Flow Control Actuators and Their Diverse Fluid Dynamic Applications

A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 8151

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
2. Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London, UK
Interests: flow control; fluid dynamics; computational and experimental fluid dynamics; plasma physics; plasma engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Flow control is the manipulation of flow characteristics to yield desirable effects. The potential benefits of flow control include improved performance and maneuverability, affordability, increased range, payload, and environmental compliance. At various points along an aircraft’s operating envelope, take-off and landing or off-design cruise conditions, for example, efficiency is greatly challenged. In addition, the activation of flow control devices at extreme load cases, often at the boundaries of the flight envelope, can substantially reduce the aircraft structural weight. There are two categories of flow control devices: passive and active. Active flow control implies the addition of energy as opposed to passive flow control and has the advantage of being controllable, i.e., it can be turned on or off when required. Passive control devices are always in a fixed state, such as solid bumps. Although passive methods are relatively simpler to design and manufacture, they are effective over a small range. Therefore, when dealing with unsteady motion, such as wake interaction with aerofoils, active flow control is the dominant choice. One of the disadvantages of active flow control is the requirement of additional power.

Most studies involving flow control tend to focus on the understanding of flow physics caused by devices and on the optimization of the performances of these devices. In addition to aerodynamics, these actuators have been used for different settings. We invite investigators to contribute original research articles and review articles addressing flow control actuators that facilitate advances in aircraft use or introduce new horizons for their applications.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • New design of actuators
  • New actuator techniques
  • New applications broadening actuator use in different fields
  • Control mechanisms
  • CFD analysis
  • Modelling and optimization
  • Flow physics studies

Dr. Rasool Erfani
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • flow control
  • active flow control
  • passive flow control
  • modeling and optimization
  • CFD
  • flow diagnostics
  • flow physics

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 14032 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Response Analysis of the Bi-Tandem Axial Piston Pump with Dual-Loop Positive Flow Control under Pressure Disturbance
by Zhiyuan Sun, Qingliang Zeng, Lirong Wan and Yuanjiang Xiao
Actuators 2023, 12(7), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/act12070260 - 25 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1729
Abstract
The bi-tandem axial piston pump is an indispensable powerhouse in high-pressure and high-power engineering hydraulic systems, with its output flow response characteristics under pressure disturbance exerting a significant influence on the working process of double pumps. Unfortunately, the stability of the original single-loop [...] Read more.
The bi-tandem axial piston pump is an indispensable powerhouse in high-pressure and high-power engineering hydraulic systems, with its output flow response characteristics under pressure disturbance exerting a significant influence on the working process of double pumps. Unfortunately, the stability of the original single-loop mechanical–hydraulic servo control system is sensitive to unpredictable interference. To alleviate this quandary, this paper proposes a dual-loop positive flow control method for the flow control of the bi-tandem axial piston pump, establishes a mathematical model of the bi-tandem axial piston pump with dual-loop positive flow control, and establishes a simulation model based on Simulink. The validity of the model is verified by experiments. The performance advantages of the dual-loop positive flow control method relative to the single-loop positive flow control method are analyzed. The results show a faster response speed and smaller steady-state error with the dual-loop method, which performs better than the original single-loop positive flow control. Furthermore, the study examines the influence of different forms, degrees, and directions of pressure disturbance on the dynamic response characteristics of the bi-tandem axial piston pump. Symmetric pressure disturbance results in an increase in the maximum relative error of the output flow proportional to its degree. Notably, the influence of asymmetric pressure disturbance on the output flow of the double pumps possesses characteristics of a superimposable nature, and the steady-state value of the output flow is highly dependent on superimposed pressure disturbance and less affected by the action time point of asymmetric pressure disturbance. Further, the unloading pressure disturbance exerts less influence on the system compared to the loading pressure disturbance. This paper provides valuable insights into improving the response speed and control accuracy of bi-tandem axial piston pumps equipped with positive flow control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flow Control Actuators and Their Diverse Fluid Dynamic Applications)
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20 pages, 15912 KiB  
Article
Reduction in Airfoil Trailing-Edge Noise Using a Pulsed Laser as an Actuator
by Keita Ogura, Yoimi Kojima, Masato Imai, Kohei Konishi, Kazuyuki Nakakita and Masaharu Kameda
Actuators 2023, 12(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/act12010045 - 16 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2744
Abstract
Trailing-edge noise (TE noise) is an aeroacoustic sound radiated from an isolated airfoil in the specific ranges of low-speed flow. We used a pulsed laser as an actuator to reduce the TE noise without modifying the airfoil’s surface. The wind tunnel test was [...] Read more.
Trailing-edge noise (TE noise) is an aeroacoustic sound radiated from an isolated airfoil in the specific ranges of low-speed flow. We used a pulsed laser as an actuator to reduce the TE noise without modifying the airfoil’s surface. The wind tunnel test was conducted to verify the capability of an Nd:YAG laser as the actuator. The laser beam was focused into the air just outside the velocity boundary layer on the lower side of an NACA0012 airfoil. The experimental result shows that the TE noise is suppressed for a certain period after beam irradiations. We then analyzed the physical mechanism of the noise reduction with the laser actuation by the implicit large eddy simulation (ILES), a high-fidelity numerical method for computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The numerical investigations indicate that the pulsed energy deposition changes the unstable velocity amplification mode of the boundary layer, the source of an acoustic feedback loop radiating the TE noise, to another mode that does not generate the TE noise. The sound wave attenuation is observed once the induced velocity fluctuations and consequently generated vortices sweep out the flow structure of the unstable mode. We also examined the effect of the laser irradiation zone’s shape by numerical simulations. The results show that the larger irradiation zone, which introduces the disturbances over a wider range in the span direction, is more effective in reducing the TE noise than the shorter focusing length with the same energies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flow Control Actuators and Their Diverse Fluid Dynamic Applications)
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13 pages, 3047 KiB  
Article
Refined Modeling Method and Analysis of an Electromagnetic Direct-Drive Hydrostatic Actuation System
by Jiayu Lu, Chaofan Gu, Yanjun Zhao, Cao Tan, Yingtao Lu and Changzhong Fu
Actuators 2022, 11(10), 281; https://doi.org/10.3390/act11100281 - 30 Sep 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2393
Abstract
The hydrostatic actuation system based on linear actuators improves the complex piston force and long transmission path of the traditional electro-hydrostatic actuator (EHA). However, new nonlinear factors in the linear actuator and direct-driven piston are introduced into the system, which present challenges to [...] Read more.
The hydrostatic actuation system based on linear actuators improves the complex piston force and long transmission path of the traditional electro-hydrostatic actuator (EHA). However, new nonlinear factors in the linear actuator and direct-driven piston are introduced into the system, which present challenges to system modeling and control. To improve the accuracy of system performance prediction, this paper analyzed the working characteristics of an electromagnetic direct-drive hydrostatic actuation system (EDHAS). A dynamic model of the electromagnetic linear actuator including the LuGre friction model was established. The high-pressure internal leakage of the direct-drive pump was described by an inclined eccentric leakage model. The Karnopp friction model was applied to solve the problem of switching between viscous and sliding friction in a cylinder. The hydraulic components model was established based on AMESim, and the electromagnetic linear actuator model and the system controller model were established in Matlab/Simulink, to establish a refined electromechanical–hydraulic co-simulation model of the EDHAS with electromagnetic, mechanical, hydraulic, and control coupling. A system performance test platform was built. The simulation results of the direct-drive piston displacement, the system pressure, the system flow rate, and the cylinder displacement match well with experimental results, which verifies the validity and accuracy of the refined modeling method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flow Control Actuators and Their Diverse Fluid Dynamic Applications)
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