Thrust performance of unsteady propulsors using a novel measurement system, and corresponding wake patterns

James Buchholz; Richard Clark; Alexander Smits

doi:10.1007/s00348-008-0489-1

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Thrust performance of unsteady propulsors using a novel measurement system, and corresponding wake patterns

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Thrust performance of unsteady propulsors using a novel measurement system, and corresponding wake patterns

James Buchholz, Richard Clark and Alexander Smits

Experiments in fluids, Vol.45(3), pp.461-472

09/2008

DOI: 10.1007/s00348-008-0489-1

PMCID: PMC2782884

PMID: 19946574

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Abstract

An apparatus is described for the measurement of unsteady thrust and propulsive efficiency produced by biologically inspired oscillating hydrodynamic propulsors. Force measurement is achieved using a strain-gauge-based force transducer, augmented with a lever to amplify or attenuate the applied force and control the measurement sensitivity and natural frequency of vibration. The lever can be used to tune the system to a specific application and it is shown that, using the lever, the stiffness can be made to increase more rapidly than the measurement sensitivity decreases. Efficiency is computed from measurements of the time-averaged power imparted to the fluid. The apparatus is applied to two different propulsors, demonstrating the versatility of the system; wake visualizations are examined, which provide insight into the physical mechanisms of efficient propulsion.

Engineering

Engineering Fluid Dynamics

Fluids

Engineering Thermodynamics, Transport Phenomena

Details

Title: Subtitle: Thrust performance of unsteady propulsors using a novel measurement system, and corresponding wake patterns
Creators: James Buchholz - Virtualwind Inc. 1000 736-8th Avenue S.W. Calgary AB Canada T2P 1H4
Richard Clark - Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors 100 East 17th Street Riviera Beach FL 33404 USA
Alexander Smits - Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Princeton University Princeton NJ 08540 USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Experiments in fluids, Vol.45(3), pp.461-472
DOI: 10.1007/s00348-008-0489-1
PMID: 19946574
PMCID: PMC2782884
NLM abbreviation: Exp Fluids
ISSN: 0723-4864
eISSN: 1432-1114
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC; Berlin/Heidelberg
Language: English
Date published: 09/2008
Academic Unit: Mechanical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984064246502771

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