Numerical and experimental study of a flapping foil generator

The energy extraction performance of a flapping foil generator is studied through experiment and numerical simulation. A practical flapping foil generator has been proposed. The heave motion and the pitch motion of the foil are adjusted through a crankshaft-like structure. The heave and pitch motions of the foil are transferred to the rotational motion of the main shaft. A pair of gears is adopted to increase the pitch angle. A prototype with pitch amplitude θ₀ = 60^∘ has been built and the experiment is carried out in a tunnel. The overall performance of the mechanism has been analysed. Good agreement of numerical results and experiment data has been found. Further simulations with larger pitch amplitudes are carried out. It is found that higher efficiency can be achieved with larger pitch amplitude at medium frequency.     

The analytic properties of the flapping current sheets in the earth magnetotail

The current sheet in Earth’s magnetotail often flaps, and the flapping waves could be induced propagating towards the dawn and dusk flanks, which could make the current sheet dynamic. To explore the dynamic characteristics of current sheet associated with the flapping motion holistically and provide reasonable physical interpretations, detailed direct calculation and analysis have been applied to one approximate analytic model of magnetic field in the flapping current sheet. The main results from the model demonstrate: (1) the magnetic fluctuation amplitude is attenuated from the center of current sheet to the lobe regions; The larger wave amplitude would induce the larger magnetic amplitude; (2) the curvature of magnetic field lines (MFLs), with maximum at the center of current sheet, is only dependent on the displacement Z along the south-north direction from the center of current sheet, regardless of the tilt of current sheet; (3) the half-thickness of neutral sheet, h, the minimum curvature radius of MFLs, R_cmin, and the tilt angle of current sheet, δ, satisfies h=R_cmin cos δ; (4) the gradient of magnetic strength forms a double-peak profile, and the peak value would be more intense if the local current sheet is more tilted; (5) current density j and its j_y, j_z components reach the extremum at the center of CS. j and j_z would be more intense if the local current sheet is more tilted, but it is not the case for j_y; and (6) the field-aligned component of current density mainly appears in the neutral sheet, and the sign of it would change alternatively as the flapping waves passing by. To check the validity of the model, one simulation on the virtual measurements has been made, and the results are in well consistence with actual observations of Cluster.     

伴随着高速流的磁尾电流片拍动观测研究

磁尾电流片在磁尾动力学过程中起着重要作用.卫星观测表明磁尾电流片经常处于拍动状态.但磁尾电流片拍动的特性和产生机制至今仍然没有被完全弄清楚.本文主要利用欧洲空间局Cluster卫星数据,研究一个伴随高速离子流的电流片拍动事件.该电流片拍动事件具有很强的周期性.拍动的周期约是2min,磁场振荡幅度约为20nT.能量电子和离子的通量具有周期性增强和减弱的特征.电流密度X和Y分量也具有周期性的振荡,并且振荡周期与磁场振荡周期一致.通过对粒子流速矢量与电流矢量的分析,发现粒子运动具有涡旋的特征.因此可以推断,该磁尾电流片的拍动不是由磁尾等离子体片高速流产生的,而是与局地等离子体不稳定性有关.     

磁宁静期磁尾爆发性整体流持续时间多点卫星研究

本文利用星簇CLUSTER的三颗卫星数据分析了磁宁静期磁尾爆发性整体流（BBFs, Bursty Bulk Flows）的时间尺度, 并与单个卫星的结果做了比较. 事例研究表明, 利用三颗卫星观测数据判断的BBFs的时间尺度比单个卫星的大一倍左右. 对于三颗卫星观测到的同一个BBFs, BBFs在晨昏方向上的摆动决定了CLUSTER的三个卫星观测到BBFs的先后次序. 三颗卫星的观测也显示了BBFs的高度局域化特征. 磁宁静期磁尾BBFs寿命的增大, 使得BBFs携带的质量和能量的地向输运增加. 这种地向输运增加的结果是: 磁尾储存的能量得到较为平稳的释放, 改变了亚暴起始产生的时间, 为解决磁层压力平衡矛盾（PBI, Pressure Balance Inconsistency）问题提供了新的思路.     

Ship propulsion in waves by actively controlled flapping foils

Flapping wings located beneath or to the side of the hull of the ship are investigated as unsteady thrusters, augmenting ship propulsion in waves. The main arrangement consists of horizontal wing(s) in vertical oscillatory motion which is induced by ship heave and pitch, while rotation about the wing pivot axis is actively controlled. In this work we investigate the energy extraction by the system operating in irregular wave conditions and its performance concerning direct conversion to propulsive thrust. More specifically, we consider operation of the flapping foil in waves characterised by a spectrum, corresponding to specific sea state, taking into account the coupling between the hull and the flapping foil dynamics. The effect of the wavy free surface is accounted for through the satisfaction of the corresponding boundary conditions and the consideration of the wave velocity on the formation of the incident flow. Numerical results concerning thrust and power coefficients are presented, indicating that significant thrust can be produced under general operating conditions. The present work can be exploited for the design and optimum control of such systems extracting energy from sea waves for augmenting marine propulsion in rough seas, with simultaneous reduction of ship responses offering also dynamic stabilisation.