Simulations of a passively actuated oscillating airfoil using a discontinuous Galerkin method

Natural flappers, such as birds and bats, effectively maneuver in transitional, low Reynolds number flow, outperforming any current small engineered flapping vehicle. Thus, engineers are inspired to investigate the flapping dynamics present in nature to further understand the non-traditional flow aerodynamics in which they operate. Undeniably the success of biological flapping flight is the exploitation of fluid structure interaction response i.e. wing mechanics, deformation, and morphing. Even though all these features are encountered in nature, it is important to note that natural flappers have not just adapted to optimize their aerodynamic behavior, they also have evolved due to biological constraints. Therefore, in bio-inspired design one carefully uses the insight gained from understanding natural flappers. Here, a 2-D simulation of a pitching and heaving foil attempts to indicate flapping parameter specifics that generate an efficient, thrust producing flapper. The simulations are performed using a high-order Discontinuous Galerkin finite element solver for the compressible Navier Stokes equations. A brief investigation of a simple problem in which pitch and heave of a foil are prescribed highlights the necessity to use an inexpensive lower fidelity model to narrow down the large design space to a manageable region of interest. A torsional spring is placed at the foil's leading edge to passively modulate the pitch while the foil is harmonically heaved.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Israeli, Emily Renee

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jamie Peraire.

• Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45892

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/45892