Qualification of Three Analytical Wake Models

The decrease of wind velocity （wake losses） in downstream area of wind turbine is generally quantified using wake models. The overall estimated power of wind farm varies according to reliability of wake model used, however it＇s unclear which model is most appropriate and able to give a high performance in predicting wind velocity deficit. In this subject, a qualification of three analytical wake models （Jensen, lshihara and Frandsen） based on three principal criteria is presented in this paper： （i） the parsimony which characterizes the inverse of model complexity, （ii） the accuracy of estimation in which wake model is compared with the experimental data and （iii） imprecision that is related to assumptions and uncertainty on the value of variables considered in each model. This qualitative analysis shows the inability of wake models to predict wind velocity deficit due to the big uncertainty of variables considered and it sensitivity to wind farm characteristic.

A nonlinear wake model of a wind turbine considering the yaw wake steering

Duo to fluctuations in atmospheric turbulence and yaw control strategies,wind turbines are often in a yaw state.To predict the far wake velocity field of wind turbines quickly and accurately,a wake velocity model was derived based on the method of momentum conservation considering the wake steering of the wind turbine under yaw conditions.To consider the shear effect of the vertical incoming wind direction,a two-dimensional Gaussian distribution function was introduced to model the velocity loss at different axial positions in the far wake region based on the assumption of nonlinear wake expansion.This work also developed a“prediction-correction”method to solve the wake velocity field,and the accuracy of the model results was verified in wake experiments on the Garrad Hassan wind turbine.Moreover,a 33-kW two-blade horizontal axis wind turbine was simulated using this method,and the results were compared with the classical wake model under the same parameters and the computational fluid dynamics(CFD)simulation results.The results show that the nonlinear wake model well reflected the influence of incoming flow shear and yaw wake steering in the wake velocity field.Finally,computation of the wake flow for the Horns Rev offshore wind farm with 80 wind turbines showed an error within 8%compared to the experimental values.The established wake model is less computationally intensive than other methods,has a faster calculation speed,and can be used for engineering calculations of the wake velocity in the far wakefield of wind turbines.

A Novel Wake Oscillator Model for Vortex-Induced Vibrations Prediction of A Cylinder Considering the Influence of Reynolds Number

It is well known that the Reynolds number has a significant effect on the vortex-induced vibrations(VIV) of cylinders. In this paper, a novel in-line(IL) and cross-flow(CF) coupling VIV prediction model for circular cylinders has been proposed, in which the influence of the Reynolds number was comprehensively considered. The Strouhal number linked with the vortex shedding frequency was calculated through a function of the Reynolds number. The coefficient of the mean drag force was fitted as a new piecewise function of the Reynolds number, and its amplification resulted from the CF VIV was also taken into account. The oscillating drag and lift forces were modelled with classical van der Pol wake oscillators and their empirical parameters were determined based on the lock-in boundaries and the peak-amplitude formulas. A new peak-amplitude formula for the IL VIV was developed under the resonance condition with respect to the mass-damping ratio and the Reynolds number. When compared with the results from the experiments and some other prediction models, the present model could give good estimations on the vibration amplitudes and frequencies of the VIV both for elastically-mounted rigid and long flexible cylinders. The present model considering the influence of the Reynolds number could generally provide better results than that neglecting the effect of the Reynolds number.

Nonlinear tight formation control of multiple UAVs based on model predictive control

A tight formation of unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) has many advantages, such as fuel saving and deceiving enemy radar during battlefield entry. As a result, research on UAVs in close formation has received much attention, and the controller design for formation holding has become a popular research topic in the control field. However, there are many unknown disturbances in tight formation, and the tail aircraft is disturbed by the wake. This paper establishes a mathematical model of wake vortices for tail aircraft that considers uncertainty and strong interference. Two UAVs are simulated by Computational Fluid Dynamics software, followed by the design of a semiphysical simulation model predictive control(MPC) scheme that suppresses uncertainty and interference sufficiently to enable the tail aircraft to accurately track the lead aircraft and maintain a stable, tight formation. The tight formation controller is verified by numerical simulation and semiphysical simulation. The results show that the designed controller has an excellent control effect in the case of disturbance caused by the wake vortex.

Tidal Turbine Array Optimization Based on the Discrete Particle Swarm Algorithm

In consideration of the resource wasted by unreasonable layout scheme of tidal current turbines, which would influence the ratio of cost and power output, particle swarm optimization algorithm is introduced and improved in the paper. In order to solve the problem of optimal array of tidal turbines, the discrete particle swarm optimization(DPSO) algorithm has been performed by re-defining the updating strategies of particles’ velocity and position. This paper analyzes the optimization problem of micrositing of tidal current turbines by adjusting each turbine’s position,where the maximum value of total electric power is obtained at the maximum speed in the flood tide and ebb tide.Firstly, the best installed turbine number is generated by maximizing the output energy in the given tidal farm by the Farm/Flux and empirical method. Secondly, considering the wake effect, the reasonable distance between turbines,and the tidal velocities influencing factors in the tidal farm, Jensen wake model and elliptic distribution model are selected for the turbines’ total generating capacity calculation at the maximum speed in the flood tide and ebb tide.Finally, the total generating capacity, regarded as objective function, is calculated in the final simulation, thus the DPSO could guide the individuals to the feasible area and optimal position. The results have been concluded that the optimization algorithm, which increased 6.19% more recourse output than experience method, can be thought as a good tool for engineering design of tidal energy demonstration.

Nonlinear Coupled in-Line and Cross-Flow Vortex-Induced Vibration Analysis of Top Tensioned Riser

The fluctuating furces of the fluid exerted on the top terrsioned riser （＇FIR） in the in-line and cross-flow directions are both modeled by van del Pol wake oscillator model and the nonlinear coupled dynamics of the in-line and cross-flow vortex-induced vibrations （VIV） of the riser are analyzed in time domain in this papar. The numencal shnulation results of the riser＇s in-line and cross-flow displacements and curvatures are compared with experimental measurements and the comparison shows the validity of this method in modeling some main features of the riser＇s VIV. Finally, the effects of the riser＇s top tensions and internal flow velocities on the coupled vibrations of the riser are investigated.

Prediction of Streamwise Flow-Induced Vibration of A Circular Cylinder in the First Instability Range

The streamwise flow-induced vibration of a circular cylinder with symmetric vortex shedding in the first instability range is investigated, and a wake oscillator model for the dynamic response prediction is proposed. An approach is applied to calibrate the empirical parameters in the present model; the numerical and experimental results are compared to validate the proposed model. It can be found that the present prediction model is accurate and sufficiently simple to be easily applied in practice.

Nonlinear Analysis of Bidirectional Vortex-Induced Vibration of A Deepwater Steep Wave Riser Subjected to Oblique Currents

An improved three-dimensional(3D)time-domain couple model is established in this paper to simulate the bidirectional vortex-induced vibration(VIV)of a deepwater steep wave riser(SWR)subjected to oblique currents.In this model,the nonlinear motion equations of the riser are established in the global coordinate system based on the slender rod theory with the finite element method.Van der Pol equations are used to describe the lift forces induced by the x-and y-direction current components,respectively.The coupled equations at each time step are solved by a Newmark-βiterative scheme for the SWR VIV.The present model is verified by comparison with the published experimental results for a top-tension riser.Then,a series of simulations are executed to determine the influences of the oblique angle/velocity of the current,different top-end positions and the length of the buoyancy segment on the VIV displacement,oscillating frequency as well as hydrodynamic coefficients of the SWR.The results demonstrate that there exists a coupled resonant VIV corresponding to x-direction and y-direction,respectively.However,the effective frequency is almost identical between the vibrations at the hang-off segment along x and y directions.The addition of the buoyancy modules in the middle of the SWR has a beneficial impact on the lift force of three segments and simultaneously limits the VIV response,especially at the decline segment and the hang-off segments.Additionally,the incident current direction significantly affects the motion trajectory of the SWR which mainly includes the fusiform and rectangle shapes.

A NEW WAKE OSCILLATOR MODEL FOR PREDICTING VORTEX INDUCED VIBRATION OF A CIRCULAR CYLINDER

This article proposes a new wake oscillator model for vortex induced vibrations of an elastically supported rigid circular cylinder in a uniform current. The near wake dynamics related with the fluctuating nature of vortex shedding is modeled based on the classical van der Pol equation, combined with the equation for the oscillatory motion of the body. An appropriate approach is developed to estimate the empirical parameters in the wake oscillator model. The present predicted results are compared to the experimental data and previous wake oscillator model results. Good agreement with experimental results is found.

A modified wake model in bubble-induced three-phase inverse fluidized bed(BIFB)

A modified wake model was proposed for the newly developed bubble-induced three-phase inverse fluidized bed(BIFB),by combining the generalized wake model and the gas-perturbed liquid model.On the basis of the modified wake model,the solids and liquid holdups and the complete fluidization gas velocity in BIFB system have been successfully predicted with two established correlations.The predictions achieved very good agreements with the experimental data.

A New Single-blade Based Hybrid CFD Method for Hovering and Forward-flight Rotor Computation

A hybrid Euler/full potential/Lagrangian wake method,based on single-blade simulation,for predicting unsteady aerodynamic flow around helicopter rotors in hover and forward flight has been developed.In this method,an Euler solver is used to model the near wake evolution and transonic flow phenomena in the vicinity of the blade,and a full potential equation（FPE） is used to model the isentropic potential flow region far away from the rotor,while the wake effects of other blades and the far wake are incorporated into the flow solution as an induced inflow distribution using a Lagrangian based wake analysis.To further reduce the execution time,the computational fluid dynamics（CFD） solution and rotor wake analysis（including induced velocity up-date） are conducted parallelly,and a load balancing strategy is employed to account for the information exchange between two solvers.By the developed method,several hover and forward-flight cases on Caradonna-Tung and Helishape 7A rotors are per-formed.Good agreements of the loadings on blade surface with available measured data demonstrate the validation of the method.Also,the CPU time required for different computation runs is compared in the paper,and the results show that the pre-sent hybrid method is superior to conventional CFD method in time cost,and will be more efficient with the number of blades increasing.

A coupling VWM/CFD/CSD method for rotor airload prediction

A coupling fluid-structure method with a combination of viscous wake model（VWM）,computational fluid dynamics（CFD） and comprehensive structural dynamics（CSD） modules is developed in this paper for rotor unsteady airload prediction. The hybrid VWM/CFD solver is employed to model the nonlinear aerodynamic phenomena and complicated rotor wake dynamics;the moderate deflection beam theory is implemented to predict the blade structural deformation; the loose coupling strategy based on the ‘delt method＇ is used to couple the fluid and structure solvers.Several cases of Helishape 7A rotor are performed first to investigate the effect of elastic deformation on airloads. Then, two challenging forward flight conditions of UH-60 A helicopter rotor are investigated, and the simulated results of wake geometry, chordwise pressure distribution and sectional normal force show excellent agreement with available test data; a comparison with traditional CFD/CSD method is also presented to illustrate the efficiency of the developed method.

Numerical investigation of full scale coaxial main rotor aerodynamics in hover and vertical descent

The original free vortex wake model was used for numerical investigation.Calculation of the aerodynamic characteristics in hover and vertical descent modes in the range of vertical descent speed of 0–30 m/s including the Vortex Ring State(VRS)area was performed.The calculations were carried out under the condition of variable blade pitch angle values providing a fixed timeaverage thrust value.Visualization data of free vortex wake shapes,flow structures,and velocity fields were obtained and analyzed.The time-dependences of the rotor’s thrust and torque coefficients were obtained and analyzed.The obtained data allows determining the boundaries of the VRS area by various criteria such as rotor thrust and torque pulsations,growth of rotor power consumption relative to the hover,growth of rotor induced velocities relative to the hover,and growth of the required rotor blade pitch angles values.The results of the study are compared with experimental and calculated data of other authors and can significantly supplement the available results of experimental and computational studies in this area.

An integral panel method for the hydrodynamic analysis of hybrid contra-rotating shaft pod propulsors

The present work is devoted to developing an efficient method for the analysis and design of hybrid contra-rotating shaft pod(HCRSP)propulsors.The geometry of contra-rotating propulsor(CRP)was then analyzed,and a steady integral panel method that treats the forward and aft propellers as a whole part is presented.During the study,the control equation of the steady integral panel method for CRP is derived in detail.From the experience of developing an integral panel method for CRP,the characteristics of panel singularity strength in HCRSP propulsor was analyzed.Based on this analysis,an integral panel method for HCRSP propulsor is developed and the wake model discussed.Then,the method is applied in the performance analysis of HCRSP propulsor.Comparison between experimental data and numerical results shows that the steady integral panel method has good accuracy in terms of open water performance.Regarding the latter,the error source in the steady integral panel method is discussed.