Wingtip vortices | EPFL Graph Search

Wingtip vortices are circular patterns of rotating air left behind a wing as it generates lift. The name is a misnomer because the cores of the vortices are slightly inboard of the wing tips. Wingtip vortices are sometimes named trailing or lift-induced vortices because they also occur at points other than at the wing tips. Indeed, vorticity is trailed at any point on the wing where the lift varies span-wise (a fact described and quantified by the lifting-line theory); it eventually rolls up into large vortices near the wingtip, at the edge of flap devices, or at other abrupt changes in wing planform. Wingtip vortices are associated with induced drag, the imparting of downwash, and are a fundamental consequence of three-dimensional lift generation. Careful selection of wing geometry (in particular, wingspan), as well as of cruise conditions, are design and operational methods to minimize induced drag. Wingtip vortices form the primary compon

Electric Field Eect on Skyrmion phase in Chiral lattice Ferrimagnet Cu2OSeO3

Naman Agarwal

Insulator materials are the recent research interest in Spintronics because of the absence of joule heating. There has been continued interest in insulator material Cu2OSeO3 because it possesses the novel Skyrmion phase [1], specific type of spin vortices in the lattice, characterized by quantized topological number, near the paramagnetic phase boundary [2]. This Skyrmion phase can be harnessed for the switching applications in the data storage devices [3–6]. We study the effect of positive or negative DC electric field on the Skyrmion phase boundary of this material by magnetoelectric susceptibility(dM/dE)measurements, which is a sensitive technique for scanning phase boundary [7,8]. We scan out the phase diagram for positive, negative and zero DC electric fields and find that electric field effect is maximum at the phase boundaries and decreases inside the phase There is no cut-off for the electric field effect. Also, the electric field effect is maximum at upper skyrmion boundary compared to other phase boundaries. We also show the small expansion(contraction) of Skyrmion phase along temperature axis with the application of positive(negative) DC electric field.

2016

Lagrangian analysis of bio-inspired vortex ring formation

Mrudhula Baskaran, Karen Ann J Mulleners

Pulsatile jet propulsion is a highly energy-efficient swimming mode used by various species of aquatic animals that continues to inspire engineers of underwater vehicles. Here, we present a bio-inspired jet propulsor that combines the flexible hull of a jellyfish with the compression motion of a scallop to create individual vortex rings for thrust generation. Similar to the biological jetters, our propulsor generates a nonlinear time-varying exit velocity profile and has a finite volume capacity. The formation process of the vortices generated by this jet profile is analysed using time-resolved velocity field measurements. The transient development of the vortex properties is characterised based on the evolution of ridges in the finite-time Lyapunov exponent field and on local extrema in the pressure field derived from the velocity data. Special attention is directed toward the vortex merging observed in the trailing shear layer. During vortex merging, the Lagrangian vortex boundaries first contract in the streamwise direction before expanding in the normal direction to keep the non-dimensional energy at its minimum value, in agreement with the Kelvin–Benjamin variational principle. The circulation, diameter and translational velocity of the vortex increase due to merging. The vortex merging takes place because the velocity of the trailing vortex is higher than the velocity of the main vortex ring prior to merging. The comparison of the temporal evolution of the Lagrangian vortex boundaries and the pressure-based vortex delimiters confirms that features in the pressure field serve as accurate and robust observables for the vortex formation process.

2022

Growth, timing, & trajectory of vortices behind a rotating plate

Diego Francescangeli

The presence of aerodynamic vortices is widespread in nature. They can be found at small scales near the wing tip of flying insects or at bigger scale in the form of hurricanes, cyclones or even galaxies. They are identified as coherent regions of high vorticity where the flow is locally dominated by rotation over strain. A better comprehension of vortex dynamics has a great potential to increase aerodynamic performances of moving vehicles, such as drones or autonomous underwater vehicles. An accelerated flat plate, a pitching airfoil or a jet flow ejected from a nozzle give rise to the formation of a primary vortex, followed by the shedding of smaller secondary vortices. We experimentally study the growth, timing and trajectory of primary and secondary vortices generated from a rectangular flat plate that is rotated around its centre location in a quiescent fluid. We systematically vary the rotational speed of the plate to get a chord based Reynolds number \Rey that ranges from 800 to 12000. We identify the critical \Rey for the occurrence of secondary vortices to be at 2500. The timing of the formation of the primary vortex is \Rey independent but is affected by the plate's dimensions. The circulation of the primary vortex increases with the angular position

\alpha

of the plate, until the plate reaches 30°. Increasing the thickness and decreasing the chord lead to a longer growth of the primary vortex. Therefore, the primary vortex reaches a higher dimensionless limit strength. We define a new dimensionless time

T^*

based on the thickness of the plate to scale the age of the primary vortex. The primary vortex stops growing when

T^* \approx 10

, regardless of the dimensions of the plate. We consider this value to be the vortex formation number of the primary vortex generated from a rotating rectangular flat plate in a Reynolds number range that goes from 800 to 12000. When

\alpha

> 30°, the circulation released in the flow is entrained into secondary vortices for

\Rey > 2500

. The circulation of all secondary vortices is approximately 4 to 5 times smaller than the circulation of the primary vortex. We present a modified version of the Kaden spiral that accurately predicts the shear layer evolution and the trajectory of primary and secondary vortices during the entire rotation of the plate.We model the timing dynamics of secondary vortices with a power law equation that depends on two distinct parameter:

\chi

and

\alpha_{0}

.The parameter

\chi

indicates the relative increase in the time interval between the release of successive secondary vortices.The parameter

\alpha_{0}

indicates the angular position at which the primary vortex stops growing and pinches-off from the plate.We also observe that the total circulation released in the flow is proportional to

\alpha^{1/3}

, as predicted by the inviscid theory.The combination of the power law equation with the total circulation computed from inviscid theory predict the strength of primary and secondary vortices, based purely on the plate's geometry and kinematics.The strength prediction is confirmed by experimental measurements.In this thesis we provided a valuable insight into the growth, timing and trajectory of primary and secondary vortices generated by a rotating flat plate. Future work should be directed towards more complex object geometries and kinematics, to confirm the validity of the modified Kaden spiral and explore the influence on the formation number.

EPFL2022