Hydrodynamics of pitching foils: flexibility and ground effects

The roles of the chordwise flexural stiffness and ground effect in a rectangular plate undergoing in pure pitching motion have been investigated. Digital Particle image velocimetry (DPIV), load measurement with a 6-axes balance, measurements of the swimming speed and image acquisition of the kinemat...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Fernández Prats, Rafael
Tipo de recurso: tesis doctoral
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Universitat Rovira i virgili (URV)
Repositorio:Repositori Institucional de la Universitat Rovira i Virgili
OAI Identifier:oai:urv.cat:TDX:1982
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX1982
http://hdl.handle.net/10803/296444
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:629 - Enginyeria dels vehicles de transport
53 - Física
Descripción
Sumario:The roles of the chordwise flexural stiffness and ground effect in a rectangular plate undergoing in pure pitching motion have been investigated. Digital Particle image velocimetry (DPIV), load measurement with a 6-axes balance, measurements of the swimming speed and image acquisition of the kinematics of the foil have been done to study the flow patterns and hydrodynamics forces around the flapping flexible plates. The presence of the wall enhances the cruising velocity in some cases up to 25% and the thrust by a 45% , for swept angles of 160 and 240°. The physical mechanisms underlying of this effect are discussed by studying the vorticity dynamics in the wake of the foil. Experimental data of the hydrodynamic forces and moments allowed to obtain the efficiencies of the flapping propulsion. These load measurements were linked to the wakes of the flapping foils in order to reveal configurations with higher thrust. The momentum distribution in the wake of the foil has allowed the physical explanation for the cases with highest thrust production capacity. In terms of flexural stiffness, the optimum flexibility has been determined with the semi − flexible plate up to 69% of efficiency under a swept angle of 72 degrees for Re = O(10^4) tested in the investigation.