Direct Tail Actuation vs Internal Rotor Propulsion in Aquatic Robots

Author(s):  
Beau Pollard ◽  
Tyler Berkey ◽  
Phanindra Tallapragada

It is common for scientists to look to nature for inspiration in developing robots. Many times biological creatures outperform even the best man made robots. We will be focusing on aquatic locomotion of robots inspired by the locomotion of fish. There are two different means of propulsion of the robots tested in this paper. One model of the robot is propelled only through the oscillations of an internal momentum wheel, while the other is propelled by the direct actuation of a tail structure. Both of these models achieve net propulsion through vortex shedding past their trailing edge, and two of the robots locomotion is also aided by the change in shape from either a passive or active tail. Tests were conducted to highlight the locomotion performance differences of the two different means of locomotion.

1969 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 608-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Giesing

The dynamical conditions for vortex shedding in unsteady multienergy flows are given: It is shown that the vorticity shed is composed of an unsteady part, which is proportional to the time rate of change of the circulation, and a steady part, which is proportional to the total-pressure difference across the vortex sheet. The kinematics of vortex shedding are also investigated. It is determined that the vortex sheet is shed parallel to one side of the trailing edge or the other depending on the sense of the shed vorticity. It is further determined that the shedding velocity is equal to one half of the strength of the vorticity at the trailing edge (except for trailing-edge angles of zero). Numerical calculations are presented to illustrate the results.


AIAA Journal ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 787-793
Author(s):  
Wei Ning ◽  
Li He

1960 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnar Heskestad ◽  
D. R. Olberts

A study was made to determine effects of trailing-edge geometry on the vortex-induced vibrations of a model blade designed to simulate the conditions at the trailing edge of a hydraulic-turbine blade. For the type of trailing-edge flow encountered, characterized by a thick boundary layer relative to the blade thickness, the vortex-shedding frequency could not be represented by any modification of the Strouhal formula. The amplitude of the induced vibrations increased with the strength of a vortex in the von Karman vortex street of the wake; one exception was provided by a grooved edge, which is discussed in some detail. For a particular approach velocity, the vortex strength is primarily a function of the ratio of distance between separation points to boundary-layer thickness, the degree of “shielding” between regions of vortex growth, and frequency of vortex shedding.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastav Borah ◽  
Anand Verma ◽  
Vinayak Kulkarni ◽  
Ujjwal K. Saha

Abstract Vortex shedding phenomenon leads to a number of different features such as flow induced vibrations, fluid mixing, heat transfer and noise generation. With respect to aerodynamic application, the intensity of vortex shedding and the size of vortices play an essential role in the generation of lift and drag forces on an airfoil. The flat plates are known to have a better lift-to-drag ratio than conventional airfoils at low Reynolds number (Re). A better understanding of the shedding behavior will help aerodynamicists to implement flat plates at low Re specific applications such as fixed-wing micro air vehicle (MAV). In the present study, the shedding of vortices in the wake of a flat plate at low incidence has been studied experimentally in a low-speed subsonic wind tunnel at a Re of 5 × 104. The velocity field in the wake of the plate is measured using a hot wire anemometer. These measurements are taken at specific points in the wake across the flow direction and above the suction side of the flat plate. The velocity field is found to oscillate with one dominant frequency of fluctuation. The Strouhal number (St), calculated from this frequency, is computed for different angles of attack (AoA). The shedding frequency of vortices from the trailing edge of the flat plate has a general tendency to increase with AoA. In this paper, the generation and subsequent shedding of leading edge and trailing edge vortices in the wake of a flat plate are discussed.


1981 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 443-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. W. Rienstra

The diffraction of externally generated sound in a uniformly moving flow at the trailing edge of a semi-infinite flat plate is studied. In particular, the coupling of the sound field to the hydrodynamic field by way of vortex shedding from the edge is considered in detail, both in inviscid and in viscous flow.In the inviscid model the (two-dimensional) diffracted fields of a cylindrical pulse wave, a plane harmonic wave and a plane pulse wave are calculated. The viscous proess of vortex shedding is represented by an appropriate trailing-edge condition. Two specific cases are compared, in one of which the full Kutta condition is applied, and in the other no vortex shedding is permitted. The results show good agreement with Heavens’ (1978) observations from his schlieren photographs, and confirm his conclusions. It is further demonstrated, by an explicit expression, that the sound power absorbed by the wake may be positive or negative, depending on Mach number and source position. So the process of vortex shedding does not necessarily imply an attenuation of the sound.In the viscous model a high-Reynolds-number approximation is constructed, based on a triple-deck boundary-layer structure, matching the harmonic plane wave outer solution to a known incompressible inner solution near the edge, to obtain the viscous correction to the Kutta condition.


Author(s):  
Scott B. Reynolds ◽  
Steven E. Gorrell ◽  
Jordi Estevadeordal

Experiments have been performed to investigate interactions between a loaded stator and transonic rotor. The Blade Row Interaction (BRI) rig is used to simulate an embedded transonic fan stage with realistic geometry (thin trailing edge) which produces a wake through diffusion. Details of the unsteady flow field between the stator and rotor were obtained using PIV. Flow-visualization images and PIV data that facilitate analysis of vortex shedding, wake motion, and wake-shock-interaction phenomena are presented. Stator wake and rotor-bow-shock interactions are analyzed for three stator/rotor axial spacings, and two stator loadings. Specific shed vortices and wake topological features are isolated for each configuration. The data analysis focuses on measuring the vortex size, strength, and location as it forms on the stator trailing edge and propagates downstream into the rotor passage. It was observed that vortex shedding is synchronized to the passing of a rotor bow shock. Results show that the circulation of a vortex increased by 19 to 23% from far to close spacing due to the increased strength of the rotor bow shock impacting the stator trailing edge. Reduction in stator loading decreased shed vortex circulation for the same stator/rotor axial spacing by 20 to 25%. Pitchwise radius of vortices also decreased by 13 to 19% from far to close spacing. Such changes in vortex size and strength should be accounted for to predict the effect of unsteady blade-row interactions on transonic compressor performance.


Author(s):  
Atsushi Okajima ◽  
Takahiro Kiwata ◽  
Satoru Yasui ◽  
Yoshiki Mori ◽  
Shigeo Kimura

Flow-induced streamwise oscillation of two tandem square cylinders has been studied by means of free-oscillation testing in a wind tunnel. One cylinder was elastically supported so as to allow it to move in the streamwise direction; the other was fixed to the tunnel sidewalls. Small values of the reduced mass-damping parameter (Cn ≤ 1.63) have been considered. When the upstream cylinder is free to oscillate, there are two excitation regions: the first for reduced velocity, Vr, in the range 2.5 ≤ Vr ≤ 5 and cylinder gap distance to reference-length ratio, s, between 0.3 and 2, is due to movement-induced excitation accompanied by symmetrical vortex shedding, while the second, for 0.75 ≤ s ≤ 1.5 and 4.5 ≤ Vr ≤ 6.5, is due to vortex excitation by alternate Karman vortex shedding, accompanied with unstable limit-cycle oscillation. For wide gap distances over 2.5, an excitation region of the upstream cylinder occurs for 3.5 ≤ Vr ≤ 4.7, which is due to alternate Karman vortex shedding, and resembles the streamwise oscillation of a single cylinder. On the other hand, when the downstream cylinder is free to oscillate for narrow gap distances of 0.3 ≤ s ≤ 0.75, the response characteristics have an excitation region due to alternate Karman vortex shedding from the two cylinders, connected by dead water region between them, for 3.2 ≤ Vr ≤ 5.4. When s is greater than 1, the downstream cylinder experiences buffeting by wake fluctuation of the upstream cylinder.


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