Interaction of tip vortex and laminar separation bubble over wings with different aspect ratios under low Reynolds numbers

Author(s):  
Mustafa Serdar Genç ◽  
Gökhan Özkan ◽  
Mustafa Özden ◽  
Mehmet Sadik Ki˙ri˙ş ◽  
Rahime Yi˙ldi˙z

In present study, aerodynamics of a NACA4412 wings with aspect ratio of 1 and 3 was considered experimentally at Reynolds numbers of 2.5 × 104, 5 × 104 and 7.5 × 104. Studies for AR = 1 wing showed that stall was delayed and extra (vortex) lift was obtained, because separation bubble got smaller in both chordwise and spanwise axes with effect of wing-tip vortices. Oil-flow experiments at higher angles of attack clarified the reason for vortex lift obtained from AR = 1 wing. However, there was an increase in drag coefficient as well as vortex lift, and stall delayed due to tip vortex. Turbulence intensity distributions pointed out location of the transition to turbulence; Reynolds stress and turbulence kinetic energy distributions indicated shear layer. Furthermore, in experiments of AR = 3 wing, the viscous forces and leading edge vortices were effective at Re = 2.5 × 104 and Re = 5 × 104, but flow over the wing at Re = 7.5 × 104 acted as a 2D flow. After α = 12°, bubble burst and stall consisted abruptly because effectiveness of 3D flow decreased over wing. Strouhal (St) numbers of vortex shedding frequencies in wake of AR = 3 wing had a certain difference from St = 0.17/sinα curve at lower angle of attack (α = 0° − 10°) due to separation bubble, but AR = 1 wings showed that St numbers were near St = 0.17/sinα curve.

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-Y. Lin ◽  
F.-B. Hsiao

AbstractThis paper experimentally studies flow separation and aerodynamic performance of a NACA633018 wing using a series of piezoelectric-driven disks, which are located at 12% chord length from the leading edge to generate a spanwise-distributed synthetic jets to excite the passing flow. The experiment is conducted in an open-type wind tunnel with Reynolds numbers (Re) of 8 × 104 and 1.2 × 105, respectively, based on the wing chord. The oscillations of the synthetic jet actuators (SJAs) disturb the neighboring passage flow on the upper surface of the wing before the laminar separation takes place. The disturbances of energy influence the downstream development of boundary layers to eliminate or reduce the separation bubble on the upper surface of the wing. Significant lift increase and drag decrease are found at the tested Reynolds number of 8 × 104 due to the actuators excitation. Furthermore, the effect of drag also reduces dominant with increasing Reynolds number, but the increase on lift is reduced with the Reynolds number increased.


1975 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. B. Roberts

Testing over a range of Reynolds numbers was done for three NACA 65 Profiles in cascade. The testing was carried out in the VKI C-1 Low Speed Cascade Wind Tunnel; blade chord Reynolds number was varied from 250,000 to 40,000. A semiempirical theory is developed which will predict the behavior of the shear layer across a laminar separation bubble. The method is proposed for two-dimensional incompressible flow and is applicable down to short bubble bursting. The method can be used to predict the length of the laminar bubble, the bursting Reynolds number, and the development of the shear layer through the separated region. As such it is a practical method for calculating the profile losses of axial compressor and turbine cascades in the presence of laminar separation bubbles. It can also be used to predict the abrupt leading edge stall associated with thin airfoil sections. The predictions made by the method are compared with the available experimental data. The agreement could be considered good. The method was also used to predict regions of laminar separation in converging flows through axial compressor cascades (exterior to the corner vortices) with good results. For Reynolds numbers below bursting the semiempirical theory no longer applies. For this situation the performance of an axial compressor cascade can be computed using an empirical correlation proposed by the author. Comparison of performance prediction with experiment shows satisfactory agreement. Finally, a tentative correlation, based on the NACA Diffusion Factor, is presented that allows a rapid estimation of the bursting Reynolds number of an axial compressor cascade.


2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois Cadieux ◽  
Julian A. Domaradzki ◽  
Taraneh Sayadi ◽  
Sanjeeb Bose

Flows over airfoils and blades in rotating machinery for unmanned and microaerial vehicles, wind turbines, and propellers consist of different flow regimes. A laminar boundary layer near the leading edge is often followed by a laminar separation bubble with a shear layer on top of it that experiences transition to turbulence. The separated turbulent flow then reattaches and evolves downstream from a nonequilibrium turbulent boundary layer to an equilibrium one. Typical Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence modeling methods were shown to be inadequate for such laminar separation bubble flows (Spalart and Strelets, 2000, “Mechanisms of Transition and Heat Transfer in a Separation Bubble,” J. Fluid Mech., 403, pp. 329–349). Direct numerical simulation (DNS) is the most reliable but is also the most computationally expensive alternative. This work assesses the capability of large eddy simulations (LES) to reduce the resolution requirements for such flows. Flow over a flat plate with suitable velocity boundary conditions away from the plate to produce a separation bubble is considered. Benchmark DNS data for this configuration are generated with the resolution of 59 × 106 mesh points; also used is a different DNS database with 15 × 106 points (Spalart and Strelets, 2000, “Mechanisms of Transition and Heat Transfer in a Separation Bubble,” J. Fluid Mech., 403, pp. 329–349). Results confirm that accurate LES are possible using O(1%) of the DNS resolution.


Author(s):  
Mostafa Kazemi ◽  
Parisa Ghanooni ◽  
Mahmoud Mani ◽  
Mohammad Saeedi

In the current research, a series of different combinations of plasma SDBD actuators mounted on a simplified road vehicle have been experimentally studied to find the optimum position of the actuators for controlling the flow separation and reducing the vehicle form drag. Separation point of the flow over the rear ramp, large trailing vortices of the standard model, and laminar separation bubble (LSB) of the rear ramp leading edge are among the most significant factors to be controlled. The experiments were conducted at Reynolds numbers ranging from 0.55 × 106 to 1.11 × 106 in a subsonic wind tunnel while the pressure distribution over the model and its streamwise force balance were accurately measured. Significant drag reduction due to the use of DBD actuators was observed. As such, for the range of tested Reynolds numbers, a maximum of 25.1% of drag reduction in the vehicle drag coefficient could be achieved. The optimum combinations of activation voltages (6, 9, and 12 kV) and wave frequencies (6, 10, and 14 kHz) for plasma actuators were also found. Furthermore, it was observed that SDBD actuators mounted on the rear ramp of the model had a deeper impact on the vehicle drag coefficient compared to the other actuators.


1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Eggleston ◽  
K. Starcher

Flow visualization techniques were used to study the flows over the Enertech 21-5, Carter 25, and Enertech 44-50. Despite centrifugal effects superimposed on the aerodynamics, tufting (gross aerodynamic behavior) and oil flow (average boundary layer behavior), tests reveal the nature and many of the details of the flows involved. Results were compared to expected flow patterns based on angles of attack calculated from the PROPPC code. Chord Reynolds numbers ranged between 75,000 (Enertech 21-5) to 1,340,000 (Enertech 44-50). The typical low Reynolds number flow characteristics of these airfoils, including laminar separation bubbles, turbulent reattachment, and complete separation were observed. Full or partial reattachment due to tower shadow was observed on each machine. Spanwise flow was observed near the leading edge of the Enertech 21-5. Cyclic radial flow from tower dam effect was also noted.


Author(s):  
A Samson ◽  
S Sarkar

This paper describes the dynamics of a laminar separation bubble formed on the semi-circular leading edge of constant thickness aerofoil model. Detailed experimental studies are carried out in a low-speed wind tunnel, where surface pressure and time-averaged velocity in the separated region and as well as in the downstream are presented along with flow field visualisations through PIV for various Reynolds numbers ranging from 25,000 to 75,000 (based on the leading edge diameter). The results illustrate that the separated shear layer is laminar up to 20% of separation length and then the perturbations are amplified in the second half attributing to breakdown and reattachment. The bubble length is highly susceptible to change in Reynolds number and plays an important role in outer layer activities. Further, the transition of a separated shear layer is studied through variation of intermittency factor and comparing with existing correlations available in the literature for attached flow and as well as separated flow. Transition of the separated shear layer occurs through formation of K-H rolls, where the intermittency following spot propagation theory appears valid. The predominant shedding frequency when normalised with respect to the momentum thickness at separation remains almost constant with change in Reynolds number. The relaxation is slow after reattachment and the flow takes about five bubble lengths to approach a canonical layer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 621
Author(s):  
Veerapathiran Thangaraj Gopinathan ◽  
John Bruce Ralphin Rose ◽  
Mohanram Surya

Aerodynamic efficiency of an airplane wing can be improved either by increasing its lift generation tendency or by reducing the drag. Recently, Bio-inspired designs have been received greater attention for the geometric modifications of airplane wings. One of the bio-inspired designs contains sinusoidal Humpback Whale (HW) tubercles, i.e., protuberances exist at the wing leading edge (LE). The tubercles have excellent flow control characteristics at low Reynolds numbers. The present work describes about the effect of tubercles on swept back wing performance at various Angle of Attack (AoA). NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 airfoils are used for swept back wing design with sweep angle about 30°. The modified wings (HUMP 0015 A, HUMP 0015 B, HUMP 4415 A, HUMP 4415 B) are designed with two amplitude to wavelength ratios (η) of 0.1 & 0.24 for the performance analysis. It is a novel effort to analyze the tubercle vortices along the span that induce additional flow energy especially, behind the tubercles peak and trough region. Subsequently, Co-efficient of Lift (CL), Co-efficient of Drag (CD) and boundary layer pressure gradients also predicted for modified and baseline (smooth LE) models in the pre & post-stall regimes. It was observed that the tubercles increase the performance of swept back wings by the enhanced CL/CD ratio in the pre-stall AoA region. Interestingly, the flow separation region behind the centerline of tubercles and formation of Laminar Separation Bubbles (LSB) were asymmetric because of the sweep.


Author(s):  
Michael J. Collison ◽  
Peter X. L. Harley ◽  
Domenico di Cugno

Low speed, small scale turbomachinery operates at low Reynolds number with transition phenomena occurring. In small consumer product applications, high efficiency and low noise are key performance metrics. Transition behaviour will partly determine the state of the boundary layer at the trailing edge; whether it is laminar, turbulent or separated impacts aerodynamic and acoustic performance. This study aimed to evaluate a commercially available CFD transition model on a low Reynolds number Eppler E387 airfoil and identify whether it was able to correctly model the boundary layer transition, and at what expense. CFD was carried out utilising the ANSYS Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω γ-Reθ transition model. The CFD progressed from 2D in Fluent v150, through to single cell thickness 3D (pseudo 2D) in CFX v172. An Eppler E387 low Reynolds number airfoil, for which experimental data was readily available from literature at Re = 200,000 was used as the validation case for the CFD, with results computed at numerous incidence angles and mesh densities. Additionally, experimental surface oil flow visualisation was undertaken in a wind tunnel using a scaled E387 airfoil for the zero incidence case at Re = 50,000. The flow visualisation exhibited the expected key features of transition in the breakdown of the boundary layer from laminar to turbulent, and was used as a validation case for the CFD transition model. The comparison between the results from the CFD transition model and the experimental data from literature suggested varying levels of agreement based on the mesh density and CFD solver in the starting location of the laminar separation bubble, with higher disparity for the position of the reattachment point. Whether 2D or 3D, the prediction accuracy was seen to worsen at high incidence angles. Finally, the location of the laminar separation bubble between CFD and oil flow visualisation had good agreement and a set of guidelines on the mesh parameters which can be applied to low Reynolds number turbomachinery simulations was determined.


Author(s):  
A. D’Ovidio ◽  
J. A. Harkins ◽  
J. P. Gostelow

The study of turbulent spots in strong adverse pressure gradients is of current interest in turbomachinery research. The aim of this investigation is to use information gathered from boundary layer transition and laminar separation, in wind tunnel tests on flat plates, to predict the equivalent phenomena occurring on turbomachinery blade surfaces. In Part 1 turbulent spot behavior was documented for two Reynolds numbers, corresponding to a laminar separation bubble (LSB) and an incipient separation condition (IS). In Part 2 further results are reported characterizing typical spot propagation and spreading rates and serving to validate or modify existing correlations for predicting transition length.


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