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Symmetry breaking and instabilities of conical vortex pairs over slender delta wings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2017

Bao-Feng Ma ,
Zhijin Wang  and
Ismet Gursul Open the ORCID record for Ismet Gursul [Opens in a new window]
Bao-Feng Ma
Affiliation:
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Zhijin Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
Ismet Gursul*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
*
†Email address for correspondence: ensiag@bath.ac.uk
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Abstract

An investigation of symmetry breaking and naturally occurring instabilities over thin slender delta wings with sharp leading edges was carried out in a water tunnel using particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Time-averaged location, strength and core radius of conical vortices vary almost linearly with chordwise distance for three delta wings with $75^{\circ }$ , $80^{\circ }$ and $85^{\circ }$ sweep angles over a wide range of angles of attack. Properties of the time-averaged vortex pairs depend only on the similarity parameter, which is a function of the angle of attack and the sweep angle. It is shown that time-averaged vortex pairs develop asymmetry gradually with increasing values of the similarity parameter. Vortex asymmetry can develop in the absence of vortex breakdown on the wing. Instantaneous PIV snapshots were analysed using proper orthogonal decomposition and dynamic mode decomposition, revealing the shear layer and vortex instabilities. The shear layer mode is the most periodic and more dominant for lower values of the similarity parameter. The Strouhal number based on the free stream velocity component in the cross-flow plane is a function of only the similarity parameter. The dominant frequency of the shear layer mode decreases with the increasing similarity parameter. The vortex modes reveal the fluctuations of the vorticity magnitude and helical displacement of the cores, but with little periodicity. There is little correlation between the fluctuations in the cores of the vortices.

JFM classification

Aerodynamics: Aerodynamics Vortex Flows: Vortex Flows

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Papers
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 832 , 10 December 2017 , pp. 41 - 72
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© 2017 Cambridge University Press 

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