Actuation of the flow field around a frontstep with a rounded leading edge

Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are conducted to study the actuated flow field around a bluff body. The model is a simplification of a section of a truck cabin. The aim is to model the separation of the flow acting at the front part, the so called A-pillar. LES data show the connection between orientation and frequency of the actuation in comparison with drag reduction and separation mechanism. The flow is post processed using modal and frequency decompositions. Relevant results in terms of drag coefficient reduction were observed for the actuated flow. An optimal actuation in terms of induced frequency and drag reduction is also found

Upstream actuation for bluff-body wake control driven by a genetically inspired optimization

The control of bluff-body wakes for reduced drag and enhanced stability has traditionally relied on the so-called direct-wake control approach. By the use of actuators or passive devices, one can manipulate the aerodynamic loads that act on the rear of the model. An alternative approach for the manipulation of the flow is to move the position of the actuator upstream, hence interacting with an easier-to-manipulate boundary layer. The present paper comprises a bluff-body flow study via large-eddy simulations to investigate the effectiveness of an upstream actuator (positioned at the leading edge) with regard to the manipulation of the wake dynamics and its aerodynamic loads. A rectangular cylinder with rounded leading edges, equipped with actuators positioned at the front curvatures, is simulated at. A genetic algorithm (GA) optimization is performed to find an effective actuation that minimizes drag. It is shown that the GA selects superharmonic frequencies of the natural vortex shedding. Hence, the induced disturbances, penetrating downstream in the wake, significantly reduce drag and lateral instability. A comparison with a side-recirculation-suppression approach is also presented, the latter case being worse in terms of reduced drag (only 8 % drag reduction achieved), despite the total suppression of the side recirculation bubble. In contrast, the GA optimized case contributes to a 20 % drag reduction with respect to the unactuated case. In addition, the large drag reduction is associated with a reduced shedding motion and an improved lateral stability

On state instability of the bi-stable flow past a notchback bluff body

The wake of a notchback Ahmed body presenting a bi-stable nature is investigated by performing wind tunnel experiments and large-eddy simulations. Attention is confined to the Reynolds number (Re) influence on the wake state instability within 5 x 10(4) <= Re <= 25 x 10(4). Experimental observations suggest a wake bi-stability with low-frequency switches under low Re. The wake becomes \u27tri-stable\u27 with the increase of Re with the introduction of a new symmetric state. The higher presence of the symmetric state can be considered as a symmetrization of the wake bi-stability with an increasing Re. The wake symmetry under high Re attributed to the highly frequent switches of the wake is extremely sensitive to small yaw angles, showing the feature of bi-stable flows. The wake asymmetry is confirmed in numerical simulations with both low and high Re. The wake asymmetries are indicated by the wake separation, the reattachment and the wake dynamics identified by the proper orthogonal decomposition. However, the turbulence level is found to be significantly higher with a higher Re. This leads to a higher possibility to break the asymmetric state, resulting in highly frequent switches showing symmetry

A Flow Control Study of a Simplified, Oscillating Truck Cabin Using PANS

This work presents an application of the partially averaged Navier–Stokes (PANS) equations for an external vehicle flow. In particular, the flow around a generic truck cabin is simulated. The PANS method is first validated against experiments and resolved large eddy simulation (LES) on two static cases. As a consequence, PANS is used to study the effect of an active flow control (AFC) on a dynamic oscillating configuration. The oscillation of the model represents a more realistic ground vehicle flow, where gusts (of different natures) define the unsteadiness of the incoming flow. In the numerical study, the model is forced to oscillate with a yaw angle 10 deg > β > –10 deg and a nondimensional frequency St = fW/Uinf = 0.1. The effect of the periodic motion of the model is compared with the quasi-static flow condition. At a later stage, the dynamic configuration is actuated by means of a synthetic jet boundary condition. Overall, the effect of the actuation is beneficial. The actuation of the AFC decreases drag, stabilizes the flow, and reduces the size of the side recirculation bubble

PARTIALLY-AVERAGED NAVIER- STOKES SIMULATIONS IN ENGINEERING FLOWS

This paper presents the most recent applications of the Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations for engineering flows together with the review of the previous work in the field. Partially-Averaged Navier\ua0Stokes (PANS) simulation has been successfully used for several different applications of flows around\ua0ground vehicles. Examples of flows studied using PANS are that of the flow around square-back Ahmed body, flow around simplified passenger vehicle influenced by crosswinds, flow around simplified intercity trains, to the influence of passive and active flow control on the reduction of the aerodynamic drag on simplified vehicles. The idea of the application of hybrid methods such as PANS is to decrease the resolution requirements that are needed in turbulence resolving simulations such as LES. The resolution requirements of LES are normally very high in the near-wall regions, and this is where the PANS method is expected to activate more turbulence modelling, and thereby decrease the computational effort. The PANS method used by the authors is based on the variable switching coefficient that regulates the amount of the turbulence\ua0 modelling in the simulation. Previous studies have shown that such implementation of PANS is in line with the requirements that PANS should adapt to the computational grid. The most recent predictions range from simplified ground vehicle flow, flow around a freight train locomotive to the investigation of active flow control for trucks and ships. The new predictions show good agreement with the experimental observations

Multi-frequency aerodynamic control of a yawed bluff body optimized with a genetic algorithm

This experimental work aims to investigate the manipulation of a bluff body flow with a yaw angle of 10\ub0 based on a genetic algorithm optimization. Two loudspeakers are used to generate zero-net mass-flux jets through streamwise slots, which span a large portion of the rounded A-pillars of the bluff body. The actuations produce a maximum drag reduction of 17% and 2% for the leeward and windward side control, respectively. The genetic algorithm has found two typical frequencies to separately drive the actuators on the windward and leeward sides. The drag reduction is 20% under the optimal control law, 3% larger than the 17% attained from the reference single frequency control. In addition, a beneficial effect is observed when considering energy efficiency, which increases by 30% in the optimal control compared to the single frequency control. The drag spectra and velocity mapping in the wake are measured with and without control, and, based on the measurement, the underlying flow mechanism behind the control is proposed

Numerical investigation of the wake bi-stability behind a notchback Ahmed body

Large-eddy simulations are used to investigate the origin of the wake asymmetry and symmetry behind notchback Ahmed bodies. Two different effective backlight angles, beta(1) = 17.8 degrees and beta(2) = 21.0 degrees, are simulated resulting in wake asymmetry and symmetry in flows without external perturbations, in agreement with previous experimental observations. In particular, the asymmetric case presents a bi-stable nature showing, in a random fashion, two stable mirrored states characterized by a left or right asymmetry for long periods. A random switch and several attempts to switch between the bi-stability are observed. The asymmetry of the flow is ascribed to the asymmetric separations and reattachments in the wake. The deflection of the near-wall flow structures behind the slant counteracting the asymmetry drives the wake to be temporarily symmetric, triggering the switching process of the bi-stable wake. The consequence of deflection that forces the flow structure to form on the opposite side of the slant is the decisive factor for a successful switch. Modal analysis applying proper orthogonal decomposition is used for the exploration of the wake dynamics of the bi-stable nature observed

Development of Active Flow Control for Trucks

The possibility to actively control the external aerodynamic of vehicles is an attractive yet challenging solution to decrease the aerodynamic drag and the fuel consumption. The work flow that describes the implementation of an Active Flow Control (AFC), for the suppression of the separated flow at the A-pillar of a truck, is summarised in this paper. The presented work spans from a theoretical verification of the method to a preliminary implementation of an AFC on a real full-scale truck cabin. The study involves numerical (CFD) and experimental work, including aerodynamic test in a full scale wind tunnel. The initial CFD simulations of a simplified A-pillar were performed using turbulence resolving numerical method large-eddy simulations (LES). A second step consisted in simulation of a simplified truck cabin using hybrid Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations (PANS). The AFC was created using synthetic jets produced by the use of loudspeakers mounted in the A-pillars of the model. The numerical and experimental investigations were used to optimise the actuation parameters leading to maximum drag reduction. The final step of the validation of the AFC concept was achieved with a full scale test experimental campaign of a Volvo Truck cabin equipped with the studied AFC device