Fluid dynamics

The vibrational and acoustic characteristics of fluid-loaded, cylindrical shells with single or multiple, aperiodically-spaced ring discontinuities are studied using an approach based on the mobility power flow (MPF) method and a hybrid numerical/analytical method for the evaluation of the velocity Green's function of the shell. The discontinuities are associated with internal structures coupled to the shell via ring junctions. The approach is a framework allowing alternative shell and/or internal structure models to be used. The solution consists of the net vibrational power flow between the shell and internal structure(s) at the junction(s), the shell's velocity Green's function, and the far-field acoustic pressure. Use of the MPF method is advantageous because the net power flow solution can be used as a diagnostic tool in ascertaining the proper coupling between the shell and internal structure(s) at the junction(s). Results are presented for two canonical problems: an infinite, thin cylindrical shell, externally fluid-loaded by a heavy fluid, coupled internally to: (1) a single damped circular plate bulkhead, and (2) a double bulkhead consisting of two identical damped circular plates spaced a shell diameter apart. Two excitation mechanisms are considered for each model: (1) insonification of the shell by an obliquely-incident, acoustic plane wave, and (2) a radial ring load applied to the shell away from the junction(s). The shell's radial velocity Green's function and far-field acoustic pressure results are presented and analyzed to study the behavior of each model. In addition, a comparison of these results accentuates the qualitative difference in the behavior between the single and multiple junction models. When multiple internal structures are present, the results are strongly influenced by inter-junction coupling communicated through the shell and the fluid. Results are presented for circumferential modes n = 0 & 2. The qualitative differences in the results for modes n = 0 and n = 2 (indicative of all modes n > 0ified in the far-field acoustic pressure and velocity Green's function response with the characteristics of the shell and internal plate bulkhead. The results for the single junction model demonstrate the significance of the shell's membrane waves on the reradiation of acoustic energy from the shell; however, when multiple junctions are present, inter-junction coupling results in a significant broad acoustic scattering pattern. Using the results and analysis presented here, a better understanding can be obtained of fluid-loaded shells, which can be used to reduce the strength of the acoustic pressure field produced by the shell.

Prevention of the corrosion of steel reinforcement embedded in concrete is a constant challenge in engineering. A study of concrete surface resistivity versus elevation of partially immersed reinforced concrete structures in a marine splash zone has been developed and correlations made between concrete quality and chloride diffusion, i.e., aggressive ion permeability. A conditioning procedure was developed in which the concrete moisture content is increased by direct contact with fresh water for several days. The electrical resistivity of concrete is known to be primarily a function of the degree of water saturation. Correlations between field obtained concrete surface resistivity values versus chloride diffusivity, and between normalized resistivity measured on cores obtained from the field versus chloride diffusivity has been established. The resistivity values were measured on structures with different concrete mixes and various ages.

This thesis describes a methodology for mechanical fault detection and diagnostics in an ocean turbine using vibration analysis and modeling. This methodology relies on the use of advanced methods for machine vibration analysis and health monitoring. Because of some issues encountered with traditional methods such as Fourier analysis for non stationary rotating machines, the use of more advanced methods such as Time-Frequency Analysis is required. The thesis also includes the development of two LabVIEW models. The first model combines the advanced methods for on-line condition monitoring. The second model performs the modal analysis to find the resonance frequencies of the subsystems of the turbine. The dynamic modeling of the turbine using Finite Element Analysis is used to estimate the baseline of vibration signals in sensors locations under normal operating conditions of the turbine. All this information is necessary to perform the vibration condition monitoring of the turbine.

This thesis is an approach of numerical optimization of thermal design of the ocean turbine developed by the Centre of Ocean Energy and Technology (COET). The technique used here is the integrated method of finite element analysis (FEA) of heat transfer, artificial neural network (ANN) and genetic algorithm (GA) for optimization purposes.

A computational tool has been developed by integrating National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) codes, Sandia National Laboratories' NuMAD, and ANSYS to investigate a horizontal axis composite ocean current turbine. The study focused on the design, analysis, and life prediction of composite blade considering random ocean current, cyclic rotation, and hurricane-driven ocean current. A structural model for a horizontal axis FAU research OCT blade was developed. Following NREL codes were used: PreCom, BModes, ModeShape, AeroDyn and FAST. PreComp was used to compute section properties of the OCT blade. BModes and ModeShape calculated the mode shapes of the blade. Hydrodynamic loading on the OCT blade was calculated by modifying the inputs to AeroDyn and FAST. These codes were then used to obtain the dynamic response of the blade, including blade tip displacement, normal force (FN) and tangential force (FT), flap and edge bending moment distribution with respect to blade rotation.

A sudden expansion combustor (SUE) is analyzed using computation fluid dynamics (CFD). CO emissions and NOx emissions are computed for various operating conditions of the SUE combustor using a can type and an annular type geometrical configurations. The goal of this thesis is to see if the SUE combustor is a viable alternative to conventional combustors which utilize swirlers. It is found that for the can type combustor the NOx emissions were quite low compared to other combustor types but the CO emissions were fairly high. The annular combustor shows better CO emissions compared to the can type, but the CO emissions are still high compared to other combustors. Emissions can be improved by providing better mixing in the primary combustion zone. The SUE combustor design needs to be further refined in order for it to be a viable alternative to conventional combustors with swirlers.

In this work, a two-dimensional model representing the vortices that animals produce, when they are flying/swimming, was constructed. A D{shaped cylinder and an oscillating airfoil were used to mimic these body{shed and wing{generated vortices, respectively. The parameters chosen are based on the Reynolds numbers similar to that which is observed in nature (104). In order to imitate the motion of ying/swimming, the entire system was suspended into a water channel from frictionless air{bearings. The position of the apparatus in the channel was regulated with a linear, closed loop PI controller. Thrust/drag forces were measured with strain gauges and particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to examine the wake structure that develops. The Strouhal number of the oscillating airfoil was compared to the values observed in nature as the system transitions between the accelerated and steady states... As suggested by previous work, this self-regulation is a result of a limit cycle process that stems from nonlinear periodic oscillations. The limit cycles were used to examine the synchronous conditions due to the coupling of the foil and wake vortices. Noise is a factor that can mask details of the synchronization. In order to control its effect, we study the locking conditions using an analytic technique that only considers the phases.. The results suggest that Strouhal number selection in steady forward natural swimming and flying is the result of a limit cycle process and not actively controlled by an organism. An implication of this is that only relatively simple sensory and control hardware may be necessary to control the steady forward motion of man-made biomimetically propelled vehicles.

This thesis proposes a sensor approach for quantifying the hydrodynamic performance of Ocean Current Turbines (OCT), and investigates the influence of sensor-specific noise and sampling rates on calculated turbine performance. Numerical models of the selected sensors are developed, and then utilized to add stochastic measurement error to numerically-generated, non-stochastic OCT data. Numerically-generated current velocity and turbine performance measurements are used to quantify the relative influence of sensor-specific error and sampling limitations on sensor measurements and calculated OCT performance results. The study shows that the addition of sensor error alters the variance and mean of OCT performance metric data by roughly 7.1% and 0.24%, respectively, for four evaluated operating conditions. It is shown that sensor error results in a mean, maximum and minimum performance metric to Signal to Noise Ration (SNR) of 48.6% and 6.2%, respectively.