scholarly journals Aerodynamic performance of a bristled wing of a very small insect

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry Kolomenskiy ◽  
Sergey Farisenkov ◽  
Thomas Engels ◽  
Nadezhda Lapina ◽  
Pyotr Petrov ◽  
...  

Abstract Aerodynamic force generation capacity of the wing of a miniature beetle Paratuposa placentis is evaluated using a combined experimental and numerical approach. The wing has a peculiar shape reminiscent of a bird feather, often found in the smallest insects. Aerodynamic force coefficients are determined from a dynamically scaled force measurement experiment with rotating bristled and membrane wing models in a glycerin tank. Subsequently, they are used as numerical validation data for computational fluid dynamics simulations using an adaptive Navier–Stokes solver. The latter provides access to important flow properties such as leakiness and permeability. It is found that, in the considered biologically relevant regimes, the bristled wing functions as a less than $$50\%$$ 50 % leaky paddle, and it produces between 66 and $$96\%$$ 96 % of the aerodynamic drag force of an equivalent membrane wing. The discrepancy increases with increasing Reynolds number. It is shown that about half of the aerodynamic normal force exerted on a bristled wing is due to viscous shear stress. The paddling effectiveness factor is proposed as a measure of aerodynamic efficiency. Graphic abstract

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Riahi ◽  
Julien Pelle ◽  
Lilia Chouchene ◽  
Souad Harmand ◽  
Sadok Ben Jabrallah

This paper presents a numerical and experimental study of a turbulent flow of air in a T-bifurcation. This configuration corresponds to a stator containing radial vents oriented vertically to the rotor–stator air gap in electrical machines. Our analysis focuses on the local convective heat transfer over the internal surface of the vents under a turbulent mass flow rate. To model the cooling installation in this region, computational fluid dynamics simulations and an experiment using particle image velocimetry (PIV) are performed. The resulting flow generally produces recirculation zones in various channels. The effect of the flow ratio and diameter of the bifurcation on the dynamic and thermal behavior of the flow is also examined. In this study, we apply a numerical approach based on the k–ω shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model (using the commercial software, “comsolmultiphysics”) to numerically solve the Navier–Stokes equations and energy equation of the system under consideration. We describe the different hypotheses necessary to formulate the equations governing the problem, initial conditions, and boundary condition. The velocity in the bifurcation calculated using the simulation is compared with that obtained by the experiment and it reveals a good agreement. The effect of the branch diameter of the bifurcation and flow ratio on the heat transfer is specifically analyzed in this research work.


2016 ◽  
Vol 120 (1228) ◽  
pp. 930-955
Author(s):  
J. Townsend ◽  
B. Evans ◽  
T. Tudor

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the design optimisation study used to aerodynamically optimise the fairings that cover the rear wheels of the Land Speed Record vehicle, BLOODHOUND SuperSonic Car (SSC). Initially, using a Design of Experiments approach, a series of Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations were performed on a set of parametric geometries, with the goal of identifying a fairing geometry that was aerodynamically optimised for the target speed of 1,000 mph. Several aerodynamic properties were considered when deciding what design objectives the fairings would be optimised to achieve; chief amongst these was the minimisation of aerodynamic drag. A parallel, finite-volume Navier–Stokes solver was used on unstructured meshes in order to simulate the complex aerodynamic behaviour of the flow around the vehicle’s rear wheel structure, which involved a rotating wheel, and shockwaves generated close to a supersonic rolling ground plane. It was found that the simple response surface fitting approach did not sufficiently capture the complexities of the optimisation objective function across the high-dimensional design space. As a result, a Nelder–Mead optimisation approach was implemented, coupled with Radial Basis Function design space interpolation to find the final optimised fairing design. This paper presents the results of the optimisation study as well as indicating the likely impact this optimisation will have on the ultimate top speed of this unique vehicle.


1985 ◽  
Vol 160 ◽  
pp. 281-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. Milinazzo ◽  
P. G. Saffman

Computations of two-dimensional solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations are carried out for finite-amplitude waves on steady unidirectional flow. Several cases are considered. The numerical method employs pseudospectral techniques in the streamwise direction and finite differences on a stretched grid in the transverse direction, with matching to asymptotic solutions when unbounded. Earlier results for Poiseuille flow in a channel are re-obtained, except that attention is drawn to the dependence of the minimum Reynolds number on the physical constraint of constant flux or constant pressure gradient. Attempts to calculate waves in Couette flow by continuation in the velocity of a channel wall fail. The asymptotic suction boundary layer is shown to possess finite-amplitude waves at Reynolds numbers orders of magnitude less than the critical Reynolds number for linear instability. Waves in the Blasius boundary layer and unsteady Rayleigh profile are calculated by employing the artifice of adding a body force to cancel the spatial or temporal growth. The results are verified by comparison with perturbation analysis in the vicinity of the linear-instability critical Reynolds numbers.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Porpiglia ◽  
Paolo Schito ◽  
Tommaso Argentini ◽  
Alberto Zasso

<p>This paper introduces a new methodology to assess the influence of a windscreen on the crosswind performance of trains running on a bridge. Considering the difficulties encountered in both carrying out wind tunnel tests that consider the vehicle speed or complete CFD analyses, a simplified CFD approach is here discussed. Instead of simulating simultaneously the windscreen plus the moving train, the numerical problem is split into two parts: firstly, a simulation of the windshield alone is used to extract the perturbed velocity profile at the railway location; secondly, this profile used as an inlet condition for the wind velocity acting on an isolated train. The method is validated against a complete train plus windshield simulation in terms of pressure distribution and aerodynamic force coefficients on the train, and flow streamlines. This approach opens to the possibility of evaluating the aerodynamic performance of a vehicle on bridges considering bridge and vehicle as separated. Wind velocity profiles measured on the bridge during a wind tunnel campaign could be used as the initial condition for numerical simulations on vehicles.</p>


Author(s):  
Zhigang Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Liming Song ◽  
Qing Gao ◽  
Xin Yan ◽  
...  

The modern gas turbine is widely applied in the aviation propulsion and power generation. The rim seal is usually designed at the periphery of the wheel-space and prevented the hot gas ingestion in modern gas turbines. The high sealing effectiveness of rim seal can improve the aerodynamic performance of gas turbines and avoid of the disc overheating. Effect of outer fin axial gap of radial rim seal on the sealing effectiveness and fluid dynamics was numerically investigated in this work. The sealing effectiveness and fluid dynamics of radial rim seal with three different outer fin axial gaps was conducted at different coolant flow rates using three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and SST turbulent model solutions. The accuracy of the presented numerical approach for the prediction of the sealing performance of the turbine rim seal was demonstrated. The obtained results show that the sealing effectiveness of radial rim seal increases with increase of coolant flow rate at the fixed axial outer fin gap. The sealing effectiveness increases with decrease of the axial outer fin gap at the fixed coolant flow rate. Furthermore, at the fixed coolant flow rate, the hot gas ingestion increases with the increase of the axial outer fin gap. This flow behavior intensifies the interaction between the hot gas and coolant flow at the clearance of radial rim seal. The preswirl coefficient in the wheel-space cavity is also illustrated to analyze the flow dynamics of radial rim seal at different axial outer fin gaps.


Author(s):  
Yunpeng Wang ◽  
Zonglin Jiang ◽  
Honghui Teng

Shock tunnels create very high temperature and pressure in the nozzle plenum and flight velocities up to Mach 20 can be simulated for aerodynamic testing of chemically reacting flows. However, this application is limited due to milliseconds of its test duration (generally 500 μs–20 ms). For the force test in the conventional hypersonic shock tunnel, because of the instantaneous flowfield and the short test time [1–4], the mechanical vibration of the model-balance-support (MBS) system occurs and cannot be damped during a shock tunnel run. The inertial forces lead to low frequency vibrations of the model and its motion cannot be addressed through digital filtering. This implies restriction on the model’s size and mass as its natural frequencies are inversely proportional the length scale of the model. As to the MBS system, sometimes, the lowest natural frequency of 1 kHz is required for the test time of typically 5 ms in order to get better measurement results [2]. The higher the natural frequencies, the better the justification for the neglected acceleration compensation. However, that is very harsh conditions to design a high-stiffness MBS structure, particularly a drag balance. Therefore, it is very hard to carried out the aerodynamic force test using traditional wind tunnel balances in the shock tunnel, though its test flow state with the high-enthalpy is closer to the real flight condition.


2015 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff R. Harris ◽  
Blake W. Lance ◽  
Barton L. Smith

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) validation dataset for turbulent forced convection on a vertical plate is presented. The design of the apparatus is based on recent validation literature and provides a means to simultaneously measure boundary conditions (BCs) and system response quantities (SRQs). All important inflow quantities for Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS). CFD are also measured. Data are acquired at two heating conditions and cover the range 40,000 < Rex < 300,000, 357 <  Reδ2 < 813, and 0.02 < Gr/Re2 < 0.232.


Author(s):  
Anil K. Tolpadi ◽  
James A. Tallman ◽  
Lamyaa El-Gabry

Conventional heat transfer design methods for turbine airfoils use 2-D boundary layer codes (BLC) combined with empiricism. While such methods may be applicable in the mid span of an airfoil, they would not be very accurate near the end-walls and airfoil tip where the flow is very three-dimensional (3-D) and complex. In order to obtain accurate heat transfer predictions along the entire span of a turbine airfoil, 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) must be used. This paper describes the development of a CFD based design system to make heat transfer predictions. A 3-D, compressible, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes CFD solver with k-ω turbulence modeling was used. A wall integration approach was used for boundary layer prediction. First, the numerical approach was validated against a series of fundamental airfoil cases with available data. The comparisons were very favorable. Subsequently, it was applied to a real engine airfoil at typical design conditions. A discussion of the features of the airfoil heat transfer distribution is included.


Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 404
Author(s):  
Charles Patrick Bounds ◽  
Sudhan Rajasekar ◽  
Mesbah Uddin

This paper presents a study on the flow dynamics involving vehicle interactions. In order to do so, this study first explores aerodynamic prediction capabilities of popular turbulence models used in computational fluid dynamics simulations involving tandem objects and thus, ultimately presents a framework for CFD simulations of ground vehicle platooning using a realistic vehicle model, DrivAer. Considering the availability of experimental data, the simulation methodology is first developed using a tandem arrangement of surface-mounted cubes which requires an understanding on the role of turbulence models and the impacts of the associated turbulence model closure coefficients on the prediction veracity. It was observed that the prediction accuracy of the SST k−ω turbulence model can be significantly improved through the use of a combination of modified values for the closure coefficients. Additionally, the initial validation studies reveal the inability of the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) approach to resolve the far wake, and its frailty in simulating tandem body interactions. The Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulations (IDDES) approach can resolve the wakes with a reasonable accuracy. The validated simulation methodology is then applied to the fastback DrivAer model at different longitudinal spacing. The results show that, as the longitudinal spacing is reduced, the trailing car’s drag is increased while the leading car’s drag is decreased which supports prior explanations of vortex impingement as the reason for drag changes. Additionally, unlike the case of platooning involving Ahmed bodies, the trailing model drag does not return to an isolated state value at a two car-length separation. However, the impact of the resolution of the far wake of a detailed DrivAer model, and its implication on the CFD characterization of vehicle interaction aerodynamics need further investigations.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245245
Author(s):  
Yun-Feng Liu ◽  
Ke Gu ◽  
Yi-Ming Shu ◽  
Xian-Lei Zhang ◽  
Xin-Xin Liu ◽  
...  

As a type of flexible impermeable material, a PVC geomembrane must be cooperatively used with cushion materials. The contact interface between a PVC geomembrane and cushion easily loses stability. In this present paper, we analyzed the shear models and parameters of the interface to study the stability. Two different cushion materials were used: the common extrusion sidewall and non-fines concrete. To simulate real working conditions, flexible silicone cushions were added under the loading plates to simulate hydraulic pressure loading, and the loading effect of flexible silicone cushions was demonstrated by measuring the actual contact areas under different normal pressures between the geomembrane and cushion using the thin-film pressure sensor. According to elastomer shear stress, there are two main types of shear stress between the PVC geomembrane and the cushion: viscous shear stress and hysteresis shear stress. The viscous shear stress between the geomembrane and the cement grout was measured using a dry, smooth concrete sample, then the precise formula parameters of the viscous shear stress and viscous friction coefficient were obtained. The hysteresis shear stress between the geomembrane and the cushion was calculated by subtracting the viscous shear stress from the total shear stress. The formula parameters of the hysteresis shear stress and hysteresis friction coefficient were calculated. The three-dimensional box-counting dimensions of the cushion surface were calculated, and the formula parameters of the hysteresis friction were positively correlated with the three-dimensional box dimensions.


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