Vortex dynamics and performance of flexible and rigid plunging airfoils

Vorticity transport and the leading-edge vortex of a plunging airfoil

“…Alternatively, Monnier et al (2013) showed that reasonable collapse of wake vortex circulation for a harmonically oscillating foil was achieved when scaled according to Γ /aU (where a is the streamwise vortex separation). Akkala et al (2015) proposed yet another scaling parameter for leading-edge vortex circulation, based on kinematically based velocity and length scales, that was found to be particularly effective for flexible plunging airfoils in which deformation was dominated by the first beam bending mode.…”

Isolated Gust Generation for the Investigation of Airfoil-Gust Interaction

“…Experiments by Akkala et al 17 with such periodic motion suggest that values of T > 1 may result in multiple vortices shedding from the plate in motion, rather than a single starting vortex.…”

The Response of a Single Degree-of-Freedom Wing at Low Reynolds Number

“…[9][10][11][12] In contrast, the current study seeks to distill the fluid/structure interaction to its roots by isolating wing compliance to a torsional spring at the leading edge. The advantage of such an approach is that it is more tractable from a micro air vehicle design standpoint than trying to match the dexterity of a bat wing, which has a high number of degrees of freedom.…”