Modal decomposition techniques, flow field, and spectral analysis are employed to investigate the wake dynamics and destabilization mechanisms of a four-bladed marine propeller with or without a nozzle. Numerical simulations are conducted using the delayed detached eddy simulation model for the wake and the arbitrary mesh interface method for the blade rotation. The presence of the nozzle significantly reduces the wake's streamwise velocity, delays the wake destabilization, increases the wake length, and changes the morphologies of wake vortices. In particular, the hub vortex in the ducted propeller wake is broken down into chaotic turbulence by the perturbation of the backflow. Two modal decomposition methods, namely, proper orthogonal decomposition and dynamic mode decomposition, are used to decompose the vorticity magnitude in the rotor wake field. From modal analysis, the spatial scale of flow phenomena decreases with the increase in modal frequency. Underlying destabilization mechanisms in the wake correspond to some characteristic frequencies. The interaction of each sheet vortex with the previously shed tip (leakage) vortices occurs at blade passing frequency (BPF). The pairing of adjacent tip (leakage) vortices occurs at half-BPF. The long-wave instability of the hub vortex and the wake meandering are stochastic processes, each of which occurs at a frequency lower or equal to shaft frequency. These four destabilization mechanisms can approximately reconstruct the large-scale flow phenomena in the wake. Moreover, each sheet vortex's alternating connection and disconnection with the previously shed tip (leakage) vortices cause the short-wave instability of the tip (leakage) vortices and generate the secondary vortices. The radial expansion motion of large-scale helical vortices in the outer slipstream dominates the wake meandering phenomenon.

The effect of a nozzle on the wake dynamics of a four-bladed propeller operating in an oblique flow is investigated via modal decomposition and flow visualization of the results obtained from numerical simulations using delayed detached eddy simulations. The wake characteristics and destabilization mechanisms of a non-ducted propeller (NP) and ducted propeller (DP) in axisymmetric and oblique flow conditions are systematically analysed. The wake characteristics on the windward side are very different from those on the leeward side in an oblique flow, and the nozzle has a crucial role in mitigating the asymmetry and weakening the wake deflection. More destabilization mechanisms are present in an oblique flow than in an axisymmetric flow, including the asymmetric evolution and destabilization of the helixes on the windward and leeward sides of the NP wake, the interaction between the vortex shedding and the helixes in the DP leeward region, and the generation of a tube-shaped wake envelope around the nozzle and its rolling-up. Moreover, the effect of the nozzle on wake meandering is discussed based on modal analysis.

Tidal turbine blades are prone to flow separation in the boundary layer under high speed or high angle of attack, which will reduce energy efficiency and even the stall damage of the blades. This paper proposes introducing the flow control theory of vortex generators (VGs) to tidal turbines and studying the influence of VGs on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the tidal turbine blades. First, a numerical study is performed to investigate the effects of VGS on the hydrodynamic performance of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 4418 hydrofoil. The impact of different parameters, such as VG arrangement, spacing, height, and length, on the hydrodynamic performance of hydrofoil is studied by the computational fluid dynamics method. The results show that VGs can effectively suppress the flow separation and improve the maximum lift coefficient of the hydrofoil. The influence of VGs on flow separation characteristics of horizontal axis tidal turbines is studied by the CFD method. The results show that the flow separation of turbine blades mainly occurs at the root part of the suction surface, and the flow separation region expands radially as the flow velocity increases. VGs can effectively reduce the flow separation area on the suction side of turbine blades by suppressing the flow separation effect. Compared with the turbine blades without VGs, the power coefficient of turbine blades with VGs is increased by up to 5%. The flume experiment verifies the accuracy of the simulation results.

Flow past a rotating step cylinder is investigated through three-dimensional numerical simulations for a diameter ratio of 0.5 and a Reynolds number of 150. The step cylinder comprises two cylinders with different diameters arranged coaxially with a step between them. The rotation rate α is defined as the ratio of the rotation speed of the larger cylinder surface to the free-stream velocity. Vortex shedding happens for both cylinders at α = 0, 0.5 and 1, and is suppressed only for the larger cylinder at α = 2 and 3 and fully suppressed for both cylinders at α = 4. The vortex shedding suppression for the larger cylinder or for both cylinders has significant effects on the wake. The S-, N- and L-cells at α = 0 are in good agreement with those reported in previous studies and still exist at α = 1. The N-cell disappears at α = 0.5, and as a result, the L- and S-cells interact with each other directly at the step position. An additional cellular zone is found at α = 0.5 and 1 and this zone has multiple cells with vortex dislocation between them. At α = 2 and 3, there is a strong hub vortex in the streamwise direction behind the step and the vortices in the wake of the smaller cylinder form helical vortices after they roll around this hub vortex. The hub vortex is generated by the difference between the Magnus effect between the smaller and larger cylinders. At α = 4, the hub vortex still exists but the helical vortices disappear because vortex shedding is suppressed for both cylinders. At this rotation rate, the pressure on the cylinder surface oscillates with a frequency much higher than the vortex shedding frequency. The oscillation of the pressure is caused by the combination of periodic generation of ring vortices and their motion along the span of the larger cylinder.