Aerodynamic performance enhancement for flapping airfoils by co-flow jet

Introducing active flow control into the design of flapping wing is an effective way to enhance its aerodynamic performance. In this paper, a novel active flow control technology called Co-Flow Jet (CFJ) is applied to flapping airfoils. The effect of CFJ on aerodynamic performance of flapping airfoils at low Reynolds number is numerically investigated using Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulation with Spalart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model. Numerical methods are validated by a NACA6415-based CFJ airfoil case and a S809 pitching airfoil case. Then NACA6415 baseline airfoil and NACA6415-based CFJ airfoil with jet-off and jet-on are simulated in flapping motion, with Reynolds number 70,000 and reduced frequency 0.2. As a result, CFJ airfoils with jet-on generally have better lift and thrust characteristics than baseline airfoils and jet-off airfoil when C_μ is greater than 0.04, which results from the CFJ effect of reducing flow separation by injecting high-energy fluid into boundary layer. Besides, typical kinematic and geometric parameters, including the reduced frequency and the positions of the suction and injection slot, are systematically studied to figure out their influence on aerodynamic performance of the CFJ airfoil. And a variable C_μ jet control strategy is proposed to further improve effective propulsive efficiency. Compared with using constant C_μ, an increase of effective propulsive efficiency by 22.6% has been achieved by using prescribed variable C_μ for NACA6415-based CFJ airfoil at frequency 0.2. This study may provide some guidance to performance enhancement for Flapping wing Micro Air Vehicles (FMAV).     

Experimental study on plasma jet deflection and energy extraction with MHD control

This paper presents an integrated research scheme for vector deflection and energy extraction in a gas plasma jet under Magneto-Hydrodynamic (MHD) control. A MHD-controlled thrust-vector test rig was used to conduct the experimental research. A gas plasma was obtained by injecting ionization seeds of Cs₂CO₃ into the combustion chamber via artificially forced ionization. The effects of the gas temperature and ionization seed mass fraction on the plasma jet deflection and energy extraction were experimentally verified under an applied magnetic field. The experimental results were analyzed theoretically. The results showed that the deflection amplitude of the gas plasma jet and the extracted voltage signal intensity increased with increasing gas temperature and the ionization seed mass fraction. The extracted dynamic voltage signals proved that the ionization seeds of Cs₂CO₃ induced gas ionization at 1173 K. The experiment verified that it is feasible to simultaneously achieve jet deflection and extract energy under the action of an external magnetic field.     

导风轮叶片偏置对高压比串列离心压气机性能的影响

为提升高压比串列离心压气机的性能,借鉴常规一体化离心叶轮中偏置分流叶片的方法,针对某高压比串列离心压气机,应用数值仿真手段分析了串列叶轮中导风轮叶片周向偏置对压气机流场和性能的影响。通过对不同导风轮叶片偏置方案下压气机流场的分析,建立了压气机流动损失与偏置参数的关联性。研究表明:采用较大的偏置参数γ可降低导风轮叶片1前缘的激波强度,改善激波作用导致的泄漏涡破碎和流动分离,但过大或过小的γ方案中导风轮叶顶会出现二次泄漏致使低能流体的掺混损失增加;γ=65%方案压气机综合性能最佳,其压比和效率较γ=50%分别提高了1.5%和1.4%;对于串列离心压气机导风轮叶片周向位置的优化,在避免导风轮叶顶形成较强二次泄漏的前提下,应考虑采用较大的偏置参数γ,同时应防止诱导轮尾迹流体参与导风轮的叶顶泄漏。     

Sensitivity analysis of flowfield modeling parameters upon the flow structure and aerodynamics of an opposing jet over a hypersonic blunt body

Implementation of an opposing jet in design of a hypersonic blunt body significantly modifies the external flowfield and yields a considerable reduction in the aerodynamic drag. This study aims to investigate the effects of flowfield modeling parameters of injection and freestream on the flow structure and aerodynamics of a blunt body with an opposing jet in hypersonic flow. Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model are employed to simulate the intricate jet flow interaction. Through utilizing a Non-Intrusive Polynomial Chaos (NIPC) method to construct surrogates, a functional relation is established between input modeling parameters and output flowfield and aerodynamic quantities in concern. Sobol indices in sensitivity analysis are introduced to represent the relative contribution of each parameter. It is found that variations in modeling parameters produce large variations in the flow structure and aerodynamics. The jet-to-freestream total-pressure ratio, jet Mach number, and freestream Mach number are the major contributors to variation in surface pressure, demonstrating an evident location-dependent behavior. The penetration length of injection, reattachment angle of the shear layer, and aerodynamic drag are also most sensitive to the three crucial parameters above. In comparison, the contributions of freestream temperature, freestream density, and jet total temperature are nearly negligible.     

安全阀性能检测系统的测量不确定度

分析了安全阀性能检测系统中的主要误差因素，对安全阀动作性能和排量系数的测量不确定度进行了初步计算。     

Flow separation control on swept wing with nanosecond pulse driven DBD plasma actuators

A 15° swept wing with dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator is designed.Experimental study of flow separation control with nanosecond pulsed plasma actuation is performed at flow velocity up to 40 m/s. The effects of the actuation frequency and voltage on the aerodynamic performance of the swept wing are evaluated by the balanced force and pressure measurements in the wind tunnel. At last, the performances on separation flow control of the three types of actuators with plane and saw-toothed exposed electrodes are compared. The optimal actuation frequency for the flow separation control on the swept wing is detected, namely the reduced frequency is 0.775, which is different from 2-D airfoil separation control. There exists a threshold voltage for the low swept wing flow control. Before the threshold voltage, as the actuation voltage increases, the control effects become better. The maximum lift is increased by 23.1% with the drag decreased by 22.4% at 14°, compared with the base line. However, the best effects are obtained on actuator with plane exposed electrode in the low-speed experiment and the abilities of saw-toothed actuators are expected to be verified under high-speed conditions.     

Transient simulation of regression rate on thrust regulation process in hybrid rocket motor

The main goal of this paper is to study the characteristics of regression rate of solid grain during thrust regulation process. For this purpose, an unsteady numerical model of regression rate is established. Gas–solid coupling is considered between the solid grain surface and combustion gas.Dynamic mesh is used to simulate the regression process of the solid fuel surface. Based on this model, numerical simulations on a H2O2/HTPB(hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene) hybrid motor have been performed in the flow control process. The simulation results show that under the step change of the oxidizer mass flow rate condition, the regression rate cannot reach a stable value instantly because the flow field requires a short time period to adjust. The regression rate increases with the linear gain of oxidizer mass flow rate, and has a higher slope than the relative inlet function of oxidizer flow rate. A shorter regulation time can cause a higher regression rate during regulation process. The results also show that transient calculation can better simulate the instantaneous regression rate in the operation process.     

Parametric analyses for synthetic jet control on separation and stall over rotor airfoil

Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the effects of synthetic jet control on separation and stall over rotor airfoils. The preconditioned and unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations coupled with a k x shear stream transport turbulence model are employed to accomplish the flowfield simulation of rotor airfoils under jet control. Additionally,a velocity boundary condition modeled by a sinusoidal function is developed to fulfill the perturbation effect of periodic jets. The validity of the present CFD procedure is evaluated by the simulated results of an isolated synthetic jet and the jet control case for airfoil NACA0015. Then, parametric analyses are conducted specifically for an OA213 rotor airfoil to investigate the effects of jet parameters(forcing frequency, jet location and momentum coefficient, jet direction, and distribution of jet arrays) on the control effect of the aerodynamic characteristics of a rotor airfoil. Preliminary results indicate that the efficiency of jet control can be improved with specific frequencies(the best lift-drag ratio at F+= 2.0) and jet angles(40 or 75) when the jets are located near the separation point of the rotor airfoil. Furthermore, as a result of a suitable combination of jet arrays, the lift coefficient of the airfoil can be improved by nearly 100%, and the corresponding drag coefficient decreased by26.5% in comparison with the single point control case.     

Near-wall topological patterns and flow structures over a simplified Danaus plexippus model

Studies on the high-lift mechanisms of butterfly gliding flights shed light on the design of the micro air vehicles. The flow field around a simplified Danaus plexippus model is investigated using the hydrogen bubble visualization and the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) techniques. There are three near-wall topological patterns with different Angles of Attack (AoAs): the separation bubble, the Leading-Edge Vortex (LEV) and the high AoAs flow. For the separation bubble pattern, two saddles and two foci form in the middle of the model. The features of the LEV pattern are the leading-edge separation lines. The topological characteristics of the separation lines are changed by the interaction between the LEV and the Wing-Tip Vortex (WTV). For the high AoAs flow pattern, four unstable foci are found at the forewing and the hindwing respectively. The angle between the trajectory of the WTV and the model increases with increasing AoA even though the slope of the WTV angle versus AoA curve declines at the moderate AoAs.     

Numerical investigation of flow mechanisms of tandem impeller inside a centrifugal compressor

This study numerically investigated a single stage centrifugal compressor ‘‘Radiver’’ with a wedge diffuser and several tandem-designed impellers to explore the flow phenomena within the tandem impeller and the potential to enhance compressor performance. The results demonstrate that tandem design and clocking fraction (λ_s) significantly affects the compressor performance. The compressor stage with tandem impellers of Series A of boundary layer growth interruption alone are observed to have a widely operating range but efficiency and total pressure ratio penalty compared with that of conventional impeller. The tandem impeller with at least the same impeller efficiency as the conventional design is considered as a critical design criteria so that further modification process based on the flow characteristic of tandem impeller is necessary. In order to restrain the inducer wake and exducer shock losses, parameters modification of blade angle and thickness distributions are necessary and the modified tandem impeller of Series B is obtained. The modified tandem impeller with 25% clocking arrangement shows an 8.45% stall margin increase and maintains the total pressure ratio and efficiency as the conventional design, which proves the potential of tandem impeller to improve compressor stage performance. It is noteworthy that the tandem impellers of Radiver have not shown obviously balanced exit flow field and the fundamental mechanism of stall margin extending of tandem impeller lies on the improved impeller/diffuser matching performance resulting from the incidence angle variation at diffuser inlet.