Pierre E. Sullivan

On vortex shedding from an airfoil in low-Reynolds-number flows

Development of coherent structures in the separated shear layer and wake of an airfoil in low-Reynolds-number flows was studied experimentally for a range of airfoil chord Reynolds numbers, 55 × 10 3 ≤ Re c ≤ 210 × 10 3 , and three angles of attack, α = 0°, 5° and 10°. To illustrate the effect of separated shear layer development on the characteristics of coherent structures, experiments were conducted for two flow regimes common to airfoil operation at low Reynolds numbers: (i) boundary layer separation without reattachment and (ii) separation bubble formation. The results demonstrate that roll-up vortices form in the separated shear layer due to the amplification of natural disturbances, and these structures play a key role in flow transition to turbulence. The final stage of transition in the separated shear layer, associated with the growth of a sub-harmonic component of fundamental disturbances, is linked to the merging of the roll-up vortices. Turbulent wake vortex shedding is shown to occur for both flow regimes investigated. Each of the two flow regimes produces distinctly different characteristics of the roll-up and wake vortices. The study focuses on frequency scaling of the investigated coherent structures and the effect of flow regime on the frequency scaling. Analysis of the results and available data from previous experiments shows that the fundamental frequency of the shear layer vortices exhibits a power law dependency on the Reynolds number for both flow regimes. In contrast, the wake vortex shedding frequency is shown to vary linearly with the Reynolds number. An alternative frequency scaling is proposed, which results in a good collapse of experimental data across the investigated range of Reynolds numbers.

Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer and wake at low Reynolds numbers

Boundary layer and turbulent wake development for a NACA 0025 airfoil at low Reynolds numbers was studied experimentally. Wind tunnel experiments were carried out for a range of Reynolds numbers and three angles of attack. Laminar boundary layer separation occurs on the upper surface of the airfoil for all Reynolds numbers and angles of attack examined. Two flow regimes are investigated (i) boundary layer separation without reattachment and (ii) separation bubble formation. The results suggest that coherent structures form in the separated flow region and the wake of the airfoil for both flow regimes. The formation of the roll-up vortices in the separated shear layer is linked to inviscid spatial growth of disturbances and is attributed to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Linear stability theory can be employed to adequately describe the salient characteristics of such vortices and the initial stage of the separated shear layer transition. The development of the roll-up vortices leads to boundary layer t...

Separated-Shear-Layer Development on an Airfoil at Low Reynolds Numbers

Flow transition in the separated shear layer on the upper surface of a NACA 0025 airfoil at low Reynolds numbers was investigated. The study involved wind-tunnel experiments and linear stability analysis. Detailed measurements were conducted for Reynolds numbers of 100,000 and 150,000 at 0-, 5- and 10-degree angles of attack. For all cases examined, laminar boundary-layer separation takes place on the upper surface of the airfoil. The separated shear layer fails to reattach to the airfoil surface for the lower Reynolds number, but reattachment occurs for the higher Reynolds number. Despite this difference in flow development, experimental results show that a similar transition mechanism is attendant for both Reynolds number flow regimes. Flow transition occurs due to the amplification of natural disturbances in the separated shear layer within a band of frequencies centered at some fundamental frequency. The initial growth of disturbances centered at the fundamental frequency is followed by the growth of a subharmonic component, eventually leading to flow transition. The growing disturbances also cause shear-layer roll-up and the formation of roll-up vortices. The results show that inviscid stability theory can be employed to adequately estimate such salient characteristics as the frequency of the most amplified disturbances and their propagation speed. This implies that the roll-up vortices can be attributed to inviscid instability. However, the results suggest that viscous and nonparallel effects need to be accounted for to effectively model the convective growth of the disturbances in the separated shear layer.

Effect of Acoustic Excitation Amplitude on Airfoil Boundary Layer and Wake Development

The effect of acoustic excitation amplitude on boundary layer and wake development for a NACA 0025 airfoil was studied experimentally at low Reynolds numbers. Flow characteristics were investigated with hot-wire anemometry, surface pressure measurements, and flow visualization. A laminar boundary layer separation occurs on the upper surface of the airfoil, forming a separated shear layer, for all situations examined. When the flow is excited at the frequency matching the frequency of the most amplified disturbance in the separated shear layer, natural shear layer disturbances lock onto the excitation frequency and transition is promoted. In the case when the separated shear layer fails to reattach, an increase of the excitation amplitude above a minimum threshold eventually results in shear layer reattachment

An Empirically Validated Analytical Model of Droplet Dynamics in Electrowetting on Dielectric Devices

Explicit analytical models that describe the capillary force on confined droplets actuated in electrowetting on dielectric devices and the reduction in that force by contact angle hysteresis as a function of the three-dimensional shape of the droplet interface are presented. These models are used to develop an analytical model for the transient position and velocity of the droplet. An order of magnitude analysis showed that droplet motion could be modeled using the driving capillary force opposed by contact angle hysteresis, wall shear, and contact line friction. Droplet dynamics were found to be a function of gap height, droplet radius, surface tension, fluid density, the initial and deformed contact angles, contact angle hysteresis, and friction coefficients pertaining to viscous wall friction and contact line friction. The first four parameters describe the device geometry and fluid properties; the remaining parameters were determined experimentally. Images of the droplet during motion were used to determine the evolution of the shape, position, and velocity of the droplet with time. Comparisons between the measured and predicted results show that the proposed model provides good accuracy over a range of practical voltages and droplet aspect ratios.

An Overview of Electrospray Applications in MEMS and Microfluidic Systems

Integrating electrospray into microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and microfluidic systems supports applications in diverse fields from biotechnology to aerospace. Electrospray also functions as a production tool, allowing for novel methods of MEMS fabrication. This review covers the three most significant applications of electrospray in MEMS and microfluidic systems technology: 1) as an integral part of a microfluidic device, most notably electrospray emitters for coupling a microfluidic chip to a mass spectrometer; 2) as a method for fabricating and manufacturing MEMS; and 3) for micropropulsion in aerospace applications using MEMS-based emitters. Perspectives on future research directions and opportunities are provided.

Momentum Coefficient as a Parameter for Aerodynamic Flow Control with Synthetic Jets

The influence of periodic excitation from synthetic jet actuators on boundary-layer separation and reattachment over a NACA 0025 airfoil at a low Reynolds number is studied. Flow-visualization results showed a vertical jet pulse accompanied by two counter-rotating vortices being produced at the exit of the simulated slot, with the vortices shed at the excitation frequency. Hot-wire measurements determined the maximum jet velocity for a range of excitation frequencies and voltages, and were used to characterize the excitation amplitude in terms of the momentum coefficient Cμ. With the synthetic jet actuator installed in the airfoil, flow-visualization results showed that excitation produces boundary-layer reattachment, with the associated significant reduction in wake width. Wake-velocity measurements were performed to characterize the effect of flow-control excitation amplitude and frequency on airfoil drag and wake topology. The results demonstrate that Cμ is the primary governing flow-control parameter....

A Piezoactuated Droplet-Dispensing Microfluidic Chip

A microfluidic dispensing device that is capable of generating droplets with volumes varying between 1 nL and 50 pL at an ejection frequency of up to 6 kHz is presented. In this device, a piezoactuator pushes onto an elastic membrane via piston tips; the mechanical bending of the membrane generates a pressure pulse pushing droplets out. An analytical model was developed solving bending characteristics of a plate-actuated fluidic dispensing system and used to calculate the displaced volume. The model was extended to perform stress analysis to find the optimum piston tip radius by minimizing design stresses. The optimum piston tip radius was found to be 67% of the chamber radius. The actuation force estimated using the analytical model was then used as input to a finite element model of the dispenser. A detailed numerical analysis was then performed to model the fluid flow and droplet ejection process and to find critical geometric and operating parameters. Results from both models were used together to find the best design parameters. The device contains three layers, a silicon layer sandwiched between two polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer layers. Silicon dry etching, together with PDMS soft lithography, was used to fabricate the chip. PDMS oxygen plasma bonding is used to bond the layers. Prototypes developed were successfully tested to dispense same-sized droplets repeatedly without unwanted droplets. The design allows easy expansion and simultaneous dispensing of fluids.

Airfoil Performance at Low Reynolds Numbers in the Presence of Periodic Disturbances

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Measurements of Steady Flow through a Bileaflet Mechanical Heart Valve using Stereoscopic PIV

Computational modeling of bileaflet mechanical heart valve (BiMHV) flow requires experimentally validated datasets and improved knowledge of BiMHV fluid mechanics. In this study, flow was studied downstream of a model BiMHV in an axisymmetric aortic sinus using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry. The inlet flow was steady and the Reynolds number based on the aortic diameter was 7600. Results showed the out-of-plane velocity was of similar magnitude as the transverse velocity. Although additional studies are needed for confirmation, analysis of the out-of-plane velocity showed the possible presence of a four-cell streamwise vortex structure in the mean velocity field. Spatial data for all six Reynolds stress components were obtained. Reynolds normal stress profiles revealed similarities between the central jet and free jets. These findings are important to BiMHV flow modeling, though clinical relevance is limited due to the idealized conditions chosen. To this end, the dataset is publicly available for CFD validation purposes.