Fang-Bao Tian

An efficient immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method for the hydrodynamic interaction of elastic filaments

We have introduced a modified penalty approach into the flow-structure interaction solver that combines an immersed boundary method (IBM) and a multi-block lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to model an incompressible flow and elastic boundaries with finite mass. The effect of the solid structure is handled by the IBM in which the stress exerted by the structure on the fluid is spread onto the collocated grid points near the boundary. The fluid motion is obtained by solving the discrete lattice Boltzmann equation. The inertial force of the thin solid structure is incorporated by connecting this structure through virtual springs to a ghost structure with the equivalent mass. This treatment ameliorates the numerical instability issue encountered in this type of problems. Thanks to the superior efficiency of the IBM and LBM, the overall method is extremely fast for a class of flow-structure interaction problems where details of flow patterns need to be resolved. Numerical examples, including those involving multiple solid bodies, are presented to verify the method and illustrate its efficiency. As an application of the present method, an elastic filament flapping in the Kármán gait and the entrainment regions near a cylinder is studied to model fish swimming in these regions. Significant drag reduction is found for the filament, and the result is consistent with the metabolic cost measured experimentally for the live fish.

Fluid-structure interaction involving large deformations: 3D simulations and applications to biological systems

Three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction (FSI) involving large deformations of flexible bodies is common in biological systems, but accurate and efficient numerical approaches for modeling such systems are still scarce. In this work, we report a successful case of combining an existing immersed-boundary flow solver with a nonlinear finite-element solid-mechanics solver specifically for three-dimensional FSI simulations. This method represents a significant enhancement from the similar methods that are previously available. Based on the Cartesian grid, the viscous incompressible flow solver can handle boundaries of large displacements with simple mesh generation. The solid-mechanics solver has separate subroutines for analyzing general three-dimensional bodies and thin-walled structures composed of frames, membranes, and plates. Both geometric nonlinearity associated with large displacements and material nonlinearity associated with large strains are incorporated in the solver. The FSI is achieved through a strong coupling and partitioned approach. We perform several validation cases, and the results may be used to expand the currently limited database of FSI benchmark study. Finally, we demonstrate the versatility of the present method by applying it to the aerodynamics of elastic wings of insects and the flow-induced vocal fold vibration.

Coupling modes of three filaments in side-by-side arrangement

A viscous flow past three filaments in side-by-side arrangement is studied by a numerical simulation and is accompanied by a previously established linear stability analysis. Other than the coupling modes reported previously, which include the in-phase mode, symmetrical mode, and out-of-phase mode, three additional modes are identified in the nonlinear regime by systematically varying the separation distance between the filaments. These modes are the half-frequency mode, irrational-frequency mode, and erratic flapping state. The dynamic characteristics of each mode at the saturated state is described, including the flapping amplitude, frequency, drag force, and mechanical energy of the filaments. Four typical vortex structures are observed in the wake of the filaments and are described as the coalesced vortices, symmetrical vortices, erratic vortices, and independent vortex streets. The vortex structures are closely related to the coupling modes and the dynamic characteristics of the filaments. As the Rey...

Simulation of a pulsatile non-Newtonian flow past a stenosed 2D artery with atherosclerosis

Atherosclerotic plaque can cause severe stenosis in the artery lumen. Blood flow through a substantially narrowed artery may have different flow characteristics and produce different forces acting on the plaque surface and artery wall. The disturbed flow and force fields in the lumen may have serious implications on vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and circulating blood cells. In this work a simplified model is used to simulate a pulsatile non-Newtonian blood flow past a stenosed artery caused by atherosclerotic plaques of different severity. The focus is on a systematic parameter study of the effects of plaque size/geometry, flow Reynolds number, shear-rate dependent viscosity and flow pulsatility on the fluid wall shear stress and its gradient, fluid wall normal stress, and flow shear rate. The computational results obtained from this idealized model may shed light on the flow and force characteristics of more realistic blood flow through an atherosclerotic vessel.

Role of mass on the stability of flag/flags in uniform flow

The interaction between flag/flags and fluid is studied numerically and the time-average flow in the wake is analyzed. It is found that a zero-mass flag in uniform flow can not exhibit sustained flapping which only occurs when the mass is involved, while multiple zero-mass flags with small separation settle into sustained flapping state. Furthermore, the nonzero mass is an essential condition for flag/flags to establish the sustained flapping in the case of convectively instable wake, while it is an unnecessary condition for the case of the absolutely instable wake.

Red blood cell partitioning and blood flux redistribution in microvascular bifurcation

This paper studies red blood cell (RBC) partitioning and blood flux redistribution in microvascular bifurcation by immersed boundary and lattice Boltzmann method. The effects of the initial position of RBC at low Reynolds number regime on the RBC deformation, RBC partitioning, blood flux redistribution and pressure distribution are discussed in detail. It is shown that the blood flux in the daughter branches and the initial position of RBC are important for RBC partitioning. RBC tends to enter the higher-flux-rate branch if the initial position of RBC is near the center of the mother vessel. The RBC may enter the lower-flux-rate branch if it is located near the wall of mother vessel on the lower-flux-rate branch side. Moreover, the blood flux is redistributed when an RBC presents in the daughter branch. Such redistribution is caused by the pressure distribution and reduces the superiority of RBC entering the same branch. The results obtained in the present work may provide a physical insight into the understanding of RBC partitioning and blood flux redistribution in microvascular bifurcation.

Onset of instability of a flag in uniform flow

This paper numerically and analytically studies the onset of instability of a flag in uniform flow. The three-dimensional (3D) simulation is performed by using an immersed-boundary method coupled with a nonlinear finite element method. The global stability, bistability and instability are identified in the 3D simulations. The Squires theorem is extended to analyze the stability of the fluid-flag system with 3D initial perturbations. It is found that if a parallel flow around the flag admits an unstable 3D disturbance for a certain value of the flutter speed, then a two-dimensional (2D) disturbance at a lower flutter speed is also admitted. In addition, the growth rate of 2D disturbance is larger than that of the 3D disturbance.

Numerical study on the power extraction performance of a flapping foil with a flexible tail

The numerical study on the power extraction performance of a flapping foil with a flexible tail is performed in this work. A NACA0015 airfoil is arranged in a two-dimensional laminar flow and imposed with a synchronous harmonic plunge and pitch rotary motion. A flat plate that is attached to the trailing edge of the foil is utilized to model a tail, and so they are viewed as a whole for the purpose of power extraction. In addition, the tail either is rigid or can deform due to the exerted hydrodynamic forces. To implement numerical simulations, an immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method is employed. At a Reynolds number of 1100 and the position of the pitching axis at third chord, the influences of the mass and flexibility of the tail as well as the frequency of motion on the power extraction are systematically examined. It is found that compared to the foil with a rigid tail, the efficiency of power extraction for the foil with a deformable tail can be improved. Based on the numerical analysis, it is indicated that the enhanced plunging component of the power extraction, which is caused by the increased lift force, directly contributes to the efficiency improvement. Since a flexible tail with medium and high masses is not beneficial to the efficiency improvement, a flexible tail with low mass together with high flexibility is recommended in the flapping foil based power extraction system.

An FSI solution technique based on the DSD/SST method and its applications

This paper presents a fluid–structure interaction (FSI) solution technique in which the incompressible fluid dynamics involving moving boundaries is solved with the deforming-spatial-domain/stabilized space–time (DSD/SST) method and the structural dynamics is solved with the finite difference (FD) method. The DSD/SST and FD solvers are coupled by an implicit partitioned coupling strategy based on staggered subiterations. Three types of relaxation are applied on the FSI surface velocity and hydrodynamic force. The first one is applied to delay the coupling conditions at the beginning of each simulation; the second one is applied to relax the increment during each subiteration; and the third one is applied to filter high frequency oscillations between each time step. A pitching plate in a uniform flow is calculated to validate the FSI technique. The present results are in good agreement with data predicted by other methods. In addition, two problems are calculated to demonstrate the capability of this solve...

Refuging rainbow trout selectively exploit flows behind tandem cylinders.

ABSTRACT Fishes may exploit environmental vortices to save in the cost of locomotion. Previous work has investigated fish refuging behind a single cylinder in current, a behavior termed the Kármán gait. However, current-swept habitats often contain aggregations of physical objects, and it is unclear how the complex hydrodynamics shed from multiple structures affect refuging in fish. To begin to address this, we investigated how the flow fields produced by two D-shaped cylinders arranged in tandem affect the ability of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to Kármán gait. We altered the spacing of the two cylinders from l/D of 0.7 to 2.7 (where l=downstream spacing of cylinders and D=cylinder diameter) and recorded the kinematics of trout swimming behind the cylinders with high-speed video at Re=10,000–55,000. Digital particle image velocimetry showed that increasing l/D decreased the strength of the vortex street by an average of 53% and decreased the frequency that vortices were shed by ∼20% for all speeds. Trout were able to Kármán gait behind all cylinder treatments despite these differences in the downstream wake; however, they Kármán gaited over twice as often behind closely spaced cylinders (l/D=0.7, 1.1, and 1.5). Computational fluid dynamics simulations show that when cylinders are widely spaced, the upstream cylinder generates a vortex street that interacts destructively with the downstream cylinder, producing weaker, more widely spaced and less-organized vortices that discourage Kármán gaiting. These findings are poised to help predict when fish may seek refuge in natural habitats based on the position and arrangement of stationary objects. Highlighted Article: Closely spaced structures submerged within a current produce organized flows that encourage refuging in fish.