Mainstream Velocity Research Articles

Experimental Study on Scale Effects of Kerosene Combustion in Scramjet Combustors

The combustion characteristics in two geometrically similar kerosene-fueled scramjet combustors with mass flow rates of 0.69 and 1.41 kg/s are experimentally investigated to explore the scale effects of flame stabilization at Mach 2.52 condition. As the equivalence ratio increases, the combustion usually changes from weak to intensive to blow-out mode. The weak combustion has little effect on the flow field, whereas the intensive combustion has the opposite effect. The transition combustion tends to occur between different modes. When the single injector is used, compared with the small-scale combustor, intensive combustion cannot occur in the large-scale combustor, and the flame stability range is also narrower. One probable reason is that as the combustor scale increases, the boundary layer becomes relatively thinner, resulting in a smaller low-velocity zone and a faster mainstream velocity at the downstream wall of the cavity, which is not conducive to the flame propagation upstream to form the intensive combustion. After shortening the isolator, all cases with intensive combustion in the small-scale combustor are transformed into weak combustion, further confirming the speculation. Compared to the single injector, the dual injector is required in the large-scale combustor to achieve intensive combustion and a wider flame stability range.

Performance of Ergun’s Equation in Simulations of Heterogeneous Porous Medium Flow with Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics

The flow of water through a channel with a heterogeneous porous layer in its central core is simulated using the method of Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). Three different porous substrates are considered that differ in the geometry of their grain arrays. The heterogeneity is modeled by dividing the porous substrate into four zones that each have a different porosity. The pressure loss and the flow across the channel are simulated at two different scales, the pore scale and the Representative Elementary Volume (REV) scale, based on use of the Ergun equation. Since the computational cost at the REV scale is much lower than at the pore scale, it is therefore important to assess how accurately the REV-scale calculation reproduces the pore-scale results. The REV-scale simulation predicts cross-sectional mainstream velocity profiles and head losses through the channel that differ from the pore-scale results by root-mean-square errors of about 0.01% and 0.3%, respectively.

Thermal mixing and structure of the jet in swirling crossflow

The dilution zone in modern aero-engine combustors is characterized by a strong swirling mainstream with weak transverse jets. This characteristic brings new challenges in homogenizing the temperature distribution at the combustor exit. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the temperature penetration and mixing process of the jet in swirling crossflow (JISCF). This investigation provides new insight in the temperature mixing process for a JISCF in nozzle exit diameter (D) at 7.4, 10.7, and 14 mm and jet to mainstream velocity ratio (VR) from 2.0 to 6.6. The temperature mixing process was measured in a specially designed optical assessable three-dome model gas turbine combustor by planar 1-methylnaphthalene (1-MN) tracer laser-induced fluorescence thermometry. A detailed quantitative measurement of temperature distribution is achieved through the spectral red shift in the fluorescence of 1-MN as the temperature increase. This diagnostic was employed to provide the first two-dimensional temperature distribution for the JISCF. The results showed that the swirling crossflows induce strong spanwise thermal advection, forming secondary low-temperature regions downstream. Generally, the flow structure and mixing process are governed by the interaction of jet and swirling flow. The jet flow parameters, including velocity ratio and diameter, changed the flow structures by changing the interaction between jet and swirling flow. Statistical results and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analyses showed a strong anisotropic mixing process in the downstream of the jet.

Investigation on the differences in unsteady film cooling behaviors of gas turbine blades between mainstream and cooling air pulsations for a cylindrical hole

In practice, film cooling on gas turbine blade inevitably works in an unsteady environment, which is introduced by periodical rotor/stator interaction and unsteady combustion. Previous studies have introduced two methods to simulate the realistic unsteady condition: 1) the pulsation of mainstream velocity; and 2) the pulsation of coolant injection. However, up to this point, the differences in instantaneous film cooling behaviors between these two methods remain unclear. This work presents a series of large eddy simulations to exhibit the unsteady flow and film cooling behaviors under steady and the two unsteady flow conditions. The numerical strategy is validated against our time-resolved experimental data. Time-averaged results show that the difference between the two pulsations is not significant if the averaged blowing ratio remains the same. However, the pulsation type plays a dominant role on the transient mode of film coverage. Under the steady condition, film coverage instability is induced by the unsteady trajectory of near-wall vortex structure; but with pulsed environments, the unsteadiness magnitude increases, and the area with high unsteadiness level enlarges. The pulsation of the mainstream velocity induces a more severe film coverage instability compared to the pulsation of the cooling air injection, because of the higher fluctuation energy of the mainstream bulk. Under mainstream pulsation, the probability distribution of instantaneous cooling effectiveness is the most scattered, and the corresponding fluctuation range is the largest.

Research on the flow characteristics of injecting hydrogen into natural gas pipelines and its impact on energy metering

Injecting hydrogen into natural gas pipelines for direct use by end users is an economical and effective method to realize long-distance transportation of hydrogen. However, the density of hydrogen is much lower than natural gas, and it tends to accumulate at the top of the pipeline, resulting in significant different flow characteristics of pure natural gas. Therefore, mixing hydrogen into natural gas pipelines will affect the accuracy of calorific value and flow rate measurement in the existing natural gas metering system. This article studies the flow characteristics of injecting hydrogen into natural gas using a T-shaped pipe and its impact on energy measurement through CFD numerical simulation. The results show that the energy metering equipment should be installed where the gas reaches a uniform mixture and the radial section velocity is centrally symmetrical. Injecting hydrogen with a lower position, and smaller main stream velocity will shorten the distance between the metering pipeline section and the mixing point, but a distance of at least 100 times the pipe diameter is still required. Thus, a mixing process combining a static mixer and flow straightener is proposed, which reduces this distance to within 40 times the pipe diameters.

Experiments on heat transfer and film cooling characteristics of double-wall cooling structure with novel slot holes and pin-fins

The influences of blowing ratio, mainstream velocity, density ratio and jet Reynolds number on the heat transfer and film cooling properties of double-wall cooling cell (DWCC) with slot holes, impingement and diamond-shaped pin-fins were studied by means of pressure sensitive paint and transient liquid crystal. The simulation obtained the flow characteristic at a jet Reynolds number of 20000. The results indicated that with the increase of blowing ratio, the film cooling performance of DWCC structure also increased, and there was no film lift-off phenomenon which occurred in the cylindrical hole. The presence of pin-fins created a spike-shaped film in the slot outlet. Therefore, when studying the DWCC structure, it was important to consider the couple effects of impingement, pin-fins, and slot hole. As the density ratio decreased and the mainstream velocity increased, the film cooling effectiveness (FCE) gradually decreased. When jet Reynolds number increased from 20,000 to 60,000 under a density ratio of 2.0, the area-averaged FCE increased from 0.308 to 0.435, with an increase of up to 41.2%. The convective heat transfer level of impingement stagnation point was much higher than that of pin-fins region. Due to the transition between the impinging jet and the wall jet, the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) had a multi-peak distribution. In addition, several low heat transfer zones similar to wing-shaped, eye-shaped, and crescent-shaped were observed on the target surface and bottom surface inside the cooling cell. The DWCC structure studied in this paper is more efficient in cooling performance compared to traditional cooling structures. This makes it suitable for use in various fields such as heat transfer of turbine blades and electrical equipment.

Heat transfer measurements on a flat plate and cylinders at high velocity conditions: Comparison of calculation models with infrared thermography

In this study, various heat transfer measurement models using infrared (IR) thermography were applied to a flat plate and cylinders to examine the accuracy and suitability of the measurements in a transonic blow-down test facility recently developed at Korea Aerospace University. Experiments were performed under three inlet velocity conditions for the flat plate, and for the cylinders, two diameters, two turbulence intensity levels, and five inlet velocity conditions. The surface temperature distribution during the experiment was acquired using an IR camera, and the surface heat transfer coefficient (HTC) was calculated using four HTC calculation models based on the one-dimensional semi-infinite (1D SI) solid assumption: step change (STEP), Duhamel's superposition (DUH), 1D finite volumetric model (1D FVM), and linear regression model (LRM). The LRM showed minimum deviation with reference correlation for the flat plate heat transfer measurements, while STEP, DUH, and 1D FVM showed increased deviations at higher mainstream velocity conditions. The measurements by LRM at the cylinder stagnation location showed the most comparable value with the reference correlation, whereas STEP and FVM showed about 10% deviation from the reference. It is concluded that the LRM is the most suitable heat transfer calculation model for high velocity tests because the model excludes the ramping data during the transient tests, and it can also obtain the local adiabatic wall temperature experimentally.

Experimental study on the negative pressure loss generated by the gas influx process around a long borehole

In the process of gas extraction in long boreholes, gas influx in the radial direction causes a non-uniform variable mass flow field due to bore wall friction. This flow field can lead to a negative pressure decay along the hole length, thus affecting the gas extraction effect. With this effect in mind, a gas variation mass test was designed for pore-containing specimens with different pore wall roughnesses. It is also based on the variable mass flow pressure drop theory and analyzes the pressure variation, hole wall roughness, and gas influx rate inside the borehole. The result indicates that radial influx of gas along the borehole wall can interfere with the main flow in the borehole. The increase of the radial influx flow rate of the gas produces an obvious swirling phenomenon, which gradually makes the fluid mixing flow situation more and more complicated the more it differs from the mainstream velocity. The mainstream velocity and the pore wall influx velocity are the main factors causing mixing loss. The study results are important for understanding the long borehole gas sink process and the design of reasonable borehole parameters.

Experimental and numerical investigation on the mechanisms of novel heat transfer deterioration of supercritical CO2 in vertical tubes

Understanding the mechanisms of supercritical CO2 heat transfer deterioration (HTD) has significant importance for ensuring the safety and reliability of supercritical Brayton cycles. Therefore, the effects of mass flux, wall heat flux, and tube diameters on the heat transfer characteristics of supercritical CO2 inside vertical tubes are studied using experimental and numerical methods. Results indicate that the heat transfer performance is positively influenced by an increase in mass flux and heat flux, as well as a decrease in tube diameter. When HTD occurs, the overall heat transfer performance is indeed significantly compromised. When the bulk fluid temperature exceeds Tpc, the thermal acceleration effect amplifies the mainstream velocity, stabilizing the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability between the pseudo-two-phases, thereby causing a new type of HTD that is named Type II HTD in this paper. The so-called post-dryout HTD occurs when the bulk temperature surpasses T+, causing a complete transition from pseudo-liquid to pseudo-gas state and resulting in a pseudo-single-phase flow. The heat transfer capability of the low-density and low-thermal-conductivity pseudo-gas diminishes as the temperature rises, leading to post-dryout HTD. The present work explains the mechanisms of two types of HTD and highlights the similarities between subcritical boiling and supercritical pseudo-boiling flow structures. This study also establishes a theoretical foundation for understanding pseudo-two-phase flow patterns during pseudo-boiling.

Relationships among the fish passage efficiency, fish swimming behavior, and hydraulic properties in a vertical‐slot fishway

AbstractThree‐dimensional hydrodynamic numerical simulation and laboratory fish‐passage experiment with juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) were used to systematically estimate hydrodynamic parameters, fish passage efficiency, fish swimming behavior, and fish swimming trajectories in a vertical‐slot fishway (VSF) under five different flow discharges. The spatial‐mean time‐averaged velocity magnitude along the slot section determined passage success rate. The absolute value of the time‐averaged Reynolds‐shear‐stress component in the X–Y direction played a decisive role in selecting the swimming path. In addition, fish energy expenditure along the mean‐50% swimming route indicated that higher mainstream velocity did not necessarily signify larger energy consumption, because successfully‐migrating fish selected the relatively lower velocity zone during the migration process. Our findings for fish swimming behavior in response to velocity and turbulence can be used to develop high‐efficiency fishways for grass carps or other species with similar traits.

Effect of Plasma Actuator Layout on the Passage Vortex Reduction in a Linear Turbine Cascade for a Wide Range of Reynolds Numbers

This study examined how various plasma actuator (PA) configurations affect the passage vortex (PV) reduction in a linear turbine cascade (LTC) utilizing dielectric barrier discharge PAs. The experiments were carried out under three specific layout conditions: axial placement of the PA, slanted placement at the blade inlet, and slanted placement inside the blade. Particle image velocimetry was employed to measure the velocity distribution of the secondary flow at the LTC exit, followed by an analysis of the streamline patterns, turbulence intensity distribution, and vorticity distribution. At a Reynolds number of 3.7 × 104, the PA with an oblique orientation at the blade inlet provided the most effective PV suppression. The average value of the secondary flow velocity and the peak vorticity value at the LTC exit decreased by 59.0% and 68.8%, respectively, compared to the no-control case. Furthermore, the wind tunnel blower’s rotation speed was modified, adjustments were made to the LTC’s mainstream velocity, and the Reynolds number transitioned from 1.0 × 104 to 9.9 × 104, approximately 10 times. When the slanted PA was used at the blade inlet, the PV suppression effect was the highest. The peak vorticity value owing to the PV at the LTC exit decreased by 62.9% at the lowest Reynolds number of 1.0 × 104. The Reynolds number increased with a higher mainstream velocity and decreased flow induced by the PA, consequently reducing the PV suppression effect. However, the drive of the PA was effective even under the most severe conditions (9.9 × 104), and the peak vorticity value was reduced by 20.2%.

Flow and heat transfer characteristics in adaptive latticework structure designed using shape memory alloys

In this study, numerical simulation and particle image velocimetry experiments were performed to investigate an adaptive flow and heat transfer control structure based on shape memory alloy operating in the range of Reynolds number 100 to 2000. The adaptive structure could operates with low drag coefficient in the flat state, and actively enhance heat transfer with a latticework channel structure in the warping state. Different warping heights and Reynolds numbers were investigated to analyze the flow patterns and heat transfer enhancement mechanism. The warping of the shape memory alloy leads to flow deflection and generates a z-direction velocity component around the gap, which is the main reason for local heat transfer enhancement. The average velocity in the main stream plane (XY plane) close to the heat transfer surface increases sharply with warping. This study found significant increase in normal velocity and in-plane velocity (up to 0.17 and 0.94 times reference inlet velocity uin) in the plane at a distance of 0.1 times hydraulic diameter Dh from the wall due to warping, which strengthens the disturbance near the wall and thus enhances heat transfer. The longitude vortices generated in the structure are divided into the main vortex in the center of the channel and the corner vortex in the sub channel. The corner vortex is mainly caused by the gap flow between the shape memory alloy and the wall surface. In the warping state, the average value of the main stream velocity components near the wall is relatively close to the numerical simulation results (by deviation of 0.04 uin). In numerical results, the structure can achieve a heat transfer regulation ratio of 2.5–3.3 times and a resistance regulation ratio of 5.2–14.6. The performance parameters are not monotonous with the increase of the warping height or the Reynolds number. When the warping height is 0.6 Dh and Reynolds number equals to 400, maximum performance factor (1.34) is achieved.

SPH simulations and experimental investigation of water flow through a Venturi meter of rectangular cross-section

The flow of water through a horizontal small-scale Venturi tube of rectangular cross-section is simulated using a modified version of the open-source code DualSPHysics, which is based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) methods. Water is simulated using the Murnaghan-Tait equation of state so that weak compressibility is allowed. The hydrodynamics is coupled to a Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence model. The convergence properties of SPH are improved by adopting a C2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$^{2}$$\\end{document} Wendland function as the interpolation kernel, increased number of neighboring particles and non-reflective open boundary conditions at the outlet of the Venturi tube. The flow structure and differential pressure as well as the mainstream velocity profiles at different stations are compared with calibrated experimental data. A resolution independence test shows that good convergence to the experimental measurements is achieved using four million particles. At this resolution the simulations predict the experimental centerline velocity profile along the Venturi meter for a volumetric flow rate of ten liters per minutes (lpm) with a root-mean-square error of 4.3%. This error grows to 7.1% when the volumetric flow rate increases to 25 lpm. The predicted differential pressure matches the experimental data with errors varying from 1.4% (for 10 lpm) to 6.8% (for 25 lpm). Cross-sectional velocity profiles within the throat and divergent sections differ from the experimental measurements in less than 5.5%. In general, it is shown that the SPH model can provide an efficient and accurate method for recalibrating flow meters at moderately high Reynolds numbers instead of using costly experimental tests.

Investigation on the compressibility characteristics of laminar flow in rotating channel

In high-speed rotating channels, significant compressive effects are observed, resulting in distinct flow characteristics compared to incompressible flows. This study employs a finite volume method, based on the implicit formulation, to solve for low-speed compressible laminar flow in rotating channels using an orthogonal uniform grid. The governing equations include the full Navier–Stokes equations and the energy equation. The alterations in flow within rotating channel are primarily influenced by the compressive effects of centrifugal force and the compressibility of fluid within the flow's normal section. The first effect involves a reduction in the velocity due to centrifugal force, leading to an increasing influence of the Coriolis force compared to inertial forces. This trend change aligns closely with the increase in rotation speed. The second effect arises from the increase in the rotating Mach number and the Coriolis compression, resulting in slight density differences within the cross section. Strong centrifugal forces generate significant centrifugal additional force (buoyancy force). Consequently, under the same local rotation number, the velocity profiles of the mainstream experience considerable changes. Additionally, a higher rotating Mach number significantly impacts wall shear stress, with the leading side being notably affected. For instance, at cross-sectional Ro = 0.6 and MaΩ = 2.1, the dimensionless shear stress on the leading side decreased by 13%. Furthermore, while an increase in the rotating Mach number has minimal impact on the cross-sectional secondary flow structure, changes in mainstream velocity profiles influence secondary flow intensity, resulting in an enhanced velocity peak and a shift toward the trailing side.

Inhibition of Thermal Runaway Propagation in Lithium-Ion Battery Pack by Minichannel Cold Plates and Insulation Layers

The main concern hindering the large-scale application of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles (EV) is thermal runaway (TR). In this work, three-dimensional (3D) TR and conjugate heat transfer modeling of a LIB pack consisting of 12 prismatic cells is performed. Three strategies of thermal spread protection are investigated by numerical simulation. Inserting insulation layers with different thermal conductivities between adjacent LIBs, it is observed that the time to trigger TR in cell 2 delays by 23 s, 31 s, 51 s, and 132 s. When the insulation layer material is 2 mm and 3 mm aerogel, cell 2 produces TR time of 312 s and 944 s. It has reached the standard of safety, and adjacent LIBs could not generate in TR for at least 300 s. The study also shows cell 2 causing TR at 56 s, 51 s, 48 s, and 46 s with cold plates by different mainstream velocities. To completely block the propagation of TR, this study proposes a novel hybrid protective strategy based on insulation layers and cold plates. As a result, the average temperature of cell 2 does not reach more than 80°C, LIB pack tends to be in thermal equilibrium to prevent safety accidents from occurring. The modeling approach used in this study is demonstrated to be an effective tool for the thermal protection design of power system in EV.

Response of a supersonic turbulent boundary layer to different streamwise adverse pressure gradients

An adverse pressure gradient (APG) has an impact on the boundary layer, increasing the turbulent intensity of the layer. The mean and turbulent properties of the turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate with different APGs were investigated at Mach 2.7 in the present work utilizing the particle image velocimetry and nanoparticle-based planar laser scattering techniques. According to analysis, the changing trends of boundary layer parameters are different depending on whether the local mainstream velocity or freestream velocity of the wind tunnel is used to normalize. Using the former might make the enhanced effect of the rising APG more visible. With the rise in APG, the principal strain rate, turbulent fluctuation, Reynolds stress, and turbulence production in the boundary layer all increased, while the turbulent boundary layer's thickness dropped. Furthermore, the heightened upward ejection and downward sweep events caused the streamwise turbulence intensity to reach its outer peak under the influence of strong APG. The characteristics of the spanwise vortex in the boundary layer are investigated in conjunction with the probability density function analysis. The growing APG, which primarily promote negative vorticity, can strengthen the rotational strength of spanwise vortices, which are a component of hairpin vortices. As APG rises, the number of small-scale vortices in the boundary layer increases and the fractal dimension grows. The increase in small-scale vortices tends to induce strong transportation and promotes turbulence intensity. Further investigation reveals that the increased volume change caused by the enhanced compression effect with increasing APG exacerbated the vorticity.

Pressure loss control in a rotor-stator cavity with inward throughflow

The back cavity of a centrifugal impeller is a typical rotor-stator cavity system with centripetal inflow in small or medium-sized aeroengines. In this paper, the effectiveness of using the “vortex control hole” structure to control the pressure loss in such a cavity is studied with experiment and numerical simulation. Vortex control hole refers to the passage connecting the internal and external air flow of the cavity. It distributes on the stationary casing circumferentially with a well-designed angle to produce an opposite tangential velocity to the main flow, thus reducing the tangential velocity of the main flow in the cavity. By controlling the swirl ratio, the pressure loss at cavity outlet could be decreased. The rotating Reynolds number Re φ = 6 × 105∼2.4 × 106, and turbulence parameter λt = 0.21∼0.55. Since the mainstream velocity has no tangential component at the inlet, it is considered that the inlet swirl ratio β0 is 0. The numerical simulation results were compared with the experimental results. The flow structure, the distribution of the swirl ratio, and the static pressure loss at the outlet of the cavity under different secondary air stream rates will be given. The coupling mechanism between the secondary airflow and the main flow in the cavity and the mechanism of the secondary air stream reducing the pressure loss in the disc cavity will be analyzed.

Numerical investigation of the effects of cooling jets on flow and cooling film characteristics downstream of air-cooled integrated flameholder

Integrated flameholders are widely used in advanced augmented/ramjet combustors to reduce the flow loss and weight of aero-engine. Air cooling is a credible method for restraining the increasingly raised wall temperature of flameholders with the increasing inlet temperature and operation cycle of combustors. In this work, an air-cooled integrated flameholder coupled with wall and radial parts was proposed based on our previous studies. Numerical investigations were performed to understand the influence of cooling jets on the flow and cooling film characteristics of air-cooled integrated flameholder in a simplified afterburner. Results suggest that the cooling jet angles α and β on the oblique and rear plates of the wall part mainly affect the flow and cooling film features in the wall backward-facing step, whereas the hole angle θ on the back wall of the radial part has a significant impact on both of the wall step region and downstream of the radial strut. Furthermore, flow analysis of the interaction of radial and wall cooling jets shows that when α and β remain unchanged, θ not only obviously determines the flow features downstream of the radial part but also has a great impact on the flow field in the step region. On the other hand, when θ is constant, α and β almost only change the flow field in the step region, whereas the flow field downstream of the radial part is mainly affected by the flow rate of radial cooling jets. Notably, since the cooling jets on the wall part can remove the flow resistance loss caused by the sudden contraction upon the oblique and rear plates, all air-cooled integrated flameholder schemes proposed in this work can diminish the total pressure loss of afterburner. The total pressure loss is almost unaffected by the varied α and β while θ=90∘ with the flow rate of radial cooling jets increasing. In addition, the total pressure loss is gradually increased with the mainstream velocity increasing and the mainstream temperature decreasing.

Numerical Study of Optimum Configuration of Unconventional Airfoil with Steps and Rotating Cylinder for Best Aerodynamics Performance

Numerical study of separation control on symmetrical airfoil, four digits (NACA
 0012) by using rotating cylinder with double steps on its upper surface based on the computation of Reynolds-average Navier- Stokes equations was carried out to find the optimum configuration of unconventional airfoil for best aerodynamics performance. A model based on collocated Finite Volume Method was developed to solve the governing equations on a body-fitted coordinate system. A revised (k-w) model was proposed as a known turbulence model. This model was adapted to simulate the control effects of rotating cylinder. Numerical solutions were performed for flow around unconventional airfoil with cylinder to main stream velocities ratio in the range of 1 to 4 and for various positions of the steps on the airfoil from the leading edge, 0.1c, 0.2c, 0.3c, 0.4c, 0.5c for the first step and 0.5c, 0.6c, 0.7c, 0.8c for the second step with constant step depth and length of 0.03c and 0.125c respectively. Reynolds number of 700,000 which was based on the cord length (c), with angle of attacks 0, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15 degrees was considered for the assessment of the unconventional airfoil performance. The numerical investigation showed that the optimum configuration for the unconventional airfoil was found to be at velocities ratio (U/U∞=4) with the steps positions at 0.5c and 0.8c for best airfoil performance.

Numerical Study on the Unstable Flow Dynamics of Wormlike Micellar Solutions past a Sphere in the Creeping Flow Regime.

The flow dynamics of wormlike micellar solutions around a sphere is a fundamental problem in particle-laden complex fluids but is still understood insufficiently. In this study, the flows of the wormlike micellar solution past a sphere in the creeping flow regime are investigated numerically with the two species, micelles scission/reforming, Vasquez-Cook-McKinley (VCM) and the single-species Giesekus constitutive equations. The two constitutive models both exhibit the shear thinning and the extension hardening rheological properties. There exists a region with a high velocity that exceeds the main stream velocity in the wake of the sphere, forming a stretched wake with a large velocity gradient, when the fluids flow past a sphere at very low Reynolds numbers. We found a quasi-periodic fluctuation of the velocity with the time in the wake of the sphere using the Giesekus model, which shows a qualitative similarity with the results found in present and previous numerical simulations with the VCM model. The results indicate that it is the elasticity of the fluid that causes the flow instability at low Reynolds numbers, and the increase in the elasticity enhances the chaos of the velocity fluctuation. This elastic-induced instability might be the reason for the oscillating falling behaviors of a sphere in wormlike micellar solutions in prior experiments.