SPOILING APPARATUS FOR TRIGGERING TURBULENT TRANSITION BY AUTONOMOUS DISTURBANCE AND SPOILERS

Abstract

A spoiling apparatus for triggering a turbulent transition by autonomous disturbance and spoilers. The spoilers are mounted in multiple grooves in the circumferential direction of a navigating body, when a flow autonomously undergoes a turbulent transition, the spoilers remain in the grooves, the surface of the navigating body is free of protrusion, thus causing no additional flow resistance. A rated critical Reynolds number is set, in a case of a reduced flow speed and reduced density, the flow is a laminar flow, at which time the pressure applied to the spoilers by the flow is reduced, and the spoilers are ejected under the effect of compression springs. When ejected, the spoilers disturb the flowing of the bottom layer of the flow, and trigger the laminar flow into a turbulent flow. By setting the rebounding force of the compression springs, the spoiling apparatus is turned on automatically when a disturbance-triggered turbulent transition is required and is turned off when not required, thus implementing the autonomous control of turbulent transitions.

Claims

1. A spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance, the apparatus comprising a groove, a spoiler, and an elastic member, wherein: the groove is provided upstream of a bottom surface of a vehicle, the spoiler is provided in the groove, and one end of the spoiler is fixed in the groove via a swing shaft, and another end of the spoiler is connected to a bottom of the groove via the elastic member and is rotatable about the swing shaft, and an outward pushing force on the spoiler generated by the elastic member in a maximally compressed state is balanced with a pressure in a critical state of flow.

2. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 1, wherein the spoiler is configured as a flow-guiding plane structure having a continuously increasing curvature, an upstream portion of the spoiler is parallel to a flow incoming direction, and a downstream portion of the spoiler is parallel to a circumferential direction.

3. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 1, wherein an inner side surface curve, an outer side surface curve, or a center curve of the spoiler is determined by: (1) establishing a dimensionless equation:
y=x.sup.n(1.Math.x)(1+n−nx)+x (2) selecting a value for n from 0.3 to 0.7, (3) obtaining a horizontal length X0 and a vertical height Y0 of the inner side surface curve, the outer side surface curve, or the center curve of the spoiler, and (4) calculating coordinates (X, Y) of the inner side surface curve, the outer side surface curve, or the center curve as follows:
X=x.Math.X0,
Y=y.Math.Y0.

4. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 2, wherein a limiting structure is provided at one end of the spoiler to limit a maximum opening angle and a minimum compressed height of the spoiler.

5. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of dovetail grooves is arranged in parallel to each other on a surface of the spoiler.

6. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 5, wherein an outline curve of each of the plurality of dovetail grooves is determined by: (1) establishing a dimensionless equation:
y=x.sup.n(1.Math.x)(1+n−nx)+x (2) selecting a value for n from 0.3 to 0.7, (3) obtaining a horizontal length X1 and a vertical height Y1 of the outline curve of each of the plurality of dovetail grooves, and (4) calculating coordinates (X, Y) of an inner side surface curve, an outer side surface curve, or a center curve as follows:
X=x.Math.X1,
Y=y.Math.Y1.

7. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 6, wherein an opening width of each of the plurality of dovetail grooves is not less than 2 mm, an opening angle of each of the plurality of dovetail grooves ranges from 60 to 90 degrees, and an opening depth of each of the plurality of dovetail grooves is 0.5 to 1.0 times the opening width.

8. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of protrusions is arranged on a surface of the spoiler at equal distance along the flow incoming direction, wherein two ends of each of the plurality of protrusions are larger than the middle of the protrusion, widths of the two ends are 0.1 to 0.2 times an inter-protrusion distance, two side surfaces of each of the plurality of protrusions each have a shape of circular arc, the circular arc having a central angle ranging from 30 to 60 degrees, and the inter-protrusion distance is 0.5 to 2.0 times a width of the spoiler.

9. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 8, wherein an outer surface of each of the plurality of protrusions has a shape of circular arc, and a central angle of the circular arc ranges from 60 to 90 degrees.

10. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of randomly-sized side-edge saw teeth are formed on an inner side surface of the spoiler.

11. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 4, wherein 5 to 50 grooves are evenly provided on the vehicle in the circumferential direction.

12. The spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomous disturbance according to claim 11, wherein the spoiler covers no more than half of a circumferential length of the vehicle.

13. A spoiler, wherein the spoiler is a flow-guiding plane structure having a continuously increasing curvature, an upstream portion of the spoiler is parallel to a flow incoming direction, and a downstream portion of the spoiler is parallel to a circumferential direction.

14. The spoiler according to claim 13, wherein an inner side surface curve, an outer side surface curve, or a center curve of the spoiler is determined by: (1) establishing a dimensionless equation:
y=x.sup.n(1.Math.x)(1+n−nx)+x (2) selecting a value for n from 0.3 to 0.7, (3) obtaining a horizontal length X0 and a vertical height Y0 of the inner side surface curve, the outer side surface curve, or the center curve of the spoiler, and (4) calculating coordinates (X, Y) of the inner side surface curve, the outer side surface curve, or the center curve as follows:
X=x.Math.X0,
Y=y.Math.Y0.

15. The spoiler according to claim 14, wherein a limiting structure is provided at one end of the spoiler to limit a maximum opening angle and a minimum compressed height of the spoiler.

16. The spoiler according to claim 14, wherein a plurality of dovetail grooves is arranged in parallel to each other on a surface of the spoiler.

17. (canceled)

18. The spoiler according to claim 16, wherein an opening width of each of the plurality of dovetail grooves is not less than 2 mm, an opening angle of each of the plurality of dovetail grooves ranges from 60 to 90 degrees, and an opening depth of each of the plurality of dovetail grooves is 0.5 to 1.0 times the opening width.

19. The spoiler according to claim 14, wherein a plurality of protrusions is arranged on a surface of the spoiler at equal distance along the flow incoming direction, wherein two ends of each of the plurality of protrusions are larger than the middle of the protrusion, widths of the two ends are 0.1 to 0.2 times an inter-protrusion distance, two side surfaces of each of the plurality of protrusions each have a shape of circular arc, the circular arc having a central angle ranging from 30 to 60 degrees, and the inter-protrusion distance is 0.5 to 2.0 times a width of the spoiler.

20. The spoiler according to claim 19, wherein an outer surface of each of the plurality of protrusions has a shape of circular arc, and a central angle of the circular arc ranges from 60 to 90 degrees.

21. The spoiler according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of randomly-sized side-edge saw teeth are formed on an inner side surface of the spoiler.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a groove according to the present disclosure;

[0059] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a spoiler closed within a groove according to the present disclosure;

[0060] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a spoiler sprung out by a compressive spring according to the present disclosure;

[0061] FIG. 4 is a top view of a spoiler and dovetail grooves on an upper surface of the spoiler according to the present disclosure;

[0062] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of definition of shape curves of a spoiler and dovetail grooves;

[0063] FIG. 6 is a side view of dovetail grooves on a spoiler;

[0064] FIG. 7 is a top view of a spoiler and side-edge saw teeth;

[0065] FIG. 8(a) is a partial top view of waistdrum-shaped protrusions on a spoiler;

[0066] FIG. 8(b) is a sectional view along line A-A in FIG. 8(a); and

[0067] FIG. 8(c) is a sectional view along line B-B in FIG. 8(a).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0068] In order to reduce resistance against a vehicle, turbulence transition is triggered upstream of a bottom of the vehicle to increase flow energy of a surface layer and eliminate vortex shedding at the bottom, thereby reducing the resistance at the bottom. Moreover, it is required to effectively trigger the transition to turbulence with little additional resistance.

[0069] Therefore, it is proposed to install a spoiler which can be automatically sprung out upstream of the bottom. By using predetermined compression force of a spring, the spoiler can be automatically sprung out from a groove in a case that flow speed is low, and then the spoiler disturbs the flow to trigger a flow state transition from laminar to turbulent. In order to achieve a large disturbance with little additional resistance, a shape of the spoiler is configured as a high-order smooth curve, guiding the flow from an axial direction to a circumferential direction to generate circumferential disturbance, thereby triggering the transition more effectively. Furthermore, dovetail grooves are provided on the surface of the spoiler to reduce flow resistance against the spoiler. Alternatively, randomly distributed saw teeth are provided on a side edge of the spoiler, or waistdrum-shaped protrusions are provided on the surface of the spoiler, thereby realizing the disturbance of the flow with little additional resistance.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 1, a spoiler apparatus for triggering turbulence transition by autonomously disturbing a flow at bottom includes a groove 2, a spoiler 3, and a compressive spring. The groove is provided upstream of a bottom surface 1-1 of a vehicle 1. The spoiler 3 is provided in the groove. One end of the spoiler is fixed in the groove via a swing shaft, and another end of the spoiler is connected to a bottom of the groove via the compressive spring and is rotatable about the swing shaft. A limiting device is provided for limiting a rotation angle of the one end of the spoiler to limit a maximum opening angle of the spoiler to 10 degrees. 5 to 50 grooves are evenly distributed on the vehicle in a circumferential direction. A size of the groove is slightly larger than a size of the spoiler.

[0071] The spoiler 3 is a sheet-like structure having a constant width and a continuously increasing curvature, which is sickle-shaped. A head portion of the spoiler 3 is parallel to a flow incoming direction, and a tail portion of the spoiler 3 is parallel to the circumferential direction, thereby guiding an incoming flow to the circumferential direction. A width of the spoiler 1% to 10% of a circumference of the vehicle, and the spoiler covers no more than half of the circumference of the vehicle.

[0072] In order to reduce resistance in guiding the flow to the circumferential direction, a high-order continuous curve is required for an outline of the spoiler. In an embodiment, an outline curve (an inner side surface curve, an outer side surface curve, or a center curve) of the spoiler is configured as a high-order continuous curve. A dimensionless equation of the higher-order continuous curve is given as follows:

y=x.sup.n(1.Math.x)(1+n−nx)+x  (1)

[0073] In equation (1), a typical value of n is 0.5, and a recommended range of n is 0.3 to 0.7. x ranges from 0 to 1. After obtaining y, based on a horizontal length X0 and a vertical height Y0 of each curve according to the design requirement, coordinates X and Y of an actual curve are obtained by using equations (2) and (3), as shown in FIG. 5, where the spoiler is shaped on the coordinate data.

X=x.Math.X0  (2)

Y=y.Math.Y0  (3)

[0074] A spoiler structure is provided on the surface of the spoiler. In one embodiment, multiple dovetail grooves 3-3 may be provided in parallel to each other on the surface of the spoiler to form the spoiler structure as shown in FIG. 4. Three or more parallel dovetail grooves having same width are formed on the surface of the spoiler.

[0075] The outline curve of the spoiler is configured as a high-order continuous curve. An outline curve of the dovetail groove is obtained based on the same curve equations (1), (2), and (3) and a same calculation algorithm as the outline curve of the spoiler.

[0076] An opening width hl of the dovetail groove is usually not less than 2 mm, an opening angle β of the dovetail groove ranges from 60 to 90 degrees, and an opening depth d1 of the dovetail groove is 0.5 to 1.0 times the opening width.

[0077] FIG. 2 shows a state of a spoiler closed within a groove. One end of the spoiler is connected to the groove of the vehicle via a spoiler swing shaft 5, and another end of the spoiler is restricted within the groove by the compressive spring 4.

[0078] In a case that a flow velocity of a fluid and a density of the fluid are high, a force exerted by the fluid is greater than a restoring force of the compressive spring 4, thereby restricting the spoiler 3 within the groove 2. In this case, the spoiler 3 is closed within the groove 2, the flow is in a turbulent state, and it is not required to spring up the spoiler 3. A lower limiting side surface 3-2 of the spoiler prevents the spoiler from being pressed too low by the flow.

[0079] FIG. 3 shows a state of the spoiler 3 opened from the groove 2. One end of the spoiler 3 is connected to the groove 2 of the vehicle 1 via the spoiler swing shaft 5, and another end of the spoiler 3 is sprung out by the compressive spring 4.

[0080] In a case that the flow velocity of the fluid and the density of the fluid are low, pressure of the fluid on the spoiler 3 is reduced. If the force exerted by the fluid is less than an elastic force of the compressive spring 4, the compressive spring 4 springs the spoiler 3 out from the groove. An upper limiting side surface 3-1 of the spoiler 3 prevents the spoiler from being sprung too much, ensuring that an opening angle of the spoiler is not larger than a maximum opening angle α. The upper limiting side surface 3-1 is provided with a protruding limiting portion, to prevent the spoiler from rotating beyond a set angle.

[0081] When the compressive spring 4 is compressed to an uttermost bottom, the elastic force generated by the compressive spring 4 is balanced with a pressure in a critical state of flow.

[0082] The critical state of flow is defined as follows. Reynolds number being 1E5 (the vehicle is navigating in water) or 1E6 (the vehicle is navigating in the air) is the critical state for transition to turbulence. If the Reynolds number is greater than the critical state Reynolds number, transition to turbulence will occur autonomously. If the Reynolds number is less than the critical state Reynolds number and the flow is not subjected to external disturbance, the transition to turbulence will not occur. If the Reynolds number is less than the critical state Reynolds number, a pressure of the flow is less than the elastic force of the compressive spring, the spoiler is sprung out by the compressive spring, disturbing the flow and triggering the transition to turbulence. If the Reynolds number is greater than the critical state Reynolds number, the pressure of the flow is greater than the elastic force of the compressive spring, the spoiler is kept within the groove, and the transition to turbulence occurs autonomously.

[0083] After being sprung, the spoiler protrudes from a surface layer of the flow. Due to the fact that the spoiler has a sickle-shaped outline and multiple parallel dovetail grooves are arranged on the surface of the spoiler, the spoiler disturbs the flow to generate a small vortex flow, part of the axial flow in the surface layer is guided to a circumferential direction to more effectively disturb the flow, trigger turbulence at the bottom of the vehicle and reduce the vortex shedding at the bottom of the vehicle, thereby reducing the resistance at the bottom.

[0084] In an embodiment, side-edge saw teeth are formed on an inner side surface of the spoiler as shown in FIG. 7. Along the inner side surface of the sickle-shaped spoiler, multiple randomly-sized side-edge saw teeth 3-4 are arranged, which can generate multi-scale disturbances, trigger multi-scale vortices and effectively trigger turbulence. An angle σ of the side-edge saw teeth ranges from 60 to 90 degrees. A width d2 of the side-edge saw teeth is related a thickness of a local surface layer, which ranges from 3 to 20 mm. Within this range, sizes of the side-edge saw teeth are determined based on a discrete random probability distribution. An upper surface may be configured with the dovetail groove structure shown in FIG. 4 or the protrusions 6 shown in FIG. 8.

[0085] In another embodiment, waistdrum-shaped protrusions 6 may be formed on the upper surface of the spoiler as shown in FIG. 8. Two ends of each of the waistdrum-shaped protrusion are large, thereby pushing the flow from the two ends the middle. Thus, a normal flow is mixed with a normal vortex, facilitating generating a three-dimensional vortex structure and accelerating the development of flow into turbulence. The protrusions are evenly arranged on the surface of the spoiler. The waistdrum-shaped protrusions are used to disturb the flow in a bottom layer. Two ends of the protrusion push the flow from the two ends to a centerline of the spoiler to be mixed with the normal vortex generated by the whole waistdrum-shaped protrusion, generating the three-dimensional vortex structure.

[0086] An inter-protrusion distance d3 between the waistdrum-shaped protrusions 6 (distance between centerlines of two protrusions) is 0.5 to 2.0 times the width of the spoiler. The waistdrum-shaped protrusions 6 are have a larger size at two ends and a smaller size in the middle. An outer contour curve of the waistdrum-shaped protrusion has a shape of circular arc, a width d4 of the waistdrum-shaped protrusion is equal to the width of the spoiler and a central angle θ ranges from 30 to 60 degrees.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 8(b), a size of the waistdrum-shaped protrusion is determined by an end width and a central angle. The end width d5 is 0.1 to 0.2 times the inter-protrusion distance d3. The central angle ω of the circular arc ranges from 60 to 90 degrees. A surface of the waistdrum-shaped protrusion has a shape of circular arc.

[0088] Side-edge saw teeth on the spoiler can be used in combination with the waistdrum-shaped protrusions on the upper surface of the spoiler or with the dovetail grooves on the upper surface of the spoiler. The side-edge saw teeth are formed on the side surface of the spoiler, and the waistdrum-shaped protrusions are formed on the upper surface of the spoiler. Or, the side-edge saw teeth are formed on the side surface of the spoiler, and the dovetail grooves are formed on the upper surface of the spoiler.

[0089] The apparatus is applied in the vehicle to autonomously trigger the transition to turbulence, thereby reducing the resistance at the bottom, and providing a basis for reduction of resistance by the vehicle autonomously.

[0090] The above described are only some preferred embodiments of the present invention and the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. Any modifications or replacements that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present disclosure should fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0091] Content in the present disclosure not described in detail belongs to common practice of those skilled in the art.