A Low Cost Oscillating Membrane for Underwater Applications at Low Reynolds Numbers
Active surface morphing is a nonintrusive flow control technique that can delay separation in laminar and turbulent boundary layers. Most of the experimental studies of such control strategy have been carried out in wind tunnels at low Reynolds numbers with costly actuators. In contrast, the impleme...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/1/77 |
| _version_ | 1797492897569832960 |
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| author | Abel Arredondo-Galeana Aristides Kiprakis Ignazio Maria Viola |
| author_facet | Abel Arredondo-Galeana Aristides Kiprakis Ignazio Maria Viola |
| author_sort | Abel Arredondo-Galeana |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Active surface morphing is a nonintrusive flow control technique that can delay separation in laminar and turbulent boundary layers. Most of the experimental studies of such control strategy have been carried out in wind tunnels at low Reynolds numbers with costly actuators. In contrast, the implementation of such a control strategy at low cost for an underwater environment remains vastly unexplored. This paper explores active surface morphing at low cost and at low Reynolds for underwater applications. We do this with a 3D printed foil submerged in a water tunnel. The suction surface of the foil is covered with a magnetoelastic membrane. The membrane is actuated via two electromagnets that are positioned inside of the foil. Three actuation frequencies (slow, intermediate, fast) are tested and the deformation of the membrane is measured with an optosensor. We show that lift increases by 1%, whilst drag decreases by 6% at a Strouhal number of 0.3, i.e., at the fast actuation case. We demonstrate that surface actuation is applicable to the marine environment through an off the shelf approach, and that this method is more economical than existing active surface morphing technologies. Since the actuation mechanism is not energy intensive, it is envisioned that it could be applied to marine energy devices, boat appendages, and autonomous underwater vehicles. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:11:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-66f5b5b0c3f549d098f44865986110b2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:11:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-66f5b5b0c3f549d098f44865986110b22023-11-23T14:16:37ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122022-01-011017710.3390/jmse10010077A Low Cost Oscillating Membrane for Underwater Applications at Low Reynolds NumbersAbel Arredondo-Galeana0Aristides Kiprakis1Ignazio Maria Viola2Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0LZ, UKSchool of Engineering, Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, UKSchool of Engineering, Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, UKActive surface morphing is a nonintrusive flow control technique that can delay separation in laminar and turbulent boundary layers. Most of the experimental studies of such control strategy have been carried out in wind tunnels at low Reynolds numbers with costly actuators. In contrast, the implementation of such a control strategy at low cost for an underwater environment remains vastly unexplored. This paper explores active surface morphing at low cost and at low Reynolds for underwater applications. We do this with a 3D printed foil submerged in a water tunnel. The suction surface of the foil is covered with a magnetoelastic membrane. The membrane is actuated via two electromagnets that are positioned inside of the foil. Three actuation frequencies (slow, intermediate, fast) are tested and the deformation of the membrane is measured with an optosensor. We show that lift increases by 1%, whilst drag decreases by 6% at a Strouhal number of 0.3, i.e., at the fast actuation case. We demonstrate that surface actuation is applicable to the marine environment through an off the shelf approach, and that this method is more economical than existing active surface morphing technologies. Since the actuation mechanism is not energy intensive, it is envisioned that it could be applied to marine energy devices, boat appendages, and autonomous underwater vehicles.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/1/77magnetoelastic membranesurface morphingflow separationactive control |
| spellingShingle | Abel Arredondo-Galeana Aristides Kiprakis Ignazio Maria Viola A Low Cost Oscillating Membrane for Underwater Applications at Low Reynolds Numbers Journal of Marine Science and Engineering magnetoelastic membrane surface morphing flow separation active control |
| title | A Low Cost Oscillating Membrane for Underwater Applications at Low Reynolds Numbers |
| title_full | A Low Cost Oscillating Membrane for Underwater Applications at Low Reynolds Numbers |
| title_fullStr | A Low Cost Oscillating Membrane for Underwater Applications at Low Reynolds Numbers |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Low Cost Oscillating Membrane for Underwater Applications at Low Reynolds Numbers |
| title_short | A Low Cost Oscillating Membrane for Underwater Applications at Low Reynolds Numbers |
| title_sort | low cost oscillating membrane for underwater applications at low reynolds numbers |
| topic | magnetoelastic membrane surface morphing flow separation active control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/1/77 |
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