Energy Harvesting in the Wake of An Inverted C-Shaped Bluff Body

This paper proposes a novel wake-induced vibration(WIV)-based energy harvesting system consisting of two bluff bodies.An inverted C-shaped bluff body is stationary installed at the upstream position to generate an interference wake street,and a cylinder bluff body equipped with a transducer is elastically suspended at the downstream position to harness WIV energy.The hydrodynamics and energy harvesting(EH)performance of the proposed system are investigated via experimental studies.The reduced velocity(U*)ranging from 2 to 14(the corresponding Reynolds number ranging from 15100 to 106200)is considered in the present study.It is found that the wake generated by the inverted C-shaped bluff body significantly affects the EH performance.Enlarging the opening angle(α)of the C-shaped bluff body increases the vibration amplitude of the downstream cylinder,thereby increasing the harvested power.When the spacing(L)between two bluff bodies is two times the cylinder diameter(D),the wake-induced vibration(WIV)mode is observed,while the combined WIV and wake galloping(WG)mode occurs whenαis 150°,and L equals 3D or 4D.The average drag coefficient becomes negative when L is 2D,3D,or 4D.By carefully configuring a C-shaped bluff body,the wake generated by it can bring an augmenting effect on the vibration of the downstream EH cylinder.For example,the RMS power output of the proposed EH system reaches a maximum of 0.31 W at U*=8 and L=4D,which is 300%greater than that of its traditional counterpart.Furthermore,after a number of case stud-ies,it is identified that the proposed EH system can achieve the best performance whenαis 150°and L=2D.

Simulation of bluff body stabilized flows with hybrid RANS and PDF method

The motivation of this study is to investigate the turbulence-chemistry interactions by using probability density function （PDF） method. A consistent hybrid Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes （RANS）/PDF method is used to simulate the turbulent non-reacting and reacting flows. The joint fluctuating velocity-frequency-composition PDF equation coupled with the Reynolds averaged density, momentum and energy equations are solved on unstructured meshes by the Lagrangian Monte Carlo （MC） method combined with the finite volume （FV） method. The simulation of the axisymmetric bluff body stabilized non-reacting flow fields is presented in this paper. The calculated length of the recirculation zone is in good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, the significant change of the flow pattern with the increase of the jet-to-coflow momentum flux ratio is well predicted. In addition, comparisons are made between the joint PDF model and two different Reynolds stress models.

Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Swirling Pipe Flow with an Internal Conical Bluff Body

Turbulent swirling flow inside a short pipe interacting with a conical bluff body was simulated using the commercial CFD code Fluent.The geometry used is a simplified version of a novel liquid/gas separator used in multiphase flow metering.Three turbulence models,belonging to the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)equations framework,are used.These are,RNG k-ε,SST k-ωand the full Reynolds stress model(RSM)in their steady and unsteady versions.Steady and unsteady RSM simulations show similar behavior.Compared to other turbulence models,they yield the best predictions of the mean velocity profiles though they exhibit some discrepancies in the core region.The influence of the Reynolds number on velocity profiles,swirl decay,and wall pressure on the bluff body are also presented.For Reynolds numbers generating a Rankine-like velocity profile,the width and magnitude of flow reversal zone decreases along the pipe axis disappearing downstream for lower Reynolds numbers.The tangential velocity peaks increase with increasing Reynolds number.The swirl decay rate follows an exponential form in accordance with the existing literature.These flow features would affect the performance of the real separator and,thus,the multiphase flow meter,noticeably.

Numerical investigations on effects of bluff body in flat plate micro thermo photovoltaic combustor with sudden expansion

In order to reveal combustion characteristics of H_2/air mixture in a micro-combustor with and without bluff body, the effects of inlet velocities, equivalence ratios and bluff body's blockage ratios on the temperature field, pressure of the combustor wall, combustion efficiency and blow-off limit were investigated. The numerical results indicate that the sudden expansion plate micro combustor with bluff body could enhance the turbulent disturbance of the mixed gas in the combustion chamber and the combustion condition is improved. Moreover, a low-speed and high temperature recirculation region was formed between the sudden expansion step and the bluff body so that the high and uniform wall temperature(>1000 K) could be gotten. As a result, it could strengthen the mixing process, prolong the residence time of gas, control the flame position effectively and widen the operation range by the synergistic effect of the bluff body and steps. When the blockage ratio ranged from 0.3 to 0.6, it could be found that the bluff body could play a stabilizing effect and expand combustion blow burning limit, and combustion efficiency firstly was increased with the inlet velocity and equivalence ratio, and then was decreased.

Study on Hydrodynamic Vibration in Dual Bluff Body Vortex Flowmeter

The characteristics of the dual bluff body vortex shedding is investigated, and the possibility to use dual bluff body combinations to strengthen the hydrodynamic vibration around the bluff body objects is explored. The numerical and experimental approaches were utilized to examine the time dependent flow field and the pressure oscillation around the bluff bodies. The numerical data were obtained by the advanced large eddy simulation model. The experiment was conducted on a laboratory scale of Karman vortex flowmeter with 40 mm diameter. It is revealed that the optimized dual bluff body combinations strengthened the hydrodynamic vibration. It was also found that the hydrodynamic vibration with 180° phase difference occurred at the axisymmetric points of circular pipe on the lateral faces of the equilateral triangle-section bluff bodies. Using the dual bluff body configuration and the differential sensing technique, a novel prototype of vortex flowmeter with excellent noise immunity and improved sensibility was developed.

Simulation of vortex shedding behind a bluff body flame stabilizer using a hybrid U-RANS/PDF method

The present study aims at the investigation of the effects of turbulence-chemistry interaction on combus- tion instabilities using a probability density function （PDF） method. The instantaneous quantities in the flow field were decomposed into the Favre-averaged variables and the stochastic fluctuations, which were calculated by unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes （U-RANS） equations and the PDF model, respectively. A joint fluctuating velocity- frequency-composition PDF was used. The governing equa- tions are solved by a consistent hybrid finite volume/Monte- Carlo algorithm on triangular unstructured meshes. A non- reacting flow behind a triangular-shaped bluff body flame stabilizer in a rectilinear combustor was simulated by the present method. The results demonstrate the capability of the present method to capture the large-scale coherent struc- tures. The triple decomposition was performed, by divid- ing the coherent Favre-averaged velocity into time-averaged value and periodical coherent part, to analyze the coherent and incoherent contributions to Reynolds stresses. A sim- ple modification to the coefficients in the turbulent frequency model will help to improve the simulation results. Unsteady flow fields were depicted by streamlines and vorticity con- tours. Moreover, the association between turbulence produc- tion and vorticity saddle points is illustrated.

Recent development of vortex method in incompressible viscous bluff body flows

Vortex methods have been alternative tools of finite element and finite difference methods for several decades. This paper presents a brief review of vortex method development in the last decades and introduces efficient vortex methods developed for high Reynolds number bluff body flows and suitable for running on parallel computer architectures. Included in this study are particle strength exchange methods, core-spreading method, deterministic particle method and hybrid vortex methods. Combined with conservative methods, vortex methods can comprise the most available tools for simulations of three-dimensional complex bluff body flows at high Reynolds numbers.

Investigation of vortical flow over bluff bodies with base cavities

Based on our previous research about drag reduction in term of the base cavity length using two dimensional simulations, this paper describes a numerical study of a bluff body of which the number of base cavities is successively increased and the cavity geometries are also modified to assume different shapes. Here we attempt to find an effective configuration to reduce the drag by increasing the number of base cavities. The numerical simulations examining varied number of base cavities reveal the presence of different strength of vortices in the wake zone which is the reason why the drag coefficients are distinctly different for different cases. In the case with double and triple rectangular cavities, we use the pressure contours snapshots at successive time instants to describe the wake evolution. We further investigate the effect of variable base cavity shapes for a constant cavity length at an identical time instant. A total of two different geometries of base cavities are discussed here： the rectangular and the sinusoidal cavities with sharp and rounded trailing edges, respectively. The numerical results reveal that the for- mer is an effective drag reduction configuration which can produce a significant base pressure recovery corresponding to the strength of the vortices shown in the pressure contour figures. While the latter shows no obvious reduction in drag coefficient and a similar intensity of vortex in the wake zone compared with the unmodified case. Reductions in drag are observed for all the investigated cavity configurations, and additionally it is found that the magnitude of the reduction bears a direct relationship with the number of the cavities up to a certain minimum value.

Comparative assessment of SAS and DES turbulence modeling for massively separated flows

Numerical studies of the flow past a circular cylinder at Reynolds number 1.4 × 105 and NACA0021 airfoil at the angle of attack 60° have been carried out by scale-adaptive simulation （SAS） and detached eddy simu- lation （DES）, in comparison with the existing experimental data. The new version of the model developed by Egorov and Menter is assessed, and advantages and disadvantages of the SAS simulation are analyzed in detail to provide guidance for industrial application in the future. Moreover, the mechanism of the scale-adaptive characteristics in separated regions is discussed, which is obscure in previous analyses. It is con- cluded that： the mean flow properties satisfactorily agree with the experimental results for the SAS simulation, although the prediction of the second order turbulent statistics in the near wake region is just reasonable. The SAS model can produce a larger magnitude of the turbulent kinetic energy in the recir- culation bubble, and, consequently, a smaller recirculation region and a more rapid recovery of the mean velocity out- side the recirculation region than the DES approach with the same grid resolution. The vortex shedding is slightly less irregular with the SAS model than with the DES approach, probably due to the higher dissipation of the SAS simulation under the condition of the coarse mesh.

Flow Past an Accumulator Unit of an Underwater Energy Storage System： Three Touching Balloons in a Floral Configuration

An LES simulation of flow over an accumulator unit of an underwater compressed air energy storage facility was conducted. The accumulator unit consists of three touching underwater balloons arranged in a floral configuration. The structure of the flow was examined via three dimensional iso surfaces of the Q criterion. Vortical cores were observed on the leeward surface of the balloons. The swirling tube flows generated by these vortical cores were depicted through three dimensional path lines. The flow dynamics were visualized via time series snapshots of two dimensional vorticity contours perpendicular to the flow direction; revealing the turbulent swinging motions of the aforementioned shedding-swirling tube flows. The time history of the hydrodynamic loading was presented in terms of lift and drag coefficients. Drag coefficient of each individual balloon in the floral configuration was smaller than that of a single balloon. It was found that the total drag coefficient of the floral unit of three touching balloons, i.e. summation of the drag coefficients of the balloons, is not too much larger than that of a single balloon whereas it provides three times the storage capacity. In addition to its practical significance in designing appropriate foundation and supports, the instantaneous hydrodynamic loading was used to determine the frequency of the turbulent swirling-swinging motions of the shedding vortex tubes; the Strouhal number was found to be larger than that of a single sphere at the same Reynolds number.

NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE FLOW AROUND A CIRCULAR CYLINDER WITH SURFACE SUCTION OR BLOWING USING VORTICITY-VELOCITY METHOD

A vorticity-velocity method was used to study the incompressible viscous fluid flow around a circular cylinder with surface suction or blowing. The resulted high order implicit difference equations were effeciently solved by the modified incomplete LU decomposition conjugate gradient scheme ( MILU-CG). The effects of surface suction or blowing' s position and strength on the vortex structures in the cylinder wake, as well as on the drag and lift forces at Reynoldes number Re = 100 were investigated numerically. The results show that the suction on the shoulder of the cylinder or the blowing on the rear of the cylinder can effeciently suppress the asymmetry of the vortex wake in the transverse direction and greatly reduce the lift force; the suction on the shoulder of the cylinder, when its strength is properly chosen, can reduce the drag force significantly, too.

Quasi-steady aerodynamic characteristics of Terminal Sensitive Bullets with short cylindrical portion

The aerodynamic characteristics are vital for short cylindrical Terminal Sensitive Bullets(TSB)with lowaspect ratio,especially in terminal trajectory.Currently,there is little research in terms of the TSB andshort cylinder with two free ends,and particularly in this trajectory,where the scanning angleβand rollangle a vary over a broad range between 0°and 180.In this work wind tunnel experiments are firstconducted to learn the effects of Reynolds number and scanning angle on aerodynamic parameters forshort cylinder with aspect ratio L/D=1.Similar to infinite cylinder,for the short cylinder with two freeends,the drag crisis phenomenon still exists in the critical regime 1.7×10^(5)≤Re≤6.8×10^(5).Then 3Dsimulations are performed to demonstrate the aerodynamic characteristics of short cylinder and TSBover a broad range of Re,L/D,a and 6.The sensitivity analysis of time step and grid are presented as well.whenβ3=0,for short cylinder,the drag crisis phenomenon was also observed in the simulation,but notas obvious as in the wind tunnel test.In some attitudes,there is an obvious Karman vortexin the wake ofshort cylinder and TSB.The correlation between time-averaged aerodynamic coefficients and L/D,Re,a&l is discussed.The vortex shedding frequency and shear layer behavior are obtained for quasi-steadyand unsteady flow.Finally,the effect of end's shape on drag reduction and vortex shedding frequency isanalyzed.

Flow past a bluff body subjected to lower subcritical Reynolds number

The paper aimed to study the flow structure at the wake of the bluff body with altered blockage ratio(BR)keeping the fixed aspect ratio(AR).The study was conducted by a finite volume technique using commercial software Ansys-Fluent.The CFD analysis of the bluff body is mainly subjected to the lower subcritical Reynolds number range(5000 to 15,000)along with blockage ratio as an important factor.The flow parameters such as drag coefficient,pressure,and kinetic energy variations are analyzed here for the Reynolds number(Re)and BR.It was observed that at fixed Re,t he drag coefficient(C_(D))increases with an increase in the BR while decrease with increasing Re for a fixed value of BR.

Mixing and Recirculation Characteristics of A Double Concentric Burner with Bluff-Body

The concentric bluff-body jet burner is widely used in industrial combustion systems.This kind of burner often generates a considerably complex recirculation zone behind the bluff body.As a result, the fuel often remains in the recirculation zone,achieving stability of flame.This study investigates, by means of experiments,the variations of the aerodynamics as the fluid is injected into a combustion chamber through a double concentric burner with a bluff-body.The observation and measurement of the aerodynamics in our experiment are conducted under a cold flow.The controlled parameters in our experiment are:variations in the blockage ratio of the center bluff body,the cone angle of the bluff body,and the velocity ratio(U_s/U_p)of the secondary jet and primary jet;the injection of helium bubbles into the primary and secondary jets to observe the recirculation zone behind the bluff body;using Tufts for observing the characteristics of corner recirculation zone in a combustion chamber,measuring the average velocity of each point within the aerodynamics by the 5-hole pitot tube;measuring the distribution of static pressure of the combustion chamber walls with a static pressure tap.

Power Source for Wireless Sensors in Pipes

In this paper, we present investigations on energy harvesters for wireless sensors inside pipes. The harvesters are of flexible piezoelectric PVDF （Poly-Vinylidene-Di-Fluoride） and aluminum-foils as electrodes. The layers were stacked alternating on each other and wound to a spool. An LDPE （low-density polyethylene）-film wraps the spool and prevents the inflow of liquids. A ring shaped bluff body was placed inside the pipe to induce turbulence in the fluid stream. As the harvesters have been arranged downstream of the bluffbody, they were forced to oscillate independent of the media. This led to a polarization and a separation of electrical charges. Experiments were carried out in a wind channel as well as in a water pipe. In air, the spool oscillates with a frequency of about 30 Hz, at a wind speed of about 7 m/s. A voltage of about 4 V （peak-peak） was measured. This delivers in case of impedance adjustment power values of about 0.54 p.W. In water, oscillation starts at a speed above 0.6 m/s. The average oscillation frequency is about 18 Hz. At a velocity of 0.74 m/s, a peak-peak-voltage up to about 2.3 V was found. In case of impedance adjustment, the power was about 0.33 μW. This power is stored in a capacitor. Assuming a data transmission unit consumes about 0.2 mWs during one operational period of I s, the duty cycle can be calculated to about 6.2 min for air harvesting and 10.1 min for harvesting in water.

Numerical aerodynamic analysis of bluff bodies at a high Reynolds number with three-dimensional CFD modeling

This paper focuses on numerical simulations of bluff body aerodynamics with three-dimensional CFD(computational fluid dynamics) modeling,where a computational scheme for fluid-structure interactions is implemented.The choice of an appropriate turbulence model for the computational modeling of bluff body aerodynamics using both two-dimensional and three-dimensional CFD numerical simulations is also considered.An efficient mesh control method which employs the mesh deformation technique is proposed to achieve better simulation results.Several long-span deck sections are chosen as examples which were stationary and pitching at a high Reynolds number.With the proposed CFD method and turbulence models,the force coefficients and flutter derivatives thus obtained are compared with the experimental measurement results and computed values completely from commercial software.Finally,a discussion on the effects of oscillation amplitude on the flutter instability of a bluff body is carried out with extended numerical simulations.These numerical analysis results demonstrate that the proposed three-dimensional CFD method,with proper turbulence modeling,has good accuracy and significant benefits for aerodynamic analysis and computational FSI studies of bluff bodies.

Scale adaptive simulation of vortex structures past a square cylinder

The scale adaptive simulation（SAS） turbulence model is evaluated on a turbulent flow past a square cylinder using the open-source CFD package OpenF OAM 2.3.0. Two and three-dimensional simulations are performed to determine global quantities like drag and lift coefficients and Strouhal number in addition to mean and fluctuating velocity profiles in the recirculation and wake regions. SAS model is evaluated against the Shear Stress Transport k-ω（SST） model and also compared with previously reported results based on DES, LES and DNS turbulence approaches. Results show that global quantities along with mean velocity profiles are well-captured by 2-D SAS model. The 3-D SAS model also succeeded in providing comparable results with recently published DES study on Reynolds shear stress and velocity fluctuation components using about 12 times lower computational cost. It is shown that large values of the SAS model constant result in too dissipative behavior, so that proper calibration of the SAS model constant for different turbulent flows is vital.