scholarly journals Effect of Nonuniform Flexibility on Hydrodynamic Performance of Pitching Propulsors

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samane Zeyghami ◽  
Keith W. Moored

Many aquatic animals propel themselves efficiently through the water by oscillating flexible fins. These fins are, however, not homogeneously flexible, but instead their flexural stiffness varies along their chord and span. Here, we develop a simple model of these functionally graded materials where the chordwise flexibility of the foil is modeled by one or two torsional springs along the chord line. The torsional spring structural model is then strongly coupled to a boundary element fluid model to simulate the fluid–structure interactions. We show that the effective flexibility of the combined fluid–structure system scales with the ratio of the added mass forces acting on the passive portion of the foil and the elastic forces defined by the torsional spring hinge. Importantly, by considering this new scaling of the effective flexibility, the propulsive performance is then detailed for a foil with a flexible hinge that is actively pitching about its leading edge. The scaling allows for the resonance frequency of the fluid–structure system and the bending pattern of the propulsor to be independently varied by altering the effective flexibility and the location of a single torsional spring along the chord, respectively. It is shown that increasing the flexion ratio, by moving the spring away from the leading edge, leads to enhanced propulsive efficiency, but compromises the thrust production. Proper combination of two flexible hinges, however, can result in a gain in both the thrust production and propulsive efficiency.

Author(s):  
Carlos Pantano-Rubino ◽  
Kostas Karagiozis ◽  
Ramji Kamakoti ◽  
Fehmi Cirak

This paper describes large-scale simulations of compressible flows over a supersonic disk-gap-band parachute system. An adaptive mesh refinement method is used to resolve the coupled fluid-structure model. The fluid model employs large-eddy simulation to describe the turbulent wakes appearing upstream and downstream of the parachute canopy and the structural model employed a thin-shell finite element solver that allows large canopy deformations by using subdivision finite elements. The fluid-structure interaction is described by a variant of the Ghost-Fluid method. The simulation was carried out at Mach number 1.96 where strong nonlinear coupling between the system of bow shocks, turbulent wake and canopy is observed. It was found that the canopy oscillations were characterized by a breathing type motion due to the strong interaction of the turbulent wake and bow shock upstream of the flexible canopy.


2013 ◽  
Vol 732 ◽  
pp. 29-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Dewey ◽  
Birgitt M. Boschitsch ◽  
Keith W. Moored ◽  
Howard A. Stone ◽  
Alexander J. Smits

AbstractWe present experimental results on the role of flexibility and aspect ratio in bio-inspired aquatic propulsion. Direct thrust and power measurements are used to determine the propulsive efficiency of flexible panels undergoing a leading-edge pitching motion. We find that flexible panels can give a significant amplification of thrust production of $\mathscr{O}(100{\unicode{x2013}} 200\hspace{0.167em} \% )$ and propulsive efficiency of $\mathscr{O}(100\hspace{0.167em} \% )$ when compared to rigid panels. The data highlight that the global maximum in propulsive efficiency across a range of panel flexibilities is achieved when two conditions are simultaneously satisfied: (i) the oscillation of the panel yields a Strouhal number in the optimal range ($0. 25\lt \mathit{St}\lt 0. 35$) predicted by Triantafyllou, Triantafyllou & Grosenbaugh (J. Fluid Struct., vol. 7, 1993, pp. 205–224); and (ii) this frequency of motion is tuned to the structural resonant frequency of the panel. In addition, new scaling laws for the thrust production and power input to the fluid are derived for the rigid and flexible panels. It is found that the dominant forces are the characteristic elastic force and the characteristic fluid force. In the flexible regime the data scale using the characteristic elastic force and in the rigid limit the data scale using the characteristic fluid force.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vadim Pavlov ◽  
Cecile Vincent ◽  
Bjarni Mikkelsen ◽  
Justine Lebeau ◽  
Vincent Ridoux ◽  
...  

AbstractTail flukes as well as the dorsal fin are the apomorphic traits of cetaceans appeared during evolutionary process of adaptation to the aquatic life. Both appendages present a generic wing-like shape associated with lift generation and low drag. Variability of the form of appendages was studied in seven species of cetaceans having different body size, external morphology, and specialization. Hydrodynamic performance of the fin cross-sections was examined with the CFD software and compared with similar engineered airfoils. Affinity of hydrodynamic design of both appendages was found in a wing-like planform and cross-sectional design optimized for lift generation. Distinctions in the planform and cross-sections were found related with the fin specialization in thrust production or swimming stability control. Cross-sectional design of the dorsal fin was found to be optimized for the narrow range of small angles of attack. Cross-sections of tail flukes were found to be more stable for higher angles of attack and had gradual stall characteristics that is associated with their propulsive efficiency as oscillating foils. The results obtained are the evidence of divergent evolutionary pathways of a generic wing-like shape of the fins of cetaceans under specific demands of thrust production and swimming stability control.


Author(s):  
M. Benaouicha ◽  
J. A. Astolfi ◽  
A. Ducoin ◽  
S. Frikha ◽  
O. Coutier-Delgosha

The present work deals with an original study of the dynamics of an elastic structure immerged in an unsteady partial cavitating flow. The latter corresponds to the case of a leading edge attached cavity that exhibits periodical oscillations. The elastic structure is a cantilevered rectangular hydrofoil made of polyacetal plastic material (E = 3GPa). The computational fluid dynamics is based on a 2D unsteady single fluid model of cavitation with a barotropic law and a k – ε – RNG modified turbulent model. The computational structure dynamics is carried out using a 3D finite element code. The fluid structure coupling is based on a chained weak coupling algorithm for which the 2D unsteady local fluid loading is computed on a rigid hydrofoil, then interpolated on the 3D deformable hydrofoil to compute the structural dynamics. The results are compared to the experiment ones carried out in the hydrodynamic tunnel of the research institute at the French Naval Academy for flow conditions close to the numerical ones. It is shown that in spite of a weak coupling algorithm, the forced vibration due to the periodical behaviour of the unsteady partial cavity is rather well predicted by the computation and compared favourably with the experiments. However, the experiments reveal that cavitation influences the natural modal response of the elastic structure in a more complex fluid structure interaction process.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Huang ◽  
Ying Xiong ◽  
Ye Xu ◽  
Shancheng Li

To research the flexible hydrofoils’ hydroelastic response, the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) characteristic investigation is conducted on the basis of the analysis of a rigid hydrofoil’s hydrodynamic performance. For a rigid cantilevered rectangular hydrofoil, the pitching hydrodynamic performance is calculated using boundary motion with remeshing strategy. The Laminar Separation Bubble (LSB) and turbulent transition are captured. Numerical flow analysis revealed that the LSB occurs at 0.8c when pitching at initial angle of attack. As the angle increases to 5.1°, the laminar to turbulent transition occurs and the lift presents an inflection. For a geometric equivalent flexible hydrofoil, the static FSI characteristic is researched using oneway and two-way FSI method. The lift decreases and the drag increases using two-way compared to one-way FSI. The center of pressure and the maximum deformation move from trailing edge to leading edge as the angle of attack increases, showing the necessary of two-way FSI calculation. The transient FSI characteristic of the flexible hydrofoil is then studied using LES model. The lift fluctuation at 8° in frequency domain is calculated . The dry mode and wet mode natural frequency of the flexible hydrofoil are calculated to simulate the vibration performance, which meet the experiment data quite well, laying foundation for further research on the hydroelastic vibration response.


Author(s):  
Dennis Keller

AbstractThe scope of the present paper is to assess the potential of distributed propulsion for a regional aircraft regarding aero-propulsive efficiency. Several sensitivities such as the effect of wingtip propellers, thrust distribution, and shape modifications are investigated based on a configuration with 12 propulsors. Furthermore, an initial assessment of the high-lift performance is undertaken in order to estimate potential wing sizing effects. The performance of the main wing and the propellers are thereby equally considered with the required power being the overall performance indicator. The results indicate that distributed propulsion is not necessarily beneficial regarding the aero-propulsive efficiency in cruise flight. However, the use of wing tip propellers, optimization of the thrust distribution, and wing resizing effects lead to a reduction in required propulsive power by $$-2.9$$ - 2.9 to $$-3.3\,\%$$ - 3.3 % compared to a configuration with two propulsors. Adapting the leading edge to the local flow conditions did not show any substantial improvement in cruise configuration to date.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Esfahani ◽  
E. Barati ◽  
Hamid Reza Karbasian

In flapping underwater vehicles the propulsive performance of harmonically sinusoidal heaving and pitching foil will be degraded by some awkward changes in effective angle of attack profile, as the Strouhal number increases. This paper surveys different angle of attack profiles (Sinusoidal, Square, Sawtooth and Cosine) and considers their thrust production ability. In the wide range of Strouhal numbers, thrust production of Square profile is considerable but it has a discontinuity in heave velocity profile, in which an infinite acceleration exists. This problem poses a significant defect in control of flapping foil. A novel profile function is proposed to omit sharp changes in heave velocity and acceleration. Furthermore, an optimum profile is found for different Strouhal numbers with respect to Square angle of attack profile.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jname.v10i2.14229


Author(s):  
Ziyi Su ◽  
Kazuaki Inaba ◽  
Amit Karmakar ◽  
Apurba Das

Abstract Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are advanced class of composite materials which can be used as the thermal barrier to protect inner components from the outside high temperature environment. In FGMs, the volume fraction of each constituent can be tailored made across the thickness for desired applications. In this work, the simulation of FGMs in pipes is considered. Despite the wide application of pipes in machinery, those pipes would suffer from many safety problems, such as thermal stress, cavitation, fracture etc. Application of FGMs to the piping systems could lead to some new solutions accounting for safety measures and higher service life. However, the complex phenomena within the fluid structure interaction are hard to describe with the theoretical solution. The visualization of results from simulation will be helpful in understanding the distribution of kinds of physical quantities within the concerned model. For the simulation, FGMs are modeled as the layered structure in the standard finite element method (FEM) package based on FGM constituent law. The free vibration of the FG pipe is simulated and the accuracy of layered model is verified by numerical calculations. Further, based on the layered model, conjugate heat transfer simulations in a heat exchanger with FGMs are conducted.


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