Numerical investigation on the aerodynamic drag reduction based on bottom deflectors and streamlined bogies of a high-speed train

The complex structure of the bottom of a high-speed train is an important source of train aerodynamic drag.Thus,improving the bottom structure is of great significance to reduce the aerodynamic drag of the train.In this study,computational fluid dynamics(CFD)based on three-dimensional steady incompressible Reynolds-average Naiver-Stokes(RANS)equations and Realizable k-ε turbulence model were utilized for numerical simulations.Inspired by the concept of streamlined design and the idea of bottom flow field control,this study iteratively designed the bogies in a streamlined shape and combined them with the bottom deflectors to investigate the joint drag reduction mechanism.Three models,i.e.,single-bogie model,simplified train model,and eight-car high-speed train model,were created and their aerodynamic characteristics were analyzed.The results show that the single-bogie model with streamlined design shows a noticeable drag reduction,whose power bogie and trailer bogie experience 13.92%and 7.63%drag reduction,respectively.The range of positive pressure area on the bogie is reduced.The aerodynamic drag can be further reduced to 15.01%by installing both the streamlined bogie and the deflector on the simplified train model.When the streamlined bogies and deflectors are used on the eight-car model together,the total drag reduction rate reaches 2.90%.Therefore,the proposed aerodynamic kit for the high-speed train bottom is capable to improve the flow structure around the bogie regions,reduce the bottom flow velocity,and narrow the scope of the train’s influence on the surrounding environment,achieving the appreciable reduction of aerodynamic drag.This paper can provide a new idea for the drag reduction of high-speed trains.

Parametric Optimization of Wheel Spoke Structure for Drag Reduction of an Ahmed Body

The wheels have a considerable influence on the aerodynamic properties and can contribute up to 25%of the total drag on modern vehicles.In this study,the effect of the wheel spoke structure on the aerodynamic performance of the isolated wheel is investigated.Subsequently,the 35°Ahmed body with an optimized spoke structure is used to analyze the flow behavior and the mechanism of drag reduction.The Fluent software is employed for this investigation,with an inlet velocity of 40 m/s.The accuracy of the numerical study is validated by comparing it with experimental results obtained from the classical Ahmed model.To gain a clearer understanding of the effects of the wheel spoke parameters on the aerodynamics of both the wheel and Ahmedmodel,and five design variables are proposed:the fillet angleα,the inside arc radius R1,the outside radius R2,and the same length of the chord L1 and L2.These variables characterize the wheel spoke structure.The Optimal Latin Hypercube designmethod is utilized to conduct the experimental design.Based on the simulation results of various wheel spoke designs,the Kriging model and the adaptive simulated annealing algorithm is selected to optimize the design parameters.The objective is to achieve the best combination for maximum drag reduction.It is indicated that the optimized spoke structure resulted in amaximum drag reduction of 5.7%and 4.7%for the drag coefficient of the isolated wheel and Ahmed body,respectively.The drag reduction is primarily attributed to changes in the flow state around the wheel,which suppressed separation bubbles.Additionally,it influenced the boundary layer thickness around the car body and reduced the turbulent kinetic energy in the wake flow.These effects collectively contributed to the observed drag reduction.

Airfoil friction drag reduction based on grid-type and super-dense array plasma actuators

To improve the cruise flight performance of aircraft, two new configurations of plasma actuators(grid-type and super-dense array) were investigated to reduce the turbulent skin friction drag of a low-speed airfoil. The induced jet characteristics of the two actuators in quiescent air were diagnosed with high-speed particle image velocimetry(PIV), and their drag reduction efficiencies were examined under different operating conditions in a wind tunnel. The results showed that the grid-type plasma actuator was capable of producing a wall-normal jet array(peak magnitude: 1.07 m/s) similar to that generated in a micro-blowing technique, while the superdense array plasma actuator created a wavy wall-parallel jet(magnitude: 0.94 m/s) due to the discrete spanwise electrostatic forces. Under a comparable electrical power consumption level,the super-dense array plasma actuator array significantly outperformed the grid-type configuration,reducing the total airfoil friction drag by approximately 22% at a free-stream velocity of 20 m/s.The magnitude of drag reduction was proportional to the dimensionless jet velocity ratio(r), and a threshold r = 0.014 existed under which little impact on airfoil drag could be discerned.

Effects of Crosswise Appendage Plate Flexibility on the Drag Reduction Characteristics of Cylinder

In engineering applications (Like an ocean riser), fluid flow around bluff bodies generates substantial resistance, which can jeopardize structural integrity, lifespan, and escalate resource consumption. Therefore, employing drag reduction measures becomes particularly crucial. This paper employs the immersed boundary method to investigate the impact of transversely oriented appendage plate flexibility on the drag of cylinders under different Reynolds numbers and distances. The results indicate that flexible appendage plate exerts drag reduction effects on the downstream cylinder, with this effect gradually diminishing as Reynolds numbers increase. At identical Reynolds numbers, the drag reduction effect initially increases and then decreases with distance, with the optimal drag reduction distance observed at D = 2.5. Compared to cylinders without appendage plate, the maximum drag reduction achieved is 30.551%. Addressing the drag reduction issue in cylinders holds significant importance for ensuring engineering structural integrity, enhancing engineering efficiency, and developing novel underwater towing systems.

Nanoparticle-induced drag reduction for polyacrylamide in turbulent flow with high Reynolds numbers

Although having been increasingly studied, there is still controversy as to when the addition of nanoparticles could improve the drag reduction performance of polymer drag reducer and particularly what is the underlying mechanism from the fluid dynamics viewpoint. The drag reduction effects of adding SiO_(2) nanoparticles to various polymer polyacrylamide(PAM) solutions were examined in this work.The optimal combination of SiO_(2) nanoparticles with cationic polyacrylamide was confirmed.Interestingly,the addition of SiO_(2) nanoparticles to cationic polyacrylamide solution was shown to be quite efficient for reducing drag, but only at higher flow rates with Reynolds numbers more than 6000, below which the nanoparticle addition is even negative. The addition of SiO_(2) nanoparticles to the PAM solution is supposed to play a dual role. The first is an increase in flow resistance caused by the Brownian motion of nanoparticles, while the second is a decrease in flow resistance caused by acting as nodes to protect the polymer chain from shear-induced breaking under high shear action. At optimal nanoparticle concentration and under higher Reynolds numbers, the later effect is dominant, which could improve the drag reduction performance of polymer drag reducers. Our work should serve as a guide for the application of natural gas fracturing, where the flow rate is frequently very high.

TRANSONIC DRAG REDUCTION ON SUPERCRITICAL WING SECTION USING SHOCK CONTROL BUMPS

Two-dimensional and three-dimensional shock control contour bumps are designed for a supercritical wing section with the aim of transonic wave drag reduction. The supercritical airfoil （NASA SC （02）-0714） is selected considering the fact that most modern jet transport aircrafts that operate in the transonic flow regime （cruise at transonic speeds） employ supercritical airfoil sections. Here it is to be noted that a decrease in the transonic wave drag without loss in lift would result in an increased lift to drag ratio, which is a key range parameter that can potentially increase both the range and endurance of the aircraft. The major geometric bump parameters such as length, height and span are altered for both the two-dimensional and three-dimensional bumps in order to obtain the optimum location and shape of the bump. Once an optimum standalone three-dimensional bump is acquired, an array of bumps is manually placed spanwise of an unswept supercritical wing and analyzed under fully turbulent flow conditions. Different configurations are tested with varying three-dimensional bump spacing in order to determine the contribution of bump spacing on overall performance. The results show a 14% drag reduction and a consequent 16% lift to drag ratio rise at the design Mach number for the optimum arrangement of bumps along the wing span.

Aerodynamic drag reduction of heavy vehicles using append devices by CFD analysis

Improving vehicle fuel consumption,performance and aerodynamic efficiency by drag reduction especially in heavy vehicles is one of the indispensable issues of automotive industry.In this work,the effects of adding append devices like deflector and cab vane corner on heavy commercial vehicle drag reduction were investigated.For this purpose,the vehicle body structure was modeled with various supplementary parts at the first stage.Then,computational fluid dynamic(CFD) analysis was utilized for each case to enhance the optimal aerodynamic structure at different longitudinal speeds for heavy commercial vehicles.The results show that the most effective supplementary part is deflector,and by adding this part,the drag coefficient is decreased considerably at an optimum angle.By adding two cab vane corners at both frontal edges of cab,a significant drag reduction is noticed.Back vanes and base flaps are simple plates which can be added at the top and side end of container and at the bottom with specific angle respectively to direct the flow and prevent the turbulence.Through the analysis of airflow and pressure distribution,the results reveal that the cab vane reduces fuel consumption and drag coefficient by up to 20 % receptively using proper deflector angle.Finally,by adding all supplementary parts at their optimized positions,41% drag reduction is obtained compared to the simple model.

Experimental demonstration of a new concept of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles

A new idea of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles is proposed based on the combination of a physical spike and lateral jets for shockreconstruction. The spike recasts the bow shock in front of a blunt body into a conical shock, and the lateral jets work to protect the spike tip from overheating and to push the conical shock away from the blunt body when a pitching angle exists during flight. Experiments are conducted in a hypersonic wind tunnel at a nominal Mach number of 6. It is demonstrated that the shock/shock interaction on the blunt body is avoided due to injection and the peak pressure at the reattachment point is reduced by 70% under a 4° attack angle.

The Mechanism of Drag Reduction around Bodies of Revolution Using Bionic Non-Smooth Surfaces

Bionic non-smooth surfaces （BNSS） can reduce drag. Much attention has been paid to the mechanism of shear stress reduction by riblets. The mechanism of pressure force reduction by bionic non-smooth surfaces on bodies of revolution has not been well investigated. In this work CFD simulation has revealed the mechanism of drag reduction by BNSS, which may work in three ways. First, BNSS on bodies of revolution may lower the surface velocity of the medium, which prevents the sudden speed up of air on the cross section. So the bottom pressure of the model would not be disturbed sharply, resulting in less energy loss and drag reduction. Second, the magnitude of vorticity induced by the bionic model becomes smaller because, due to the sculpturing, the growth of tiny air bubbles is avoided. Thus the large moment of inertia induced by large air bubble is reduced. The reduction of the vorticity could reduce the dissipation of the eddy. So the pressure force could also be reduced. Third, the thickness of the momentum layer on the model becomes less which, according to the relationship between the drag coefficient and the momentum thickness, reduces drag.

Drag reduction behavior of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide/xanthan gum mixed polymer solutions

Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide（HPAM）as the main component of slickwater fracturing fluid is a shear-sensitive polymer,which suffers from mechanical degradation at turbulent flow rates.Five different concentrations of HPAM as well as mixtures of polyacrylamide/xanthan gum were prepared to investigate the possibility of improving shear stability of HPAM.Drag reduction（DR）measurements were performed in a closed flow loop.For HPAM solutions,the extent of DR increased from 30%to67%with increasing HPAM concentration from 100 to1000 wppm.All the HPAM solutions suffered from mechanical degradation and loss of DR efficiency over the shearing period.Results indicated that the resistance to shear degradation increased with increasing polymer concentration.DR efficiency of 600 wppm xanthan gum（XG）was 38%,indicating that XG was not as good a drag reducer as HPAM.But with only 6%DR decline,XG solution exhibited a better shear stability compared to HPAM solutions.Mixed HPAM/XG solutions initially exhibited greater DR（40%and 55%）compared to XG,but due to shear degradation,DR%dropped for HPAM/XG solutions.Compared to 200 wppm HPAM solution,addition of XG did not improve the drag reduction efficiency of HPAM/XG mixed solutions though XG slightly improved the resistance against mechanical degradation in HPAM/XG mixed polymer solutions.

Role of on-board discharge in shock wave drag reduction and plasma cloaking

In the present paper, a physical model is proposed for reducing the problem of the drag reduction of an attached bow shock around the nose of a high-speed vehicle with on-board discharge, to the problem of a balance between the magnetic pressure and gas pressure of plane shock of a partially ionized gas consisting of the environmental gas around the nose of the vehicle and the on-board discharge-produced plasma. The relation between the shock strength and the discharge-induced magnetic pressure is studied by means of a set of one-fluid, hydromagnetic equations reformed for the present purpose, where the discharge-induced magnetic field consists of the electron current （produced by the discharge）-induced magnetic field and the partially ionized gas flow-induced one. A formula for the relation between the above parameters is derived. It shows that the discharge-induced magnetic pressure can minimize the shock strength, successfully explaining the two recent experimental observations on attached bow shock mitigation and elimination in a supersonic flow during on-board discharge [Phys. Plasmas 9 （2002） 721 and Phys. Plasmas 7 （2000） 1345]. In addition, the formula implies that the shock elimination leaves room for a layer of higher-density plasma rampart moving around the nose of the vehicle, being favourable to the plasma radar cloaking of the vehicle. The reason for it is expounded.

Micro-bubble Drag Reduction on a High Speed Vessel Model

Ship hull form of the underwater area strongly influences the resistance of the ship. The major factor in ship resistance is skin friction resistance. Bulbous bows, polymer paint, water repellent paint （highly water-repellent wall）, air injection, and specific roughness have been used by researchers as an attempt to obtain the resistance reduction and operation efficiency of ships. Micro-bubble injection is a promising technique for lowering frictional resistance. The injected air bubbles are supposed to somehow modify the energy inside the turbulent boundary layer and thereby lower the skin friction. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of injected micro bubbles on a navy fast patrol boat （FPB） 57 m type model with the following main dimensions： L=2 450 ram, B=400 mm, and T=190 mm. The influence of the location of micro bubble injection and bubble velocity was also investigated. The ship model was pulled by an electric motor whose speed could be varied and adjusted. The ship model resistance was precisely measured by a load cell transducer. Comparison of ship resistance with and without micro-bubble injection was shown on a graph as a function of the drag coefficient and Froude number. It was shown that micro bubble injection behind the mid-ship is the best location to achieve the most effective drag reduction, and the drag reduction caused by the micro-bubbles can reach 6%-9%.

Stability and Drag Reduction in Transient Channel Flow of Fibre Suspension

Drag reduction features in the transition regime of channel flow with fibre suspension were analyzed in terms of the linear stability theory. The modified stability equation was obtained based on the slender-body theory and natural closure approximation. Results of the stability analysis show attenuating effects of fibre additives to the flow instability. For the cases leading to transition, drag reduction rate increases with the characteristic parameter H of fibres. The mechanism of drag reduction by fibres is revealed through the variation of velocity profile and the decrease of wall shear stress. The theoretical results are qualitatively consistent with some typical experiments.

Active control of turbulence for drag reduction based on the detection of near-wall streamwise vortices by wall information

The spatial relations between the measurable wall quantities （streamwise shear stress τwx, spanwise shear stress τwz, and pressure fluctuations Pw） and the near-wall streamwise vortices （NWSV） are investigated via direct numerical simulation （DNS） databases of fully developed turbulent channel flow at a low Reynolds number. In the stan- dard turbulent channel flow, the results show that all the wall measurable variables are closely associated with the NWSV. But after applying a stochastic interference, the relation based on τwx breaks down while the correlations based on Pw and τwz are still robust. Hence, two wall flow quantities based on Pw and τwz are proposed to detect the NWSV. As an appli- cation, two new control schemes are developed to suppress the near-wall vortical structures using the actuation of wall blowing/suction and obtain 16 % and 11% drag reduction, respectively.

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS(CFD) SIMULATIONS OF DRAG REDUCTION WITH PERIODIC MICRO-STRUCTURED WALL

Computational fluid dynamics（CFD） simulations are adopted to investigate rectangular microchannel flows with various periodic micro-structured wall by introducing velocity slip boundary condition at low Reynolds number. The purpose of the current study is to numerically find out the effects of periodic micro-structured wall on the flow resistance in rectangular microchannel with the different spacings between microridges ranging from 15 to 60 pm. The simulative results indicate that pressure drop with different spacing between microridges increases linearly with flow velocity and decreases monotonically with slip velocity; Pressure drop reduction also increases with the spacing between microridges at the same condition of slip velocity and flow velocity. The results of numerical simulation are compared with theoretical predictions and experimental results in the literatures. It is found that there is qualitative agreement between them.

Experiment about Drag Reduction of Bionic Non-smooth Surface in Low Speed Wind Tunnel

The body surface of some organisms has non-smooth structure, which is related to drag reduction in moving fluid. To imitate these structures, models with a non-smooth surface were made. In order to find a relationship between drag reduction and the non-smooth surface, an orthogonal design test was employed in a low speed wind tunnel. Six factors likely to influence drag reduction were considered, and each factor tested at three levels. The six factors were the configuration, diameter/bottom width, height/depth, distribution, the arrangement of the rough structures on the experimental model and the wind speed. It was shown that the non-smooth surface causes drag reduction and the distribution of non-smooth structures on the model, and wind speed, are the predominant factors affecting drag reduction. Using analysis of variance, the optimal combination and levels were obtained, which were a wind speed of 44 m/s, distribution of the non-smooth structure on the tail of the experimental model, the configuration of riblets, diameter/bottom width of i mm, height/depth of 0.5 mm, arranged in a rhombic formation. At the optimal combination mentioned above, the 99% confidence interval for drag reduction was 11.13% to 22.30%.

Drag reduction and shear resistance properties of ionomer and hydrogen bond systems based on lauryl methacrylate

Based on molecular dynamics simulation results, a lauryl methacrylate polymer with drag reduction and shear resistance properties was designed, and synthesized by emulsion polymerization using 2-vinyl pyridine and methyl methacrylate as the polar polymerization monomer. After ionization of lauryl methacrylate polymer, an ion-dipole interaction based drag reduction agent （DRA） was obtained. The existence of ion-dipole interaction was proven through characterization of the drag-reducing agent from its infrared （IR） spectrum. The pilot-scale reaction yield of the DRA under optimum conditions was investigated, and the drag reduction and shear resistance properties were measured. The results show that： l） The ion-dipole or hydrogen bonding interaction can form ladder-shaped chains, therefore the synthesized DRA has shear resistance properties; 2） The larger the molecular weight （MW） and more concentrated the distribution of MW, the better the drag reduction efficiency and the performance of the ionomer system was superior to that of the hydrogen bonding system; 3） With increasing shear frequency, the drag-reduction rates of both the DRAs decreased, and the drag reduction rate of the ionomer system decreased more slowly than of the corresponding hydrogen bonding system. From the point of view of drag reduction rate and shear resistance property, the ionomer system is more promising than the hydrogen bonding system

Drag Reduction in a Swimming Humboldt Penguin, Spheniscus Humboldti, when the Boundary Layer is Turbulent

An area of protruding feathers found around the beak of many penguin species is thought to induce a turbulent boun~dary layer whilst swimming. Hydrodynamic tests on a model Humboldt penguin, Spheniscus humboldti, suggest that induced turbulence causes a significant reduction in boundary layer height, flow separation, and an average of 31 % reduction in drag (1.0 m/s to 4.5 m/s). Visualisation of surface flow showed it to follow the body profile, over the feet and tail, before separating. Movement of the feet in swimming penguins correlates with steering of the bird. Induced turbulence may therefore further increase swimming efficiency by reducing the amount of foot movement required to direct the swimming bird.

Experimental investigation on drag reduction in a turbulent boundary layer with a submerged synthetic jet

This work investigates the active control of a fully developed turbulent boundary layer by a submerged synthetic jet actuator.The impacts of the control are explored by measuring the streamwise velocities using particle image velocimetry,and reduction of the skin-friction drag is observed in a certain range downstream of the orifice.The coherent structure is defined and extracted using a spatial two-point correlation function,and it is found that the synthetic jet can efficiently reduce the streamwise scale of the coherent structure.Proper orthogonal decomposition analysis reveals that large-scale turbulent kinetic energy is significantly attenuated with the introduction of a synthetic jet.The conditional averaging results show that the induction effect of the prograde vortex on the low-speed fluid in a large-scale fluctuation velocity field is deadened,thereby suppressing the bursting process near the wall.

Rheological and drag reduction properties of hydroxypropyl xanthan gum solutions

Hydroxypropyl xanthan gum(HXG) was prepared from xanthan gum(XG) and propylene oxide under alkaline condition. Rheological and drag reduction properties of different concentrations of aqueous HXG and XG solution were studied. The micro-structure network of HXG and XG solutions was investigated by Cryo-FESEM. The results showed that HXG and XG solutions could exhibit shear thinning property. The apparent viscosity of6 g·L-1HXG solution was 1.25 times more than that of 6 g·L-1XG solution. The storage modulus G′ and the loss modulus G″ of HXG solutions were greater than those of XG solutions, and thixotropic and viscoelastic properties were more significant in HXG solutions. The HXG and XG solutions reduced the pressure drop of straight pipe, and the maximum drag reduction of 1 g·L-1HXG and XG in smooth tube reached 72.8% and 68.1%, respectively. Drag reduction rate was increased as the concentration increased. The HXG solution may become a new polymeric drag reducer.