Numerical simulation of pitching and plunging motion of flat plate using overset mesh

Abstract

A numerical simulation of two and three-dimensional pitching and plunging flat plate at Reynolds number of O(104) is presented. This study uses STAR-CCM+ to investigate the physics of flapping wings. The focus of the study is to probe into the effects of kinematics, Reynolds number and three dimensionality with resulting aerodynamic forces and flow structures of the flat plate. A shallow stall and a deep stall motion of a nominally two dimensional flat plate with higher effective angles of attack is considered. Also, in order to examine the three dimensional effects on force coefficients, an aspect ratio 2 flat plate is studied and is compared to its two dimensional counterpart. The results obtained are then validated against the experimental study available in literature. It is observed that due to more aggressive effective angle of attack time history in case of deep stall motion, a stronger LEV and higher lift is achieved as compared to that of shallow stall motion. Also, Reynolds number is seen to have a negligible effect on the aerodynamic structures and forces in the range 10,000 to 60,000. In the investigation of three-dimensionality effects, it is observed that presence of Tip Vortex mitigates the lift produced on 3D flat plate as compared to 2D flat plate. The numerical simulations performed in STAR CCM+ agree well with the experimental results obtained from Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV).