International audienceWe present an immersed-boundary algorithm for incompressible flows with complex boundaries, suitable for Cartesian or curvilinear grid system. The key stages of any immersed-boundary technique are the interpolation of a velocity field given on a mesh onto a general boundary (a line in 2D, a surface in 3D), and the spreading of a force field from the immersed boundary to the neighboring mesh points, to enforce the desired boundary conditions on the immersed-boundary points. We propose a technique that uses the Reproducing Kernel Particle Method [W.K. Liu, S. Jun, Y.F. Zhang, Reproducing kernel particle methods, Int. J. Numer. Methods Fluids 20(8) (1995) 1081-1106] for the interpolation and spreading. Unlike other methods presented in the literature, the one proposed here has the property that the integrals of the force field and of its moment on the grid are conserved, independent of the grid topology (uniform or non-uniform, Cartesian or curvilinear). The technique is easy to implement, and is able to maintain the order of the original underlying spatial discretization. Applications to two- and three-dimensional flows in Cartesian and non-Cartesian grid system, with uniform and non-uniform meshes are presented

International audienceA numerical approach based on the Lattice Boltzmann and Immersed Boundary methods is pro- posed to tackle the problem of the interaction of moving and/or deformable slender solids with an incompressible fluid flow. The method makes use of a Cartesian uniform lattice that encom- passes both the fluid and the solid domains. The deforming/moving elements are tracked through a series of Lagrangian markers that are embedded in the computational domain. Differently from classical projection methods applied to advance in time the incompressible Navier-Stokes equa- tions, the baseline Lattice Boltzmann fluid solver is free from pressure corrector step, which is known to affect the accuracy of the boundary conditions. Also, in contrast to other immersed boundary methods proposed in the literature, the proposed algorithm does not require the in- troduction of any empirical parameter. In the case of rigid bodies, the position of the markers delimiting the surface of an object is updated by tracking both the position of the center of mass of the object and its rotation using Newton's Laws and the conservation of angular momentum. The dynamics of a flexible slender structure is determined as a function of the forces exerted by the fluid, its flexural rigidity and the tension necessary to enforce the filament inextensibility. For both rigid and deformable bodies, the instantaneous no-slip and impermeability conditions on the solid boundary are imposed via external and localized body forces which are consistently introduced into the Lattice Boltzmann equation. The validation test-cases for rigid bodies in- clude the case of an impulsively started plate and the sedimentation of particles under gravity in a fluid initially at rest. For the case of deformable slender structures we consider the beating of both a single filament and a pair filaments induced by the interaction with an incoming uniformly streaming flow

The stall-delaying properties of the humpback whale flipper have been observed and quantified in recent years, through both experimental and numerical studies. In the present work, numerical simulations of an infinite-span wing with an idealized representation of this geometry are reported at a Reynolds number of 1.2×105. Using large-eddy simulation, an adequate spatial resolution is first established before also examining the spanwise extent of the domain. These results are then analyzed to provide an explanation of the conditions that drive the lift observed beyond the conventional stall angle. The undulating leading-edge geometry gives rise to a spanwise pressure gradient that drives a secondary flow toward the regions of minimum chord. In turn, this leads to the entrainment of higher-momentum fluid into the region behind the maximum chord, which energizes the boundary layer and delays stall. Aside from demonstrating a significant poststall lift, the undulations also have the added benefit of substanti...

A model of hairy medium is developed using a homogenized approach, and the fluid flow around a circular cylinder partially coated with hair is analysed by means of numerical simulations. The capability of this coating to adapt to the surrounding flow is investigated, and its benefits are discussed in the context of separation control. This fluid–structure interaction problem is solved with a partitioned approach, based on the direct resolution of the Navier–Stokes equations together with a nonlinear set of equations describing the dynamics of the coating. A volume force, arising from the presence of a cluster of hair, provides the link between the fluid and the structure problems. For the structure part, a subset of reference elements approximates the whole layer. The dynamics of these elements is governed by a set of equations based on the inertia, elasticity, interaction and losses effects of articulated rods. The configuration chosen is that of the two-dimensional flow past a circular cylinder atRe= 200, a simple and well-documented test case. Aerodynamics performances quantified by the Strouhal number, the drag and the maximum lift in the laminar unsteady regime are modified by the presence of the coating. A set of parameters corresponding to a realistic coating (length of elements, porosity, rigidity) is found, yielding an average drag reduction of 15% and a decrease of lift fluctuations by about 40%, associated to a stabilization of the wake.

The influence of spanwise geometrical undulations of the leading edge of an infinite wing is investigated numerically at low Reynolds number, in the context of passive separation control and focusing on the physical mechanisms involved. Inspired by the tubercles of the humpback whale flippers, the wavy leading edge is modeled using a spanwise sinusoidal function whose amplitude and wavelength constitute the parameters of control. A direct numerical simulation is performed on a NACA0020 wing profile in a deep stall configuration (α=20°), with and without the presence of the leading edge waviness. The complex solid boundaries obtained by varying the sinusoidal shape of the leading edge are modeled using an immersed boundary method (IBM) recently developed by the authors [Pinelli et al., J. Comput. Phys. 229 (2010) 9073–9091]. A particular set of wave parameters is found to change drastically the topology of the separated zone, which becomes dominated by streamwise vortices generated from the sides of the leading edge bumps. A physical analysis is carried out to explain the mechanism leading to the generation of these coherent vortical structures. The role they play in the control of boundary layer separation is also investigated, in the context of the modifications of the hydrodynamic performances which have been put forward in the literature in the last decade.