IMPROVEMENT OF TRAILING VORTEX MODEL FOR SINGLE-SCREW POD PROPULSION

Based on previous work on the propulsion performances of single-screwpropeller, the trailing vortex model for the propeller was further improved and a comparison wasmade between the new and original calculations and test results. The comparison shows that thecalculated results obtained with the improved vortex model are more accurate.

Particle Image Velocimetry Study of Turbulence Characteristics in a Vessel Agitated by a Dual Rushton Impeller

Particle Image Velocimetry （PIV） has been used to investigate turbulence characteristics in a 0.48 m diameter stirred vessel filled to a liquid height （ H = 1.4T ） of 0.67 m. The agitator had dual Rushton impellers of 0.19 m diameter （ D = 0.4T ）. The developed flow patterns depend on the clearance of the lower impeller above the base of the vessel, the spacing between the two impellers, and the submergence of the upper impeller below the liq- uid surface. Their combinations can generate three basic flow patterns, named, parallel, merging and diverging flows. The results of velocity measurement show that the flow characteristics in the impeller jet flow region changes very little for different positions. Average velocity, trailing vortices and shear strain rate distributions for three flow patterns were measured by using PIV technique. The characteristics of trailing vortex and its trajectory were described in detail for those three flow patterns. Since the space-resolution of PIV can only reach the sub-grid rather than the Kolmogorov scale, a large-eddy PIV analysis has been used to estimate the distribution of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation. Comparison of the distributions of turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate in merging flow shows that the highest turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation are both located in the vortex regions, but the maxima are at somewhat different lo- cations behind the blade. About 37% of the total energy is dissipated in dual impeller jet flow regions. The obtained distribution of shear strain rate for merging flow is similar to that of turbulence dissipation, with the shear strain rate around the trailing vortices much higher than in other areas.

Effect of vortex dynamics and instability characteristics on the induced drag of trailing vortices

In this paper, trailing vortices generated by three wingtip configurations, namely the M6wing and the M6 wing with a blended or split winglet, are experimentally investigated using the Stereo Particle Image Velocimetry(SPIV) technology. Then, linear stability analysis is performed to investigate instability characteristics. Three corresponding trailing vortex patterns, including the isolated trailing vortex without wake(pattern v) and with wake(pattern v-w), co-rotating vortex pair(pattern v-v), are observed in experiments. The strength of trailing vortices, characterized by circulation, is reduced after installing winglets as expected, and the strength of pattern v-v can be further suppressed compared with pattern v-w. Moreover, instability characteristics, such as the eigenvalue spectrum and perturbation mode, are distinctive among these three vortex patterns.The distribution of eigenvalue spectrums indicates that pattern v and pattern v-w are temporally“marginally stable”, while pattern v-v is temporally “unstable.” The primary perturbation mode of pattern v and pattern v-w is the m =-1 helical mode, while |m|>1 for the case of pattern v-v.The effect of vortex dynamics and instability characteristics can be concluded in two aspects.Firstly, the value of induced drag is polluted by about 3% from vortex wandering since vortex wandering affects the tangential velocity and streamwise vorticity of trailing vortices. Secondly, the growth rate and penetration depth perturbation mode affect trailing vortex evolution and further affect induced drag. Specifically, the larger the growth rate and penetration depth are, the more turbulence injects inside the vortex core, thus leading to a quicker and more intense attenuation of trailing vortex, as well as a smaller induced drag. This finding can guide us to manipulate the induced drag in flow control.