Engineering Commons^™

Ductape: A Steady-State, Axisymmetric Ducted Fan Analysis Code Designed For Gradient-Based Optimization, Judd Mehr, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

Electric ducted fans have become an intriguing option for the propulsion systems of clean, quiet advanced air mobility technologies due to their potential benefits in both aerodynamic efficiency and reduced noise profiles compared to open rotor systems. Exploration of conceptual electric ducted fan design in the context of novel, and often complex, applications may be greatly aided by the use of optimization techniques. Specifically, gradient-based optimization lends itself to the exploration of large, complex, multi-disciplinary systems due to its inherent scalability. Despite ducted fans/propellers having been relatively well studied for the last century, modern, gradient-based, optimization-ready analysis tools for ducted …

Vortex Particle Method For Electric Ducted Fan In Non-Axisymmetric Flow, Eduardo Alvarez, Cibin Joseph, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

The vortex particle method has been reformulated in recent work as a large eddy simulation (LES) in a scheme that is both meshless and numerically stable, solving long-standing issues of numerical stability. In this study, we build upon this meshless LES scheme to create a simulation framework for electric ducted fans. This poses the challenge of introducing solid boundaries in the vorticity form of the Navier-Stokes equations without a mesh. Rotor blades are introduced in our computational domain through an actuator line model (ALM) following well-established practices for LES. A novel, vorticity-based, actuator surface model (ASM) is developed for the …

Meshless Large Eddy Simulation Of Propeller-Wing Interactions With Reformulated Vortex Particle Method, Eduardo Alvarez, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

The vortex particle method (VPM) has gained popularity in recent years due to a growing need to predict complex aerodynamic interactions during preliminary design of electric multirotor aircraft. However, VPM is known to be numerically unstable when vortical structures break down close to the turbulent regime. In recent work, the VPM has been reformulated as a large eddy simulation (LES) in a scheme that is both meshless and numerically stable, without increasing its computational cost. In this study, we build upon this meshless LES scheme to create a solver for interactional aerodynamics. Rotor blades are introduced through an actuator line …

Effects Of Rotor-Airframe Interaction On The Aeromechanics And Wake Of A Quadcopter In Forward Flight, Denis-Gabriel Caprace, Andrew Ning, Philippe Chatelain, Grégoire Winckelmans

Faculty Publications

From small drones to large Urban Air Mobility vehicles, the market of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is currently booming. Modern VTOL designs feature a variety of configurations involving rotors, lifting surfaces and bluff bodies. The resulting aerodynamics are highly impacted by the interactions between those components and their wakes. This has consequences on the aircraft performance and on the downstream wake. Studying the effects of those interactions through CFD can inform the development of cheaper numerical models. In this work, we focus on the interaction between rotors and bluff bodies based on the example of a generic quadcopter …

Aerodynamic Design Optimization Of A Locomotive Nose Fairing For Reducing Drag, Chad Lamar Stucki

Theses and Dissertations

Rising fuel cost has motivated increased fuel efficiency for freight trains. At cruising speed,the largest contributing factor to the fuel consumption is aerodynamic drag. As a result of stagnationand flow separation on and around lead and trailing cars, the first and last railcars experiencegreater drag than intermediate cars. Accordingly, this work focused on reducing drag on lead locomotivesby designing and optimizing an add-on nose fairing that is feasible for industrial operation.The fairing shape design was performed via computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software.The simulations consisted of two in-line freight locomotives, a stretch of rails on a raised subgrade,a computational domain, and …

Investigating The Impact Of Taper And Aspect Ratio On A Stalling Wing Using A Corrected Vortex Lattice Method, Ryan Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The advent of new technologies such as eVTOL vehicles is exciting. The development of fast aerodynamics models incorporating stall is one small step on the road to realizing such concepts by improving the speed of design optimization algorithms. To this end, a modified vortex lattice model was developed based on one reported by dos Santos and Marques [4]. The model was validated against experimental data found in the literature. Making use of its stall capabilities, a sample study was performed to test for any coupling effect between aspect ratio and taper ratio. This was done by calculating the lift curve …

Aerodynamic Drag On Intermodal Rail Cars, Philip Donovan Kinghorn

Theses and Dissertations

The freight rail industry is essential to the US infrastructure and there is significant motivation to improve its efficiency. The aerodynamic drag associated with transport of commodities by rail is becoming increasingly important as the cost of diesel fuel increases. For intermodal railcars a significant amount of aerodynamic drag is a result of the large distance between containers that often occurs and the resulting pressure drag resulting from the separated flow that results due to their non-streamlined shape. This thesis reports on research that has been done to characterize the aerodynamic drag on intermodal train builds and allow their builds …

Aerodynamic Improvement Of The Byu Supermileage Vehicle, Sayan Dobronsky

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis work was to design a new shape for the BYU Supermileage vehicle in order to improve its fuel efficiency. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to obtain the coefficient of drag (CD) and drag area of the current baseline vehicle at a Reynolds number of 1.6x10^6 and 8.7x10^5. Then a new shape was developed using mesh morphing software. The new shape was imported into the CFD program and the drag figures and airflow plots from the modified design were compared with the baseline vehicle. Scale models of the vehicles were also printed using a 3D …

Aerodynamic Improvements For Auto-Carrying Railcars, Robert Arthur Condie

Theses and Dissertations

The railroad industry is responsible for the mass transport of a vast numbers of goods throughout the United States. As needs and capabilities of the railroad industry have changed, the interest in reducing the resistance of locomotives and railcars has increased. This has become paramount as fuel prices have increased in recent years. Resistant forces can result from friction in mechanical components and aerodynamic drag of the moving train. As the average traveling speeds of trains have increased, aerodynamics are contributing a larger fraction of the overall resistance. For this reason, the aerodynamic profiles of trains have become a topic …

Low Reynolds Number Aerodynamics For Micro Air-Vehicles (Mav), Paul Nelson, Chad Lebaron, Bart Frischknecht, Kristopher Danielson, Jerry Bowman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Very little aerodynamic data exists for Reynolds numbers less than 100,000. It is common for there to be a large discrepancy between numerically predicted and experimental airfoil performance, especially at very low Reynolds numbers. In this research, a low Reynolds number airfoil was developed based on aerodynamic measurements.

Predicting Drag Polars For Micro Air Vehicles, Mark Elden Luke

Theses and Dissertations

Drag polars for three Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) were measured at Reynolds numbers of 70,000, 50,000, 30,000, and 10,000 and compared to predictions generated using the classical approach. The MAVs tested had different configurations and aspect ratios varying from 1.2 to 1.6 and ratios of wetted surface area to planform area from 2.6 to 3.9.

A force balance was used to measure the lift and drag on the MAVs at angles of attack ranging from -5 degrees (or -10 degrees) to 10 degrees. The force balance allowed the MAVs to rotate in the pitching axis. The MAV angle of attack …

Heat Transfer In Shock Boundary Layer Interaction Regions, Rex W. Shumway

Theses and Dissertations

The interest in aerodynamic heating problems has been increasing rapidly in the last decade. This interest is no longer concentrated on the heating of simple shapes for which adequate heat transfer theory has been developed« Because of the increasing Mach number ranges of aircraft, the need for information on the aerodynamic heating of various components has become imperative. Only when the magnitude of the problem has been exposed can the design for reducing the severity of local heating be optimized. Definition of these problems is of interest, not only because of the flow phenomena, but because of possible design limitations …

Investigation Of Aerodynamic Hysteresis, Gerald Heber Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

The word hysteresis is derived from a Greek word meaning "to lag 'behind". As specifically applied to fluid flow around bodies with transient angles of attack in and near the stall region, "aerodynamic hysteresis" is used to describe the effect of delay in boundary layer separation and reattachment upon the lift, drag and pitching moment. Experimental work done on airfoils by H. Studer showed that for increasing angles of attack flow "separation is delayed to an angle of attack appreciably greater than that for a stationary airfoil. On the return movement, re-establishment of a smooth flow is also delayed." [1]* …

The Aerodynamic Drag On Spheres Under Acceleration, Charles Earl Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

The requirement of a greater understanding of the behavior of solids-gas systems has shown itself profoundly with the advancement of science and technology during recent years. The range and variety of processes in which these systems play an important role is exceptionally broad. These processes range from meteorological disturbances such as dust storms, rain and snow, to the use of vacuum cleaning equipment. With the advancement of aircraft and space technology the influence of these systems is again felt in such cases as the motion of rockets, missiles and aircraft in flight, the behavior of liquid droplets or metallic particles …

Study Of Aerodynamic Forces On An Unsymmetrical Body As It Is Oscillated In A Air Stream, David Rees Tree

Theses and Dissertations

The object of this work was to design and build equipment to measure the aerodynamic forces which will cause self-induced oscillations of a body having an unsymmetrical cross-section, such as a D-section. This self-induced oscillation has been called "stall flutter" or in electrical transmission lines, "galloping-transmission lines." It is hoped that this equipment will be used to gain basic Information about these aerodynamic forces.