Unsteady Flow Separation and High Performance of Airfoil with Local Flexible Structure at Low Reynolds Number

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 699-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng-Fei Lei ◽  
Jia-Zhong Zhang ◽  
Wei Kang ◽  
Sheng Ren ◽  
Le Wang
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Flow Separation ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Energy Transport ◽  
Low Reynolds Number ◽  
Flexible Structure ◽  
Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian ◽  
Aeroelastic System ◽  
Low Reynolds

AbstractThe unsteady flow separation of airfoil with a local flexible structure (LFS) is studied numerically in Lagrangian frames in detail, in order to investigate the nature of its high aerodynamic performance. For such aeroelastic system, the characteristic-based split (CBS) scheme combined with arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) framework is developed firstly for the numerical analysis of unsteady flow, and Galerkin method is used to approach the flexible structure. The local flexible skin of airfoil, which can lead to self-induced oscillations, is considered as unsteady perturbation to the flow. Then, the ensuing high aerodynamic performances and complex unsteady flow separation at low Reynolds number are studied by Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs). The results show that the LFS has a significant influence on the unsteady flow separation, which is the key point for the lift enhancement. Specifically, the oscillations of the LFS can induce the generations of moving separation and vortex, which can enhance the kinetic energy transport from main flow to the boundary layer. The results could give a deep understand of the dynamics in unsteady flow separation and flow control for the flow over airfoil.

On High-Performance Airfoil at Very Low Reynolds Number

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-285
Author(s):  
Katsuya Hirata ◽  
◽  
Ryo Nozawa ◽  
Shogo Kondo ◽  
Kazuki Onishi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Flat Plate ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Reynolds Number ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Aerodynamic Characteristics ◽  
Slow Flow ◽  
Low Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Low Reynolds

[abstFig src='/00280003/02.jpg' width=""300"" text='Iso-Q surfaces of very-slow flow past an iNACA0015' ] The airfoil is often used as the elemental device for flying/swimming robots, determining its basic performances. However, most of the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil have been investigated at Reynolds numbers Re’s more than 106. On the other hand, our knowledge is not enough in low Reynolds-number ranges, in spite of the recent miniaturisation of robots. In the present study, referring to our previous findings (Hirata et al., 2011), we numerically examine three kinds of high-performance airfoils proposed for very-low Reynolds numbers; namely, an iNACA0015 (the NACA0015 placed back to front), an FPBi (a flat plate blended with iNACA0015 as its upper half) and an FPBN (a flat plate blended with the NACA0015 as its upper half), in comparison with such basic airfoils as a NACA0015 and an FP (a flat plate), at a Reynolds number Re = 1.0 × 102 using two- and three-dimensional computations. As a result, the FPBi shows the best performance among the five kinds of airfoils.

A note on the flow coefficients of capillary tube and small orifice restrictors exposed to very low Reynolds number flow

2005 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suat Canbazoğlu ◽  
Fazıl Canbulut
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Capillary Tube ◽  
Low Reynolds Number ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Hydraulic Control ◽  
Capillary Tubes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Control Devices ◽  
Low Reynolds

PurposeThe main objective of this study was to obtain the flow restricting capacity by determining their flow coefficients and to investigate the unsteady flow with low Reynolds number in the flow‐restricting devices such as orifices and capillary tubes having small diameters.Design/methodology/approachThere is an enormous literature on the flow of Newtonian fluids through capillaries and orifices particularly in many application fields of the mechanical and chemical engineering. But most of the experimental results in literature are given for steady flows at moderate and high Reynolds numbers (Re>500). In this study, the unsteady flow at low Reynolds number (10<Re<650) through flow‐restricting devices such as orifices and capillary tubes having very small diameters between 0.35 and 0.70 mm were experimentally investigated.FindingsThe capillary tubes have much more capillarity property with respect to equal diameter orifices. Increasing the ratio of capillary tube length to tube diameter and decreasing the ratio of orifice diameter to pipe diameter before orifice increase the throttling or restricting property of the orifices and the capillary tubes. The orifices can be preferred to the capillary tubes having the same diameter at the same system pressure for the hydraulic systems or circuits requiring small velocity variations. The capillary tubes provide higher pressure losses and they can be also used as hydraulic accumulators in hydraulic control devices to attenuate flow‐induced vibrations because of their large pressure coefficients. An important feature of the results obtained for capillary tubes and small orifices is that as the d/D for orifices increases and the L/d reduces for capillary tubes, higher values C are obtained and the transition from viscous to inertia‐controlled flow appears to take place at lower Reynolds numbers. This may be explained by the fact that for small orifices with high d/D ratios and for capillary tubes with small L/d ratios, the losses due to viscous shear are small. Another important feature of the results is that the least variations in C for small orifices and the higher variations in C for capillary tubes occur when the d/D and L/d ratios are smallest. This has favourable implications in hydraulic control devices since a constant value for the C may be assumed even at relatively low values of Re.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, there is not enough information in the literature about the flow coefficients of unsteady flows through capillary tubes and small orifices at low Reynolds numbers. This paper fulfils this gap.

Unsteady Flow Field of an Axial-Flow Turbine Rotor at a Low Reynolds Number

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayuki Matsunuma
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Low Reynolds Number ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Low Reynolds ◽  
Secondary Vortices

The unsteady flow field of an annular turbine rotor was investigated experimentally using a laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) system. Detailed measurements of the time-averaged and time-resolved distributions of the velocity, flow angle, and turbulence intensity, etc. were carried out at a very low Reynolds number condition, Reout = 3.5 × 104. The data obtained were analyzed from the viewpoints of both an absolute (stationary) frame of reference and a relative (rotating) frame of reference. The effect of the turbine nozzle wake and secondary vortices on the flow field inside the rotor passage was clearly captured. It was found that the nozzle wake and secondary vortices are suddenly distorted at the rotor inlet, because of the rotating potential field of the rotor. The nozzle flow (wake and passage vortices) and the rotor flow (boundary layer, wake, tip leakage vortex, and passage vortices) interact intensively inside the rotor passage.

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