Effect of wing deformation on the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings: fluid-structure interaction approach

Wing stiffness is very crucial in augmenting aerodynamic forces in flapping wing flyers. In this work, the effect of wing deformation was studied using three-dimensional numerical analysis (two-way fluid structure interaction), coupling the flow solver (FLUENT) and the structural (ABAQUS) solver via the MpCCI platform. Three different degrees of bending stiffness corresponding to rigid, flexible, and highly flexible case wings were investigated. Moreover, the wings were tested for both low Reynolds number (R=9,000) and high Reynolds number (R=40,000), at a flapping frequency of 9 Hz corresponding to an angle of attack (AoA) ranging from α=0 to 50°. The results of mean aerodynamic lift and drag coefficients showed good agreement between numerical and experimental findings. Also, the time-averaged lift-to-drag ratio reveals that the highly flexible wing exhibited the best overall aerodynamic performance when compared to the rigid and flexible wing

Indoor Environmental Quality

This book deals with indoor environmental quality (IEQ), which encompasses diverse factors that affect human life inside a building. These factors include indoor air quality (IAQ), lighting, acoustics, drinking water, ergonomics, electromagnetic radiation, and so on. Enhanced environmental quality can improve the quality of life and productivity of the occupants, increase the resale value of the building, and minimize the penalties on building owners. The book covers an overview of IEQ and its research progress, IAQ and its monitoring, the best indoor illumination scenes, IEQ in healthcare buildings, and acoustic comfort in residential buildings and places of worship. This book is expected to benefit undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, teachers, practitioners, policy makers, and every individual who has a concern for healthy life

Energy performance of passive shading and thermal insulation in multistory hotel building under different outdoor climates and geographic locations

Though energy-efficient envelope is extensively studied, there is lack of attention on incorporating appropriate passive design strategies at the design-phase of a building in a specific climate and geographic location. This study has focused on the effect of outdoor climate and geographic location on the energy-saving potential of passive shading and thermal insulation for multistory hotel building in the northern hemisphere. The building was modelled and simulated by using DesignBuilder (Version 4.5.0.148). The cities were selected in such a manner that they represent warm, moderately hot, hot, and very hot outdoor climates but different geographic locations (according to Koppen category). The proposed shading strategy was featured by the combination of solar shading devices and self-shading. As an alternative option, the envelope was provided with high-performance insulation and glazing without solar shading. The results indicated that the outdoor climate and geographic location had significant influence on the energy-saving potential of both the options; the factors identified through sensitivity analysis were cooling degree days above the cooling setpoint (CDD-base STC), share of cooling and heating energy demands, global horizontal irradiance, and solar shading effectiveness. For instance, Khamis Mushait and Athens cities have warm outdoor climate, but they represent different geographic locations; therefore, the building's cooling energy demands in these cities were significantly different (98% and 52% respectively of the total energy demand). Accordingly, the energy saving potential of passive solar shading was maximum (65.2%) for Khamis Mushait, while it was minimum (13.1%) for Athens. Conversely, the saving by high-performance insulation ranged from −11.6% in Khamis Mushait to a maximum of only 8.5% in Athens, which is consistent with their heating demands (2% and 48% respectively)

Evolutions in Gaseous and Liquid Fuel Cook-Stove Technologies

The rapidly growing global demand for pollutant-free cooking energy has proliferated the research and development of energy efficient and clean cook-stoves. This paper presents a comprehensive review on the gradual improvements in cook-stove designs, focusing on gaseous and liquid fuel-operated cook-stoves around the world. Various literatures concerning the technical aspects such as design and testing, are brought together to provide an insight into the present status of developments in cook-stoves. This review of cook-stove performance covers topics such as stable operating conditions, flame propagation aspects, heat transfer and temperature distribution within the burner, fuel consumption, thermal efficiency, and emissions. Covering both laboratory-scale and field studies, the various cook-stove technologies reported so far are summarized with relevant comments regarding their commercial viabilities. The numerical modeling of combustion in cook-stoves; human health and the environmental impacts of unclean cooking technologies; and various schemes, strategies, and governmental initiatives for the promotion of cleaner cooking practices are also presented, with suggestions for future work