Jaime López García

PhD Thesis

Prediction and control of low-Reynolds aerodynamics in atmospheric turbulence

Supervisors

Alberto Vela (UC3M)

Abstract

This research will explore the impact of free-stream turbulent perturbations on the aerodynamics of airfoils and wings experiencing relatively low-Reynolds-number flow conditions. Such setting is representative for micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs) typically flying at low flight speed and altitudes well within the so-called atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), resulting in conditions where the turbulence intensity is much stronger than in more conventional aeronautical applications. Furthermore, the relatively small size of these devices is often comparable to the integral length-scale of the turbulent disturbances, another peculiar feature with a potentially dramatic influence on the aerodynamic performance. Because of this, understanding and predicting the impact of turbulence on the flight performance is key to design passive and active control strategies that allow MAVs to fly in challenging scenarios. Here, we will characterize the turbulence-structure interactions arising in low-Reynolds MAVs with focus on predictability and control. These two problems will be addressed from the powerful point of view of dynamical system theory, in which all the possible evolutions of the wing-turbulence system are represented in a highly dimensional phase space. An intensive exploration of this space is key to find optimal predictive algorithms and control strategies. The predictability of the flow conditions and the airfoil response will be characterized using massive ensemble forecasting, a technique that will be used in this project to study wing-turbulence interactions. These data will be later used to construct statistical models by optimizing information theoretic functionals to predict adverse flow conditions with partial measurements, ensuring the best predictive capabilities with the available data.

Doctoral Meetings