attack angle, especially for the negative attack angle conditions. Under the condition with a core inlet swirl of 35°, the thrust loss of the integrated de-swirling lobed mixer is 2.15% lower than that of the integrated reference lobed mixer.

Numerical study on prediction and discrimination methods of propeller tip vortex cavitation inception

Tip vortex cavitation is typically the first type of cavitation in real ship propellers due to the scale effect. To lessen or eliminate propeller cavitation noise, it is necessary to effectively identify and predict the tip vortex cavitation initiation of the propeller and run the propeller as far as possible in the “non-cavitation area.” However, for the current numerical computation, it is impossible to determine the minimum pressure at the vortex core directly and correctly, making it difficult to anticipate the cavitation initiation of the propeller tip vortex. In this paper, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical calculations and the tip vortex model proposed by Xin [Proceedings of 2013 Ship Hydrodynamics Conference (2013), pp. 211–218], we propose a new prediction method for propeller tip vortex cavitation initiation—“the tip vortex model method.” The propeller tip vortex is solved by CFD calculation in this model, and the minimum pressure at the downstream vortex core is examined based on the tip vortex model to determine the initiation of propeller cavitation. We examine the cavitation inception using the tip vortex model method and compare it to the results obtained using the minimum pressure coefficient method and the minimum vapor volume method. It is discovered that the cavitation inception number obtained by the tip vortex model method is closer to the experimental results. Furthermore, the effects of different turbulence models and grid settings on the prediction of tip vortex cavitation initiation are investigated, providing an effective reference for the prediction of propeller tip vortex cavitation initiation.

Direct Numerical Simulations of Turbulent Flow over Low-Pressure Turbine Blades with Aeroelastic Vibrations and Inflow Wakes

In the present work, direct numerical simulation is employed to investigate the unsteady flow characteristics and energy performance of low-pressure turbines (LPT) by considering the blades aeroelastic vibrations and inflow wakes. The effects of inflow disturbance (0 < φ < 0.91) and reduced blade vibration (0 < f < 250 Hz) on the turbulent flow behavior of LPTs are investigated for the first time. The transient governing equations on the vibrating blades are modelled by the high-order spectral/hp element method. The results revealed that by increasing the inflow disturbances, the separated bubbles tend to shrink, which has a noticeable influence on the pressure in the downstream region. The maximum wake loss value is reduced by 16.4% by increasing the φ from 0.31 to 0.91. The flow separation is majorly affected by inflow wakes and blade vibrations. The results revealed that the maximum pressure coefficient in the separated flow region of the vibrating blade has been increased by 108% by raising φ from 0 to 0.91. The blade vibration further intensifies the vortex generation process, adding more energy to the flow and the downstream vortex shedding. The vortex generation and shedding are intensified on the vibrating blade compared to the non-vibrating one that is subject to inflow wakes. The results and findings from this paper are also useful for the design and modeling of turbine blades that are prone to aeroelastic instabilities, such as large offshore wind turbine blades.

Numerical investigation of scalloping effect on lobed nozzle flow features and thermal mixing performance

The lobed nozzle is usually used in the exhaust system of military helicopters to improve survivability. The thermal and flow characteristics of the lobed mixer with and without the scalloping structure are investigated to provide a theoretical basis. The delayed detached eddy simulation is used after validated against Hu's experiment of stereoscopic particle image velocimetry. The specific position, where the scalloping structure improves the mixing performance, is summarized. The dominant frequency of downstream vortex is quantitatively characterized by the power spectral density analysis. The results show that the scalloping structure brings a rapid improvement in the mixing performance near Z/D=0.75 and a faster mixing completion rate. At Z/D=1, the mixing efficiency of the scalloping structure is about 0.46 and the efficiency is enhanced by about 13.5%. The mixing characteristics correspond to the streamwise vortices with a larger spatial scale and stronger intensity in the downstream time-averaged flow field. In terms of unsteady flow, the downstream coherent structures include K-H vortex, hairpin vortex, streamwise vortex, normal vortex, and shedding vortex for the lobed mixer with the scalloping structure. Shedding vortices destroy the complete structure of the normal vortex. Meanwhile, shedding vortex enhances the vorticity intensity and spatial scale of streamwise vortices.