Effect of leading-edge tubercles on the flow over low-aspect-ratio wings at low Reynolds number

Two-dimensional time-resolved particle image velocimetry(TR-PIV)and stereographic particle image velocimetry(SPIV)techniques were used to investigate the effect of leading-edge tubercles on the flow over low-aspect-ratio wing models.The angle of attack is fixed at 10°,and the Reynolds number based on chord length is 5.8×10^(3).It is shown that the leading-edge tubercles can effectively mitigate flow separation in the model and also reduce the contribution of wake vortex to the fluctuating energy of flow.Counter-rotating vortex pairs(CVPs)initiated from the peak of leading-edge tubercles can promote nearby momentum exchange,enhance mixing of the flow and increase the energy contained in the boundary layer,which results in resisting the larger adverse pressure gradient.Therefore,it is concluded that CVPs play an important role in mitigating the flow separation for wings with leading-edge tubercles.

Leading-edge receptivity of boundary layer to three-dimensional free-stream turbulence

The laminar-turbulent transition has always been a hot topic of fluid mechanics. Receptivity is the initial stage and plays a crucial role in the entire transition process. The previous studies of receptivity focus on external disturbances such as sound waves and vortices in the free stream, whereas those on the leading-edge receptivity to the three-dimensional free-stream turbulence (FST), which is more general in the nature, are rarely reported. In consideration of this, this work is devoted to investigating the receptivity process of three-dimensional Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) wave packets excited by the three-dimensional FST in a flat-plate boundary layer numerically. The relations between the leading-edge receptivity and the turbulence intensity are established, and the influence of the FST directions on the propagation directions and group velocities of the excited T-S wave packets is studied. Moreover, the leading-edge receptivity to the anisotropic FST is also studied. This parametric investigation can contribute to the prediction of laminar-turbulent transition.

Design optimization and testing of a morphing leading-edge with a variable-thickness compliant skin and a closed-chain mechanism

Climate warming and the increased demand in air travels motivate the aviation industry to urgently produce technological innovations.One of the most promising innovations is based on the smoothly continuous morphing leading-edge concept.This study proposes a two-step process for the design of a morphing leading-edge,including the optimization of the outer variable-thickness composite compliant skin and the optimization of the inner kinematic mechanism.For the compliant skin design,an optimization of the variable thickness composite skin is proposed based on a laminate continuity model,with laminate continuity constraint and other manufacturing constraints.The laminate continuity model utilizes a guiding sequence and a ply-drop sequence to describe the overall stacking sequence of plies in different thickness regions of the complaint skin.For the inner kinematic mechanism design,a coupled four-bar linkage system is proposed and optimized to produce specific trajectories at the actuation points on the stringer hats of the compliant skin,which ensures that the compliant skin can be deflected into the aerodynamically optimal profile.Finally,a morphing leading-edge is manufactured and tested.Experimental results are compared with numerical predictions,confirming the feasibility of the morphing leading-edge concept and the overall proposed design approach.

Aerodynamic characteristics of a pitching airfoil with leading-edge morphing

This paper focuses on the effect of the phase offset of Leading-Edge(LE)morphing on the aerodynamic characteristics of a pitching NACA0012 airfoil.Assuming an unstretched camber and using polynomial interpolation,an explicit expression for LE nonlinear morphing is proposed and implemented for the large pitching motion of the airfoil.Flow field results and aerodynamic forces are obtained by solving the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for both the airfoil’s pitching motion and LE morphing.Furthermore,the index of instantaneous aerodynamic power is used to quantify the work done by the airflow in a dynamic process.According to the instantaneous aerodynamic power and energy map,which denotes the energy transfer between the airfoil’s oscillation and flow field,the airfoil is subject to stall flutter.The results show that LE morphing with an optimal phase offset of 315°reduces the energy extraction from the flow field,suppressing the stall flutter instability.This optimal phase offset is effective at different pitching axis positions of the airfoil.The results signify that LE morphing can suppress stall flutter by advancing the occurrence of the first LE vortex and increasing the nose-down moment during the upstroke period.

Investigation of non-uniform leading-edge tubercles in compressor cascade:Based on multi-objective optimization and data mining

Corner stall receives noticeable attention in the aeroengine field as an important phenomenon in highly-load compressors.Non-uniform leading-edge tubercles,as an effective method to delay stall,are introduced into the compressor.In this paper,the shape of leading-edge tubercles was controlled by a third-order Fourier function.To judge corner stall,a more precise stall indicator for compressor cascade with flow control methods was defined.Besides,the total kinetic energy of the secondary flow at large incidence was adopted as a parameter for stall evaluation to save computing resources.The results of multiobjective optimization reveal that the loss coefficient exhibited negligible variation at design incidence,while the total kinetic energy of secondary flow showed a significant reduction at large incidence,resulting in a substantial increase in stall incidence.In the optimal profiling cases,the stall incidencewas delayed from 7.9°to 11.6°.The major purpose of the research is to provide proper design guidelines for nonuniformleading-edge tubercles and uncover the flow controlmechanisms of leading-edge profiling.Hence,the geometric features that meet different optimization objectives were extracted through geometric analysis near the Pareto Front and through Self-OrganizingMap(SOM)dataminingmethods in the optimization database.Besides,flow field analysis reveals the flow control mechanism of leading-edge tubercles.The convex-concave-convex structure at the 0%-70%blade height region can form two branches of leading-edge vortex pairs that are opposite in the rotation direction to the passage vortex.The two branches of leading-edge vortex pairs mixed with the leading-edge separation vortex to form two stronger mixed vortices,which can effectively suppress the development of passage vortex and delay stall incidence.

Numerical investigation of particle deposition on converging slot-hole film-cooled wall

Numerical research on the dilute particles movement and deposition characteristics in the vicinity of converging slot-hole(console) was carried out, and the effect of hole shape on the particle deposition characteristics was investigated. The EI-Batsh deposition model was used to predict the particle deposition characteristics. The results show that the console hole has an obvious advantage in reducing particle deposition in comparison with cylindrical hole, especially under higher blowing ratio. The coolant jet from console holes can cover the wall well. Furthermore, the rotation direction of vortices near console hole is contrary to that near cylindrical hole. For console holes, particle deposition mainly takes place in the upstream area of the holes.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION FOR THE EFFECT OF ROTATION ON THREE-DIMENSIONAL FLOW FIELD IN FILM-COOLED TURBINE

An experimental investigation of three-dimensional flow field in a film-cooled turbine model is carried out by using particle image velocimeter （PIV） in a low-speed wind tunnel. The effects of different blowing ratios （M=1.5, 2） on the flow field are studied. The experimental results reveal the classical phenomena of the formation of kidney vortex pair and secondary flow in wake region behind the jet hole. And the changes of the kidney vortex pair and the wake at different locations away from the hole on the suction and pressure sides are also studied. Compared with the flow field in stationary cascade, there are centrifugal force and Coriolis force existing in the flow field of rotating turbine, and these forces bring the radial velocity in the jet flow. The effect of rotatien on the flow field of the pressure side is more distinct than that on the suction side from the measured flow fields in Y-Z plane and radial velocity contours. The increase of blowing ratio makes the kidney vortex pair and the secondary flow in the wake region stronger and makes the range of the wake region enlarged.

Influences of Leading-Edge Tubercle Amplitude on Airfoil Flow Field

The influences of leading-edge tubercle amplitude on airfoil flow field have been analyzed at high angle of attack.The accuracy of a large eddy simulation(LES)research is validated through quantitative comparisons with corresponding experimental results.Then,a proper orthogonal decomposition(POD)analysis has been carried out based on the unsteady flow field and the fluid mechanisms of corresponding POD modes have been identified.Consequently,the influences of leading-edge tubercle amplitude have been uncovered.Since the streamwise vorticity is larger than that of small amplitude cases,the momentum transfer process at peaks is more obvious for large amplitude,leading to delayed flow separation.Both amplitude and wavelength play important roles in the generation of laminar separation bubble(LSB)at troughs.Moreover,the Karman vortex shedding process takes place at specific trough sections as pairs of periodic spatial structures exist in the dominant POD modes.The destruction of Karman vortex shedding process is strengthened along with the increase of amplitude.

基于光场成像技术的气膜冷却孔几何参数检测

In a high thrust-weight-ratio aero-engine,turbine blades are exposed to extremely high temperature and pressure which sets higher demands in the blade cooling technology.To boost film-cooling effectiveness,an accurate,efficient,and all-sided inspection of film cooling holes is urgently requested to ensure the quality of turbine blades.The tiny size of film-cooling holes adds to extreme difficulties in the inspection process both by contact and non-contact measurement.This paper proposed a non-contact measuring technique to cope with the inspection of turbine blades.A specially designed light-field camera with a small field of view and proper depth of field is applied to resolve a 3D geometry of film cooling holes.The technique uses one light field camera to capture images of the blade surface.3D lightfield reconstruction algoritm is applied and point cloud of the blade is generated.Due to the compactness of the non-contact single light-field imaging system,information inside the holes becomes attainable.By precisely controlling the relative pose of the camera to the blade surface,the device can obtain hole diamter and outlet angle with an accuracy of±0.03mm and±1°17’respectively.The average time consumed for reconstructing one film cooling hole is about 5 seconds.

Particle-Image Velocimetry and Force Measurements of Leading-Edge Serrations on Owl-Based Wing Models

High-resolution Particle-Image Velocimetry （PIV） and time-resolved force measurements were performed to analyze the impact of the comb-like structure on the leading edge of barn owl wings on the flow field and overall aerodynamic performance. The Reynolds number was varied in the range of 40,000 to 120,000 and the range of angle of attack was 0° to 6° for the PIV and -15° to ＋20° for the force measurements to cover the full flight envelope of the owl. As a reference, a wind-tunnel model which possessed a geometry based on the shape of a typical barn owl wing without any owl-specific adaptations was built, and measurements were performed in the aforementioned Reynolds number and angle of attack： range. This clean wing model shows a separation bubble in the distal part of the wing at higher angles of attack. Two types of comb-like structures, i.e., artificial serrations, were manufactured to model the owl＇s leading edge with respect to its length, thickness, and material properties. The artificial structures were able to reduce the size of the separation region and additionally cause a more uniform size of the vortical structures shed by the separation bubble within the Reynolds number range investigated, resulting in stable gliding flight independent of the flight velocity. However, due to increased drag coefficients in conjunction with similar lift coefficients, the overall aerodynamic performance, i.e., lift-to-drag ratio is reduced for the serrated models. Nevertheless, especially at lower Reynolds numbers the stabilizing effect of the uniform vortex size outperforms the lower aerodynamic performance.

Aerodynamic characteristics of morphing wing withflexible leading-edge

The morphing wing can improve the flight performance during different phases.However,research has been subject to limitations in aerodynamic characteristics of the morphing wing with a flexible leading-edge.The computational fluid dynamic method and dynamic mesh were used to simulate the continuous morphing of the flexible leading-edge.After comparing the steady aerodynamic characteristics of morphing and conventional wings,this study examined the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of morphing wings with upward and downward deflections of the leading-edge at different frequencies.The numerical results show that for the steady aerodynamic,the leading-edge deflection mainly affects the stall characteristic.The downward deflection of the leading-edge increases the stall angle of attack and nose-down pitching moment.The results are opposite for the upward deflection.For the unsteady aerodynamic,at a small angle of attack,the transient lift coefficient of the upward deflection,growing with the increase of deflection frequency,is larger than that of the static case.The transient lift coefficient of the downward deflection,decreasing with the increase of deflection frequency,is smaller than that of the static case.However,at a large angle of attack,an opposite effect of deflection frequency on the transient lift coefficient was demonstrated.The transient lift coefficient is larger than that of the static case when the leading edge is in the nose-up stage,and lower than that of the static one in the nose-down stage.

Machining of a film-cooling hole in a single-crystal superalloy by high-speed electrochemical discharge drilling

Single-crystal superalloys are typical advanced materials used for manufacturing aero- engine turbine blades. Their unique characteristics of high hardness and strength make them exceedingly difficult to machine. However, a key structure of a turbine blade, the film-cooling hole, needs to be machined in a single-crystal superalloy; such machining is challenging, especially considering the increasing levels of machining efficiency and quality demanded by the aeroengine industry. Tube electrode high-speed electrochemical discharge drilling （TSECDD）, a hybrid technique of high-speed electrical discharge drilling and electrochemical machining, provides high machining efficiency and accuracy, as well as eliminating the recast layer. In this study, TSECDD is used to machine a film-cooling hole in a nickel-based single-crystal superalloy （DD6）. The Tagu- chi methods of experiment are used to optimise the machining parameters. Experimental results show that TSECDD can effectively drill the film-cooling hole; the optimum parameters that give the best performance are as follows： pulse duration： 12μs, pulse interval： 30 gs, peak current： 6 A, and salt solution conductivity： 3 mS/cm. Finally, a hole is machined by TSECDD, and the results are compared with those obtained by electrical discharge machining. TSECDD is found to be promising for improving the surface quality and eliminating the recast layer.

Aerodynamic load control on a dynamically pitching wind turbine airfoil using leading-edge protuberance method

The aerodynamic loads of wind turbine blades are substantially affected by dynamic stall induced by the variations of the angle of attack of local airfoil sections.The purpose of the present study is to explore the effect of leading-edge protuberances on the fluctuation of the aerodynamic performances for wind turbine airfoil during dynamic stall.An experimental investigation is carried out by a direct force measurement technique employing force balance at a Reynolds number Re=2×105.The phase-averaged and instantaneous aerodynamic loads of the pitching airfoil,including the baseline and the wavy airfoil,are presented and analyzed.The phase-averaged results indicate that the effects of dynamic stall for the wavy airfoil can be delayed or minimized compared to the baseline airfoil,and the negative damping area of the wavy airfoil is significant decreased in full-stall condition.These effects of leading-edge protuberances are more notable at a higher reduced frequency.For the instantaneous aerodynamic loads of the wavy airfoil,there is an observable reduction in fluctuations compared with baseline case.Furthermore,spectral analysis is applied to quantitatively undercover the nonstationary features of the instantaneous aerodynamic loads.It is found that the leading edge protuberances can reduce the harmonics of the aerodynamic force signal,and enhance the stability of the aerodynamic loads under different reduced frequencies.In conclusion,leading-edge protuberances are found effective to reduce the fluctuation characteristics of the aerodynamic loads during the dynamic stall process,and help to improve the stability and prolong the service life of the wind turbine blades.

LES of rotating film-cooling performance in a 1-1/2 turbine stage

The large eddy simulation method was employed to investigate the film-cooling performance in a low-speed rotor blade of a 1-1/2 turbine stage.The rotor blade height and axial chord length were 99 mm and 124.3 mm,respectively.Two rows of film holes were placed on the rotor blade surface,one each on the pressure and suction surfaces.Each row had three cylindrical film holes with a diameter of 4 mm and a tangential injection angle of 28°on the pressure side and 361 on the suction side.The Reynolds number was fixed at Re=1.92×10^(5)and the coolant-to-mainstream density ratio(DR)was about 2.0.Simulations were carried out for three different rotating speeds of 1800,2100,and 2400 rpm with the blowing ratio(BR)varying from 0.3 to 3.0.The commercial CFD code STAR-CCM+was used to run the simulations using the WALE subgrid-scale model for modelling the turbulence.The results show that on the pressure side,the film coverage and filmcooling effectiveness decrease with increasing rotation number(Ro)and increase with increasing blowing ratio(BR).A higher Ro and lower BR result in a stronger film deflection.The film injection with higher BR produces better film attachment.The film deflects centrifugally where the deflection becomes greater with increasing Ro.On the suction side,the film coverage and film-cooling effectiveness increase with increasing either Ro or BR and a centripetal deflection of the film is observed.The deflection of the film path could be amplified by either increasing the Ro at a constant BR or decreasing the BR at a constant Ro.Increasing the rotation weakens the film deflection towards the hub on the suction surface.Overall,it was found that both rotation number and blowing ratio play significant roles in determining the film-cooling effectiveness distributions of the rotor blade surface.

Morphology Effects of Leading-edge Serrations on Aerodynamic Force Production： An Integrated Study Using PIV and Force Measurements

While the leading-edge serration in owls＇ wing is known to be responsible for low noise gliding and flapping flights, the findings on its aero-acoustic role have been diverse or even controversial. Here we present an experimental study of the morphological effects of leading-edge serrations on aerodynamic force production by utilizing owl-inspired, single-feather, clean and serrated wing models with different serration lengths and spacing, and by combining Particle Image Velocimetry （PIV） and force measurements. Force measurements show that an increase in the length and density of the leading-edge serrations leads to a reduction in the lift coefficient and lift-to-drag ratio at Angles of Attack （AoAs） 〈 15° whereas the clean and serrated wings achieve comparable aerodynamic performance at higher AoAs 〉 15°, which owl wings often reach in flight. Furthermore PIV visualization of the flow fluctuations demonstrates that the leading-edge serration-based mechanism is consistent in all serrated wing models in terms of passive control of the laminar-turbulent transition while at AoAs 〉 15° similar suction flow is present at leading edge resulting in a comparable aerodynamic performance to that of the clean wing. Our results indicate the robustness and usefulness of leading-edge serration-inspired devices for aero-acoustic control in biomimetic rotor designs.

Scaling analysis of the circulation growth of leading-edge vortex in flapping flight

In this paper,an experiment of a robotic model at Reynolds number of approximately 240 is performed with the aim of establishing a scaling law for describing the circulation growth of the leading-edge vortex(LEV)on a flapping wing.Three typical modes of wing rotation,i.e.,advanced,symmetric,and delayed modes,are considered to examine the effects of wing rotation on the scaling formation of LEV.The streamwise velocity fields of the LEV along the span of the wing are measured by particle image velocimetry technique.Experimental results demonstrated that a spirally three dimensional(3D)LEV with spanwise distribution of circulation rolls up on the upper surface of wing and the circulation of LEV usually obtains the peak before the end of wing stroke.Based on the concept of vortex formation time,the formation time of the 3D LEV are defined in two distinct manners.One(denoted by T∗LEV)is defined based on the LEV circulation,and the other(denoted by T∗∗LEV)is defined based on the wing kinematics.It is found that T∗∗LEV increases monotonously during the upstroke and downstroke,whereas T∗LEV generally arrives peaks and then decreases.The peak value of T∗LEV indicates the formation number of LEV,which stays in the range of 2.5–5.5,agrees with the scaling formation number predicted by other vortices.Moreover,the mode of wing rotation plays a controllable role in the formation number of LEV by modulating the characteristic length scale that feeds the formation of LEV.After reaching the formation number,the LEVs stably remain attached on the flapping wing and even further grow at some spanwise locations because of vorticity transport.Furthermore,the linear relationship between T∗LEV and T∗∗LEV before reaching the formation number can suggest a potential model for predicting the circulation growth of LEV based on wing kinematics.

Unsteady Behavior of Leading-edge Vortex and Diffuser Stall in a Centrifugal Compressor with Vaned Diffuser

The characteristics of a rotating stall of an impeller and diffuser and the evolution of a vortex generated at the diffuser leading-edge(i.e., the leading-edge vortex(LEV)) in a centrifugal compressor were investigated by experiments and numerical analysis. The results of the experiments revealed that both the impeller and diffuser rotating stalls occurred at 55 and 25 Hz during off-design flow operation. For both, stall cells existed only on the shroud side of the flow passages, which is very close to the source location of the LEV. According to the CFD results, the LEV is made up of multiple vortices. The LEV is a combination of a separated vortex near the leading-edge and a longitudinal vortex generated by the extended tip-leakage flow from the impeller. Therefore, the LEV is generated by the accumulation of vorticity caused by the velocity gradient of the impeller discharge flow. In partial-flow operation, the spanwise extent and the position of the LEV origin are temporarily transmuted. The LEV develops with a drop in the velocity in the diffuser passage and forms a significant blockage within the diffuser passage. Therefore, the LEV may be regarded as being one of the causes of a diffuser stall in a centrifugal compressor.

A numerical study of anti-vortex film-cooling holes designs in a 1-1/2 turbine stage using LES

The primary focus of the present study is to investigate the impact of anti-vortex holes design on the film-cooling performance in a film-cooled rotor blade model using the large eddy simulation method(LES).One row of the film holes was positioned on the pressure surface of the rotor blade.This row had three cylindrical holes(the main hole in the present study)with a diameter(D)of 4 mm and a tangential injection angle of 28 deg.Each main hole supplemented with the addition of two symmetrical side holes(anti-vortex holes),which branch out from the same main hole.Three positions for the anti-vortex side holes were considered;namely:upstream to the outlet of the main hole;in line with the main hole;and downstream of the main hole.The Reynolds number was fixed at Re Z 1.92
105 and the speed of the rotor blade was taken to be 1800 rpm.The blowing ratio varied from 1.0 to 5.0 and the density ratio of coolant to mainstream was 2.0.Compared to the base hole,the film cooling performance of the all anti-vortex cases showed obvious improvement at all blowing ratios.The middle stream side holes and downstream side holes each demonstrated good film cooling performance at all blowing ratios,while the upstream side holes perform well only at a lower blowing ratio.The presence of side holes can restrain the CRVP(counter rotating vortex pairs)intensity of the main hole and reduce the coolant lift-off,improving the film coverage and film cooling effectiveness.The downstream side holes can perform better in reducing the CRVP intensity.

Numerical model and hydrodynamic performance of tuna finlets

Finlets, a series of small individual triangular fins located along the dorsal and ventral midlines of the body, are remarkable specializations of tuna and other scombrid fishes capable of high-speed swimming. In this study, a symmetric model containing nine finlets of tuna is proposed to overcome the limitation of measurement without losing authenticity. Hydrodynamic performance along with three-dimensional flow structures obtained by direct numerical simulation are demonstrated to disclose the underlying hydrodynamics mechanism of finlets. Complex interactions of leading-edge vortices(LEVs), trialing-edge vortices(TEVs), tip vortices(TVs) and root vortices(RVs) are observed from the three-dimensional vortical structures around the finlets. Two more cases consisting of the 3rd to 9th(without the first two) and the 3rd to 7th(without the first two and the last two) finlets are also simulated to examine the effects of the first two and the last two finlets.

AIRCRAFT LIFT AND MANEUVERABILITY ENHANCEMENT BY GENETIC GEOMETRY OPTIMIZATION OF LEX CONFIGURATION

To enhance the maneuverability of the selected aircraft model, a standard genetic algorithm （GA） is used as an optimization method for the preliminary design of the leading-edge extension （LEX） layout. The aerodynamic loads and the maximum lift coefficient of the complete aircraft configuration （fuselage＋wing＋tail） are computed by using the modified three-dimensional low-order panel method in conjunction with the semi-empirical formulas of DATCOM. Results show that the lift coefficient increases approximately 20.5%- 15.3% for Mach number 0. 4-0.8 and 6.8% for Mach number 1.2, and its maximum value approximately 9.5% -15.0% for Machnumber 0.2-0.95when LEXis installed. A 6.6%-8.0 % gain at altitudes of 1-5 km on the turn rate maneuverability and the corner speed have been achieved in the subsonic regime.