The unsteady force response of an accelerating flat plate with controlled spanwise bending

The unsteady force response of an accelerating flat plate, subjected to controlled spanwise bending, is investigated experimentally. The flat plate was held normal to the flow (at an angle of attack of $90^{\circ }$ ), and it was dynamically bent along the spanwise direction with the help of internal actuation. Two bending directions were tested. In one case, part of the plate (denoted by flexion ratio) was bent into the incoming flow (the bend-down configuration). In another case, the plate was bent away from the flow (the bend-up configuration). We used two different aspect ratio ( $AR$ ) plates, namely $AR = 2$ and 3. Three acceleration numbers, namely $A_c = 0.57$ , 1.6 and 3.2 (corresponding to dimensional acceleration of 0.036, 0.1 and 0.2 m s $^{-2}$ , respectively) were tested with a fixed terminal Reynolds number (Re) of 18 000. For each acceleration number, three bending durations, namely 1.2, 2.4 and 3.6 s were implemented. The results indicate that the highest impulse was imparted by the highest bending rate (duration 1.2 s) during all three accelerations tested. We show that controlled spanwise bending can significantly change the unsteady force response by manipulating the inertial forces during a start-up manoeuvre. The unsteady forces depend on the vector sum of the forward acceleration and the bending acceleration of the plate. The unsteady drag was augmented when the plate was bent towards the incoming flow. The initial force peaks were significantly reduced when the bending direction was reversed. The development of the edge vortices from the flat plate was measured with the help of particle image velocimetry (PIV) at the 70 % and the 90 % span locations. The PIV measurements were also carried out at the midchord plane closer to the tip region to capture the growth of the tip vortex. The vorticity field calculated from these PIV measurements revealed that controlled bending contributed to a variation in the circulation growth of the edge vortices. During the bend-down case, the circulation growth was faster and the tip vortices stayed closer to the plate. This resulted in increased interaction with the edge vortex at the 90 % span. This interaction was more severe for $AR = 2$ . During the bend-up case, the growth of the edge vortex was delayed, but the vortex grew for a longer time compared with the bend-down case. Finally, a mathematical model is presented which correctly captured the trend of the force histories measured experimentally during both the bend-up and bend-down cases.

Unsteady force measurements on propeller model in cavitation tunnels

Object and purpose of research. This paper discusses longitudinal unsteady force dynamometer for cavitation tunnel tests. The purpose of the study is to improve metrological performance of the dynamometer and extend the scope of its application. Materials and methods. The study is based on metrological parameters of dynamometers and model test data available with KSRC Large Cavitation Tunnel (LCT). Main results. Development, manufacturing, certification and commissioning of longitudinal unsteady force dynamometer based on piezoceramic load cell with improved metrological performance making it applicable for model testing of not only propellers but also other types of marine propulsors. Conclusion. Dynamometer with piezoceramic load cell offers more accurate measurement of unsteady forces, wider band of measurement frequencies, as well as wider spectrum of possible applications and lower susceptibility to interference.

Broadband force spectrum of a pump-jet under inflow turbulence

To clarify the characteristics of unsteady force spectrum of a pump-jet running under inflow turbulent,the turbulence grid and Fourier synthesis method is employed to produce incoming turbulence with spatial flow structure and temporal fluctuation, which is combined with LES (large eddy simulation) to obtain broadband unsteady force spectrum of the pump-jet. The results show that the proposed method could obtain the unsteady force broadband spectrum for duct, stator and rotor. The unsteady force broadband spectrum of the pump-jet is composed of the "hump" around the blade passing frequency and its multiples, the characteristic line spectrum at the stator blade passing frequency and shaft frequency of adjacent stator multiples. With the number of blades increasing, the "hump" becomes more obvious, the characteristic peak changes periodically and reaches the minimum when the number of blades is the number of rotors. Due to the use of the stator and duct, the amplitude of the unsteady force broadband spectrum of the pump-jet is higher than propeller, but the "hump" is not as obvious as propeller. The research is helpful to clarify the unsteady force characteristics of pump-jet induced by turbulence, and provide ideas for the vibration and noise reduction of pump-jet.

Wake optimization of ducted propeller

Object and purpose of research. This paper discusses marine ducted propeller and the ways to ensure its target performance parameters. The purpose of this study was to mitigate unsteady forces on the propeller behind the duct struts. Materials and methods. Analytical estimates of propeller parameters and in-house KSRC methods for numerical simulation of ducted propeller behaviour. Main results. Calculations of effective wake behind duct struts taking into account the flow around hull and its append-ages. Calculations of unsteady forces for a standard propeller operating in this wake. Design of a propeller with increased blade skew. Calculations of unsteady forces for the new propeller in the initial wake. Wake field parameters contributing to mitigation of unsteady forces. Calculations for the new strut shape for wake optimization. Calculations of unsteady force amplitudes for standard propeller in the new wake. Conclusion. Ducted propeller discussed in this study was meant to illustrate how propeller wake properties, like unsteady forces, can be optimized without changing propeller geometry, only by means of curved duct struts.

A Linear Model Analysis of the Unsteady Force Response of a Planing Hull Through Forced Vertical Plane Motion Simulations

The prediction of planing hull motions and accelerations in a seaway is of paramount importance to the design of high-speed craft to ensure comfort and, in extreme cases, the survivability of passengers and crew. The traditional approaches to predicting the motions and accelerations of a displacement vessel generally are not applicable, because the non-linear effects are more significant on planing hulls than displacement ships. No standard practice for predicting motions or accelerations of planing hulls currently exists, nor does a nonlinear model of the hydrodynamic forces that can be derived by simulation. In this study, captive and virtual planar motion mechanism (VPMM) simulations, using an Unsteady RANSE finite volume solver with volume of fluid approach, are performed on the Generic Prismatic Planing Hull (GPPH) to calculate the linearized added mass, damping, and restoring coefficients in heave and pitch. The linearized added mass and damping coefficients are compared to a simplified theory developed by Faltinsen [6], which combines the method of Savitsky [12] and 2D+t strip theory. The non-linearities in all coefficients will be investigated with respect to both motion amplitude and frequency. Nonlinear contributions to the force response are discussed through comparison of the force response predicted by the linear model and force response measured during simulation. Components of the planing hull dynamics that contribute to nonlinearities in the force response are isolated and discussed.

NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF UNSTEADY GASDYNAMIC PROCESSES AT THE LAUNCH OF SOLID-PROPELLANT ROCKETS

The paper presents the results of the methodology developed for calculating unsteady gasdynamic processes occurring at the launch of missiles, in the gas-dynamic paths of rocket engines, and in the external regions. The method accounts for the variation in the geometry of the solidpropellant charge in the course of solid-propellant rocket engine operation and in the geometry of the computational domain at the rocket launch. The analysis of the unsteady force impact of the supersonic jet on the launch surface is carried out. It is shown that the maximum force action is located in the vicinity of the Mach disks of the unperturbed jet. Numerical studies of gasdynamic processes at the launch of a model solid-propellant booster rocket are implemented including the case when the nozzle plug opening is taken into account. The contribution of the thrust force components at the stage of bootstrap operation is assessed. The presence of the plug at the initial stage of the engine start leads to an abrupt change in the thrust and minor fluctuations, which are damped as the pressure in the combustion chamber rises.

Helicopter Rotor Thickness Noise Control Using Unsteady Force Excitation

The low-frequency in-plane thickness noise generating from the displacement of air by rotating blades has an important influence on helicopter detection. An on-blade control technique to reduce thickness noise is developed in this paper based on the principle of sound field cancellation. Following the theoretical study on the mechanism of thickness noise reduction using in-plane unsteady force, a 2-m diameter rotor with an active trailing-edge winglet are designed and tested in a fully anechoic chamber. The winglet installed on the outboard blade is used to generate the unsteady force and anti-noise to counteract the thickness noise. The results demonstrate that effective reduction of thickness noise up to 3 dB is achieved in the front of the rotor when the winglet is under the one-harmonic control with 3 ° of deflection angle. Moreover, the experiments of frequency, amplitude, and phase scanning are carried out to study the parametric effects of winglet motions on noise reduction. The ability of noise reduction is proportional to the deflection amplitude of the winglet in each frequency. The control phase determines where noise can be reduced. There is an optimal phase angle at each frequency to minimize the noise at the observations, and it varies with different frequencies. The relationship among observation position, control phase, and frequency is derived, and the approximate expression of the optimal phase is presented.