Design of F-16 Airfoil Mock-ups for Supersonic Wind Tunnel: Study, Production, Testing and Validation

This research paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the behavior of viscous supersonic laminar flow and the Shock Wave- Laminar Boundary Layer Interaction (SWBLI) around the F-16 laminar NACA 6-series airfoil NACA 64A204. The study aims to establish and compare different methods for accurately describing these complex phenomena, which are of significant importance in the development of advanced aerospace technologies. To achieve this objective, a unique approach was adopted, involving the design and production of a mock-up F-16 airfoil equipped with pressure taps for use in the supersonic burst wind tunnel AF300. The mock-up was then experimentally tested, and the obtained data were analysed using numerical simulations with Ansys Fluent and a theoretical model based on a previously established analytical SWBLI model. The results obtained from the experimental, numerical, and analytical analyses validate the designed NACA 64A204 mock-up to a great extent. The study provides valuable insights into the physics of viscous supersonic laminar flow and SWBLI, contributing to a better understanding of these phenomena. The findings of this study will have important applications in the design of high-speed aircraft and other advanced aerospace technologies.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures, 5 tables, submitted to Jounral of Applied Fluid Mechanic

Dynamic behaviour of rotary lip seal

We report on the dynamic behavior of a rotary lip seal by considering the interaction between lip, film and shaft roughness assumed to have a periodic form. The nonlinearities of stiffness and viscosity of the film are taken into account in a mass-spring-dumper model. Using the harmonic balance method, analytical prediction of the lip displacement is obtained, the frequency response is provided and the effect of the shaft undulation on the amplitude jumps of the lip displacement and on the film thickness fluctuations are discussed. The results have direct applications in reducing leakage that may occur between a smooth lip seal and a rough shaft

The non-unicity of the film thickness in the hydrodynamic lubrication: novel approach generating equivalent micro-grooves and roughness

Since the 1960s, all studies have assumed that a film thickness “h” provides a unique pressure field “p” by resolving the Reynolds equation. However, it is relevant to investigate the film thickness unicity under a given hydrodynamic pressure within the inverse theory. This paper presents a new approach to deduce from an initial film thickness a widespread number of thicknesses providing the same hydrodynamic pressure under a specific condition of gradient pressure. For this purpose, three steps were presented: 1) computing the hydrodynamic pressure from an initial film thickness by resolving the Reynolds equation with Gümbel’s cavitation model, 2) using a new algorithm to generate a second film thickness, 3) comparing and validating the hydrodynamic pressure produced by both thicknesses with the modified Reynolds equation. Throughout three surface finishes: the macro-shaped, micro-textured, and rough surfaces, it has been demonstrated that under a specific hydrodynamic pressure gradient, several film thicknesses could generate the same pressure field with a slight difference by considering cavitation. Besides, this paper confirms also that with different ratios of the averaged film thickness to the root mean square (RMS) similar hydrodynamic pressure could be generated, thereby the deficiency of this ratio to define the lubrication regime as commonly known from Patir and Cheng theory

The Grooved Lip Effect on Reciprocating Hydraulic Rod Seal Performances in Transient Condition: Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication

It is commonly known that the sealing performance of dynamic seals is significantly influenced by the surface finish. To reduce friction effect and leakage ratio, new generations of grooved lip or shaft have emerged, but only two computational models were performed up to now with a textured elastomeric lip: spiral groove in the axial direction or micro-cavities according to the circumferential direction. However, if the numerical results have confirmed the slight effect of the grooved lip on the rotary lip seal performances, it seems relevant to investigate the influence of such grooves on the reciprocating hydraulic rod seal behavior. Thus, the scope of this work is to perform a parametric study of the grooved lip throughout a one-dimensional elastohydrodynamic model by taking into account the elasticity of the lip and the shaft roughness. After confirming the validity of the current model, numerical simulations have been performed and compared with experiments. The effect of lip grooves on the hydraulic rod seal behavior in outstroke and instroke shaft motion has been underlined. Thereby, it is shown that the leakage and the average film thickness are sensible to both the depth and the density of the lip groove. Additionally, a slight effect of the pattern shape is observed on the friction force

The Grooved Lip Effect on Reciprocating Hydraulic Rod Seal Performances in Transient Condition: Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication

It is commonly known that the sealing performance of dynamic seals is significantly influenced by the surface finish. To reduce friction effect and leakage ratio, new generations of grooved lip or shaft have emerged, but only two computational models were performed up to now with a textured elastomeric lip: spiral groove in the axial direction or micro-cavities according to the circumferential direction. However, if the numerical results have confirmed the slight effect of the grooved lip on the rotary lip seal performances, it seems relevant to investigate the influence of such grooves on the reciprocating hydraulic rod seal behavior

Effect of Relative Velocity Between Rough Surfaces: Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Rotary Lip Seal

Since the sixties, most of numerical studies that model the rotary lip seal lubrication have been restricted by assuming that one of the two opposing surfaces is smooth: either the lip or the shaft. This hypothesis, although it is verified only for a shaft roughness ten times smaller than that of the seal, is the best solution to avoid the transient term “∂h/∂t” in the deterministic approach. Thus, the subject of the present study is twofold. The first part validates the current hydrodynamic model with the international literature by assuming the asperities on the lip and shaft as a two-dimensional cosine function. In the second part the Reynolds equation for rough surfaces with relative motion is solved. The numerical results show that the relative motion between rough surfaces impacts significantly the load support and the leakage rate, but affects slightly the friction torque