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The impact of train heights on train aerodynamic performance is studied by using an improved delayed detached-eddy simulation (IDDES) method. The correctness of the numerical method has been verified by the existing wind tunnel and moving model experiments data. The aerodynamic drag, lift, slipstream, and wake flow are compared for three train heights. The results presented that the drag and lift increased by 6.2% and 23.8% respectively, with an increase in train height from 3.89 m to 4.19 m. Compared with the 3.89 m case, the maximum time-averaged slipstream at the platform location for 4.04 and 4.19 m cases are increased by 2.0% and 4.3% respectively. Meanwhile, the wake topology for three cases is described and analyzed quantitatively. The downwash angle of the wake longitudinal flow is increased with the increasing train height, resulting in the mixing of the downwash flow and the ground flow in advance. The wake in the higher trains tends to develop outward and downward. Besides, the higher trains will also bring greater transient aerodynamic loads to the equipment above the train. It's recommended to shorten the maintenance period of the electrical equipment above the higher trains to ensure the devices' safety. Abbreviations: CFL: Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy; COT: Center of the track; FDR: Flow development region; FFT: Fast Fourier transform; GF: Ground-fixed reference system; ICE3: Intercity Express 3; IDDES: Improved delayed detached-eddy simulation; LES: Large-eddy simulation; LV: Longitudinal vortex; MME: Moving model experiments; NBL: Negative bifurcation line; PBL: Positive bifurcation line; PSD: Power spectral density; RANS: Reynolds averaged Navier - Stokes; SF: Stable focus; SP: Saddle point; STBR: Single-track ballast and rails; SV: Spanwise vortex; TF: Train-fixed reference system; TOR: Top of the track; TSI: Technical specification for interoperability; UN: Unstable node; WPR: Wake propagation region

A piecewise acoustic metasurface is designed to suppress the first mode while marginally amplifying the Mack second mode in a Mach 4 flat-plate boundary layer (BL) flow. The results of linear stability theory (LST) and the e N method demonstrate the stabilization effect and transition delay performance, respectively. However, the direct numerical simulation (DNS) results indicate that the designed broadband acoustic metasurface actually weakly excites the first mode with a slightly larger fluctuating pressure amplitude at the surface, which is in contrast to the analysis of LST. The discrepancies are found to lie in the ‘roughness’ effect caused by the recirculation zones inside the microslits and the alternating expansion and compression waves induced at the slit edges, which significantly amplifies the first mode. For further clarification of the competitive mechanism between the acoustic stabilization and ‘roughness’ destabilization effects of metasurfaces on the first mode, a carefully designed metasurface is installed at the maximum growth rate region, which excites the first mode on the metasurface but inhibits its development downstream.

Stability analyses based on the rates of change of perturbations were performed to study the growth mechanisms of second-mode instability in hypersonic boundary layers. The results show that the streamwise velocity perturbation is strengthened by the concurrence of the momentum transfer due to the wall-normal velocity fluctuation and the streamwise gradient of the pressure perturbation near the wall, while the wall-normal velocity perturbation is dominated by the wall-normal gradient of the pressure perturbation. Meanwhile, the change of fluctuating internal energy is sustained by the advection of perturbed thermal energy in the vicinity of the critical layer and by the dilatation fluctuation near the wall. The energy transport by the wall-normal velocity fluctuation accounts for the growth of second-mode instability, and the growth rate depends on the relative phase of the energy transport by the wall-normal velocity fluctuation to the total time rate of change of fluctuating internal energy in the vicinity of the critical layer. Moreover, this relative phase is associated with the mutual interaction between the critical-layer fluctuation and the near-wall fluctuation. Porous walls recast this mutual interaction by delaying the phase of the wall-normal energy transport near the wall, resulting in the stabilization of the second mode.

The lift force is an important component that affects the aerodynamic performance of bio-inspired flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles. However, there is a lack of endeavors in the optimization of the flapping wing parameters that affect the lift force of micro aerial vehicles. This research is therefore to establish a methodology that combines computational fluid dynamic simulation for the evaluation of the lift generation and wing parameters. The Taguchi’s framework for design of experiments, combined with the computational fluid dynamics simulations, is performed on a simplified robotic fly wing model used in the experiment found in Dickinson et al. (1999), under the hovering flight mode, to identify the most influential parameters on the lift generation of micro aerial vehicles. A commercial computational fluid dynamics code, ANSYS/FLUENT, along with a three-dimensional Navier–Stokes solver is used to simulate the unsteady flow field. With the optimization of the time-averaged lift force as the optimization objective, five typical parameters (flapping frequency, maximum angle of attacks during the upstroke and downstroke motions, stroke amplitude, and rotation type) in the flapping trajectory equation are selected as the input factors with each having four levels. Specific computational fluid dynamics cases are simulated in accordance with the chosen orthogonal arrays. By conducting statistical analyses with analyses of means and variance, the flapping frequency and the stroke amplitude are determined to be the two most influential parameters. The response surface of the time-averaged lift force and the power consumption contour are constructed with respect to these two parameters to determine the optimal combination for the generation of lift forces under a specific power constrain and provide a guideline for bio-inspired micro aerial vehicle designs.

The stabilization of oblique detonation waves (ODWs) in an engine combustor is important for the successful applications of oblique detonation engines, and comprehensively understanding the effects of the inviscid reflection of ODWs on their stabilization and the relevant mechanisms is imperative to overall combustor design. In this study, the flow fields of ODW reflections in a space-confined combustor are numerically studied by solving the two-dimensional time-dependent multispecies Euler equations in combination with a detailed hydrogen combustion mechanism. The inviscid Mach reflections of ODWs before an expansion corner are emphasized with different flight Mach numbers, Ma, and different dimensionless reflection locations, ζ ≥ 0 (ζ = 0: the ODW reflects precisely at the expansion corner; ζ > 0: the ODW reflects off the wall before the expansion corner). Two kinds of destabilization phenomena of the inviscid Mach reflection of an ODW induced by different mechanisms are found, namely wave-induced destabilization at large ζ > 0 for moderate (not very low) Ma and inherent destabilization at any ζ > 0 for low Ma. Wave-induced destabilization is attributed to the incompatibility between the pressure ratio across the Mach stem and its relative propagation speed, which is triggered by the action of the secondary reflected shock wave or the transmitted Mach stem on the subsonic zone behind the Mach stem. Inherent destabilization is demonstrated through an in-depth theoretical analysis and is attributed to geometric choking of the flow behind the Mach stem.

The detailed energy sources that sustain the eigenmodal exponential growth in boundary layers are currently unclear. In the present study, the phase of each term in the linear stability equation is examined to identify the significant physical sources for a wide range of Mach numbers and wall temperature ratios. The Tollmien–Schlichting mode for incompressible flows, the oblique first mode for supersonic flows and the Mack second mode and supersonic mode for hypersonic flows share some similar features. The unique appearance of obliqueness for the most unstable first mode is accompanied by the enhancement of Reynolds shear stress. By contrast, the weakened Reynolds thermal stress prevents the oblique second mode from being the most unstable state. Wall cooling stabilises the oblique first mode by rendering Reynolds thermal stress and dilatation fluctuations out of phase with the internal energy fluctuation. It destabilises the second mode by a newly generated pronounced region of wall-normal internal energy transport beneath the second generalised inflection point. In comparison, the porous coating destabilises the oblique first mode by significantly enhancing the mean-shear production while it stabilises the second mode similarly to wall heating. Finally, the relatively weak supersonic mode has the feature that the phase destruction of wall-normal transport near the critical layer results in a low contribution to the internal energy growth. Connections and consistencies are also highlighted with the previous inviscid thermoacoustic interpretation for the second mode (Kuehl, AIAA J., vol. 56, 2018, pp. 3585–3592) and for the supersonic mode. The pronounced sources along the critical layer and near-wall regions provide a unified understanding of the local energy amplification mechanisms of the inviscid modes in hypersonic boundary layers.

The extensive involvement of blowing in ablation and transpiration cooling directly influences the hypersonic boundary layer (HBL) transition. This work investigates the coupled effect of stabilization through micro-blowing and the corresponding porous blowing medium on a Mach 6 HBL flow. Linear stability theory (LST) and the eN method are used to interpret the characteristics of stability, and direct numerical simulations are used to resolve the detailed flow field among the porous microstructures to verify the predictions of LST. The sole effect of micro-blowing is first investigated by emphasizing the locations of the blowing strip. The results show that micro-blowing alone can significantly excite the first mode but stabilize the second mode. In general, the HBL becomes unstable if the blowing strip is installed upstream of the synchronization points of the dominant disturbances, and otherwise becomes stable. In the context of the blowing medium, a porous coating can suppress high-frequency disturbances and help stabilize the HBL if the blowing strip is placed upstream of the synchronization points of the dominant disturbances. On the contrary, the coating can prematurely excite lower-frequency disturbances and degrade the overall stabilization when the strip is located in the dominant region of the second mode.

The aim of current research work on micro air vehicles is to realize their autonomous control, i.e. building a library for a lookup table that would apply to micro electronics. In doing so, comprehensive flight tests need to be carried out. In this study, a four-wing flapping MAV is built and a multi-discipline approach is used to design the MAV model. Precision manufacturing technology is introduced here. The finished micro air vehicle has a weight of 8 g and is tested for flight by remote control. The micro air vehicle can perform both hovering and forward flight with high maneuverability. Forward flight is investigated first in this paper. Particle image velocimetry system is employed to examine unsteady aerodynamic performance in selected flight conditions. The study reveals that the micro air vehicle model will provide enough lift at a 30° angle of attack and flapping frequency of 12 Hz, which is consistent with real-life forward flight observations.

The nature of the nonequilibrium flow of dissociating gases over spheres was investigated experimentally, numerically and theoretically. A series of experiments with three different gases, nitrogen, air and carbon dioxide, was performed in the shock tunnel T5 at GALCIT. Five spheres of different radii equipped with thermocouples for surface heat flux measurements were used. The state-of-the-art numerical method by Candler (1988) was used to conduct a parallel study which strongly complemented the experimental and theoretical efforts. Experimental heat flux measurements are presented. Good agreement was observed among the measured stagnation point heat transfer rates, computational results and Fay and Riddell's theoretical predictions. For nitrogen and air, the measured heat flux distributions were also in good agreement with numerical computation results and Lees' theory. For carbon dioxide, large deviations were observed. Early transition tripped by surface roughness is a possible cause for the deviation of heat flux distribution from the theory. The experimental differential interferograms were compared with the images constructed from computational flowfields. Good agreement of fringe pattern and shock shape was observed. An analytical solution is obtained for inviscid hypervelocity dissociating flow over spheres. The solution explains the correlation between the dimensionless stand-off distance and the dimensionless reaction rate parameter previously observed by Hornung (1972) for nitrogen. The physics of the correlation can be shown as the binary scaling. Based on the solution, a new dimensionless reaction rate parameter is defined to generalize Hornung's correlation for more complex gases than nitrogen. Experimental and numerical results confirm the new correlation. The effect of nonequilibrium recombination downstream of a curved two-dimensional shock was also addressed. An analytical solution for an ideal dissociating gas was obtained, giving an expression for dissociation fraction as a function of temperature on a streamline. The solution agrees well with the numerical result and provides a rule of thumb to check the validity of binary scaling for the experimental conditions. The effects upon the binary scaling of the large difference in freestream temperature between flight and free-piston shock tunnel conditions are discussed.