Effects of relative thickness on aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil at a low Reynolds number

This study focuses on the characteristics of low Reynolds number flow around airfoil of high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles（HAUAVs） cruising at low speed.Numerical simulation on the flows around several representative airfoils is carried out to investigate the low Reynolds number flow.The water tunnel model tests further validate the accuracy and effectiveness of the numerical method.Then the effects of the relative thickness of airfoil on aerodynamic performance are explored, using the above numerical method, by simulating flows around airfoils of different relative thicknesses（12%, 14%, 16%, 18%）, as well as different locations of the maximum relative thickness（x/c = 22%, 26%, 30%, 34%）, at a low Reynolds number of 5 × 10^5.Results show that performance of airfoils at low Reynolds number is mainly affected by the laminar separation bubble.On the premise of good stall characteristics, the value of maximum relative thickness should be as small as possible, and the location of the maximum relative thickness ought to be closer to the trailing edge to obtain fine airfoil performance.The numerical method is feasible for the simulation of low Reynolds number flow.The study can help to provide a basis for the design of low Reynolds number airfoil.

Minimum wall pressure coefficient of orifice plate energy dissipater

Orifice plate energy dissipaters have been successfully used in large-scale hydropower projects due to their simple structure, convenient construction procedure, and high energy dissipation ratio. The minimum wall pressure coefficient of an orifice plate can indirectly reflect its cavitation characteristics： the lower the minimum wall pressure coefficient is, the better the ability of the orifice plate to resist cavitation damage is. Thus, it is important to study the minimum wall pressure coefficient of the orifice plate. In this study, this coefficient and related parameters, such as the contraction ratio, defined as the ratio of the orifice plate diameter to the flood-discharging tunnel diameter; the relative thickness, defined as the ratio of the orifice plate thickness to the tunnel diameter; and the Reynolds number of the flow through the orifice plate, were theoretically analyzed, and their relationships were obtained through physical model experiments. It can be concluded that the minimum wall pressure coefficient is mainly dominated by the contraction ratio and relative thickness. The lower the contraction ratio and relative thickness are, the larger the minimum wall pressure coefficient is. The effects of the Reynolds number on the minimum wall pressure coefficient can be neglected when it is larger than 10^5. An emoirical expression was presented to calculate the minimum wall oressure coefficient in this study.

Wood Moisture Content Measurement by X-Ray Exposure Method

Although quite a numer of papers can be found up to now dealing with the subject of the measurement ofwood density by using the X-ray exposure methods, direet scanning or radiographic photography, the following two aspects,which are very important from both theorctical and engineering application points of view, have not yet been properly handled. One is that the elementary analyses or the experimental measurement on the mass attenuation coefficients were notspecified in regard to spectnun energv distridutions [1]. In this connection, the ambiguities in the specification of the coeffiecients and in turn for thc results among studies arise when only one of the two parameters, namely wave length and applied voltage, of detining the energy spectrum of X-ray is given. The oher is that the relationships between the relative intensity and the sample thickness as well the wood moisture content [2], which are the critical factors for the design and theselection of X-ray apparatus, were not sufficiently examined. In addition, the knowledge of the measurelnent of woodmiosture content by using the direct X-ray scanning method is also almost unavaible now. In the study, the direct X-rayscanning method of measuring wood moisture content was at first investigated theoretically with respect to the relationshipbetween the mass attenuation coefficients of wood (beech, Fagus Sylvatica) and the maximum spectrum energy of X-ray.Secondly, the dependence of the relative intensity on the sample thickness and on the wood moisture content was analysed.The main advantage of the method is on-site nondestructive measuring of wood moisture content in the processes such asdrying, impregnation and unsteady mass diffusion. Specifically for the application in the area of biomechanics, the methodcan also bc used for understanding the water pathway within wood, for example, the water around the knots and the relation between the stress distribution and the local moisture content of wood.