Locomoting organisms often carry loads such as captured prey or young. Load-carrying effects on high-Reynolds-number flight have been studied, but the fluid dynamics of load carrying by low-Reynolds-number microorganisms has not. We studied low-Reynolds-number load carrying using unicellular choanoflagellates, which wave a flagellum to swim and create a water current transporting bacterial prey to a food-capturing collar of microvilli. A regularized Stokeslet framework was used to model the hydrodynamics of a swimming choanoflagellate with bacterial prey on its collar. Both the model and microvideography of choanoflagellates showed that swimming speed decreases as number of prey being carried increases. Flux of water into the capture zone is reduced by bacteria on the collar, which redirect the water flow and occlude parts of the collar. Feeding efficiency (prey captured per work to produce the feeding current) is decreased more by large prey, prey in the plane of flagellar beating and prey near microvillar tips than by prey in other locations. Some choanoflagellates can attach themselves to surfaces. We found that the reduction in flux due to bacterial prey on the collars of these attached thecate cells was similar to the reduction in flux for swimmers.

This paper describes the methodology used to analyse oscillations of foils of a wide range of aspect ratios, 0.5 ≤ AR ≤ 4, and Reynolds numbers, 104 ≤ Re ≤ 105, for energy harvesting purposes. The foils were fixed at their trailing edge, and their dynamical behaviour was captured as the wind speed was varied. The foil response was then analysed as a function of velocity, Reynolds number, oscillation amplitude and frequency. Additionally, the forces and moments acting on the foils were measured, utilising an aerodynamic scale, designed and built in-house. An empirical power generation equation was derived to determine the foil characteristics for maximum energy harvesting production. The results show that a flexible foil with AR = 3 with oscillations in the large-amplitude regime is the most effective for energy harvesting.

We present high-fidelity numerical simulations of the interaction of an oblique shock impinging on the turbulent boundary layer developed over a rectangular flexible panel, replicating wind tunnel experiments by Daub et al. (AIAA Journal, vol. 54, 2016, pp. 670–678). The incoming free-stream Mach and unit Reynolds numbers are $M_{\infty } = 3$ and $Re_{\infty }=49.4\times 10^6 {\rm m}^{-1}$, respectively. The reference boundary layer thickness upstream of the interaction with the shock is $\delta _0 = 4$ mm. The oblique shock is generated with a rotating wedge initially parallel to the flow that increases the deflection angle up to $\theta _{{max}} = 17.5^{\circ }$ within approximately $15$ ms. A loosely coupled partitioned flow–structure interaction simulation methodology is used, combining a finite-volume flow solver of the compressible wall-modelled large-eddy simulation equations, an isoparametric finite-element solid mechanics solver and a spring-system-based mesh deformation solver. Simulations are conducted with rigid and flexible panels, and the results compared to elucidate the effects of panel flexibility on the interaction. Three-dimensional effects are evaluated by conducting simulations with both full ($50 \delta _0$) and reduced ($5\delta _0$) spanwise panel width, the latter enforcing spanwise periodicity. Panel flexibility is found to increase the separation bubble size and modify its spectral dynamics. Time- and spanwise-averaged streamwise profiles of the wall pressure exhibit a drop over the flexible panel prior to the interaction and a reduced peak pressure in comparison with the rigid case. Spectral analyses of wall pressure data indicate that the low-frequency motions have a similar spectral distribution for the rigid and flexible cases, but the flexible case shows a wider region dominated by low-frequency motions and traces of the panel vibration on the wall pressure signal. The sensitivity of the interaction to small variations in the wedge extent and incoming boundary layer thickness is evaluated. Predictions obtained from lower-fidelity modelling simplifications are also assessed.

Due to the efficient and flexible flight ability of bats, bat-like robots have become the focus of research in the field of bionic robots. Aerodynamic calculation is an important part of the research field of bat-like robot, which is the basis of the structure design and flight controller design of bat-like robot. However, due to the complex flight mechanism of bats, there is no mature theoretical method to calculate the flight aerodynamic force of bat-like robots. To solve this problem, this paper takes the membrane of a bat-like robot as the research object and analyzes in detail the effects of wing folding and unfolding and flexible deformation of the membrane on the chord length, passive torsion angle and relative velocity. Based on quasi-steady state model and blade element method, a set of aerodynamic calculation method for flexible deformed wing is established. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, the theoretical calculation results and the results of the fluid-structure interaction simulation are compared and analyzed under various working conditions. The two results are in good agreement under each working condition, and the errors are all within reasonable range, which proves the effectiveness of the method. This study can provide a theoretical basis for rational structure design and precise flight control of bat-like robot.

This work investigates the role of flexibility and resonant excitation on the deformation mechanism and aerodynamic performance of flapping wings. A hummingbird-inspired wing (HIW) is considered and designed to have a bone-like stiffener made of carbon fibre/epoxy (CF/E) composite attached to a membrane made of carbon nanotubes/polypropylene (CNTs/PP) nanocomposite representing the flexible part of the natural wing. The designed HIW model is analysed through fluid-structure interaction simulations performed at frequencies near and at resonant frequency. It is found that HIW generates desired bending and twisting deformations that are coupled. These deformation mechanisms are studied in detail with the help of time-varying deflections and bending-twisting angles. Further, the simultaneous effect of these parameters on the aerodynamic performance of the wing is also investigated. It is observed that the coupled nature of bending and twisting deformations is critical in enhancing the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings. In addition to that, the resonance generates higher amplitude of desired structural deformations that further enhances thrust as well as lift generation capability of the wing. The underlying mechanism for this is also explained by studying the flow around the deflected surface of the wing. Compared to off-resonant frequencies, vorticity and pressures are substantially higher for the wing at resonance. A physical model of HIW is realised using CNTs/PP and CF/E composites to perform experimental wing motion analysis and to validate the computational results. In conclusion, the present study provides a basis to design efficient biomimetic flapping wings for micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) by exploring flexibility and resonant excitation.

Shear induced autoregulation is the natural ability of organs to maintain the local hemodynamic stresses in a stable condition in spite of altering perfusion rate. Endothelium cells are shear sensitive mechanoreceptors that are responsible for regulating the arterial wall architecture and mechanical properties in order to maintain homeostasis. This occurs by means of vasoactive mediators, which cause vasodilation or vasoconstriction. In this paper we presented a multiscale model of local flow regulation. First, a lumped parameter model of the whole cardiovascular system was implemented. Then a 3D numerical model of human common carotid artery was constructed considering fluid-structure interaction. The CCA inflow waveform obtained from the extended 0D model was applied to the 3D model as the boundary condition. After applying the Head-Up Tilt test, the local hemodynamics were disturbed. By considering the wall shear stress as the regulation criterion, then altering the arterial mechanical properties and the following vasodilation, shear forces exerted on the inner lining of the vessel were regulated and returned to the normal range. The resulting 0D/3D model can be considered as a plat-form for a more complete model containing local and systemic cardiovascular control mechanisms and patient-specific geometries which can be used for clinical purposes.

The effect of sulcus vocalis on vocal folds function is investigated. A type II sulcus vocalis is defined, parameterized and incorporated into a three-dimensional, fully coupled finite element model of vocal folds and laryngeal airway. The proposed Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) model is utilized in computational fluid dynamics, Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE), incompressible continuity and Navier-Stokes equations and in a structure range of a three-layer elastic linear model. Flow parameters, vibration behavior and glottal jet aerodynamics of healthy and patient vocal folds models are compared with each other. Flow visualization is utilized to characterize Coanda effect and three dimensionality of flow patterns. The vibration frequency of vocal folds having sulcus vocalis decreases in comparison with that of healthy ones. Upon increasing the volume flux in the sulcus vocalis model, the non-periodic and disordered behavior of it is visible for patient vocal folds. Underlying mechanisms for the observed changes, possible implications for treatments of sulcus vocalis and human perfect voice production are also discussed.

Higher-Order Spectra (HOS) are used to characterise the nonlinear aeroelastic behaviour of a plunging and pitching 2-degree-of-freedom aerofoil system by diagnosing structural and/or aerodynamic nonlinearities via the nonlinear spectral content of the computed displacement signals. The nonlinear aeroelastic predictions are obtained from high-fidelity viscous fluid-structure interaction simulations. The power spectral, bi-spectral and tri-spectral densities are used to provide insight into the functional form of both freeplay and inviscid/viscous aerodynamic nonlinearities with the system displaying both low- and high-amplitude Limit Cycle Oscillation (LCO). It is shown that in the absence of aerodynamic nonlinearity (low-amplitude LCO) the system is characterised by cubic phase coupling only. Furthermore, when the amplitude of the oscillations becomes large, aerodynamic nonlinearities become prevalent and are characterised by quadratic phase coupling. Physical insights into the nonlinearities are provided in the form of phase-plane diagrams, pressure coefficient distributions and Mach number flowfield contours.

The present paper follows our previous work [Yang et al., Phys. Rev. E, 90 (2014), 063011] in which the bending modes of a symmetric flexible fiber in viscous flows were studied by using a coupling approach of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and element bending group (EBG). It was shown that a symmetric flexible fiber can undergo four different bending modes including stable U-shape, slight swing, violent flapping and stable closure modes. For an asymmetric flexible fiber, the bending modes can be different. This paper numerically studies the fiber shape, flow field and fluid drag of an asymmetric flexible fiber immersed in a viscous fluid flow by using the SPH-EBG coupling method. An asymmetric number is defined to describe the asymmetry of a flexible fiber. The effects of the asymmetric number on the fiber shape, flow field and fluid drag are investigated.

We analyze in this paper the pressure splitting scheme of a partitioned semi-implicit coupling algorithm for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulation. The semi-implicit coupling algorithm is developed on the ground of the artificial compressibility characteristic-based split (AC-CBS) scheme that serves not only for the fluid subsystem but also for the global FSI system. As the dual-time stepping procedure recommended for quasi-incompressible flows is incorporated into the implicit coupling stage, the fluctuating pressure may be unusually susceptible to the AC coefficient. Moreover, it is not trivial to devise an optimal AC formulation for pressure estimation. Instead, we consider a stabilized second-order pressure splitting scheme in the AC-CBS-based partitioned semi-implicit coupling algorithm. Computer simulation of a benchmark FSI experiment demonstrates that good agreement is exposed between the available and present data.

In this paper, we propose a new partitioned approach to compute fluid-structure interaction (FSI) by extending the original direct-forcing technique and integrating it with the immersed boundary method. The fluid and structural equations are calculated separately via their respective disciplinary algorithms, with the fluid motion solved by the immersed boundary method on a uniform Cartesian mesh and the structural motion solved by a finite element method, and their solution data only communicate at the fluid-structure interface. This computational framework is capable of handling FSI problems with sophisticated structures described by detailed constitutive laws. The proposed methods are thoroughly tested through numerical simulations involving viscous fluid flow interacting with rigid, elastic solid, and elastic thin-walled structures.

As an exploratory study for structural deformation and thermodynamic response induced by spacecraft reentry aerodynamic force and thermal environment, a finite element algorithm is presented on the basis of the classic Fourier heat conductive law to simulate the dynamic thermoelasticity coupling performance of the material. The Newmark method and Crank-Nicolson scheme are utilized to discretize the dynamic thermoelasticity equation and heat conductive equation in the time domain, respectively, and the unconditionally stable implicit algorithm is constructed. Four types of finite-element computing schemes are devised and discussed to solve the thermodynamic coupling equation, all of which are implemented and compared in the computational examples including the one-dimensional transient heat conduction in considering and not considering the vibration, the transient heat flow for the infinite cylinder, and the dynamic coupling thermoelasticity around re-entry flat plate from hypersonic aerothermodynamic environment. The computational results show that the transient responses of temperature and displacement field generate lag phenomenon in case of considering the deformation effect on temperature field. Propagation, rebounding, attenuation and stabilized phenomena of elastic wave are also observed by the finite-element calculation of thermodynamic coupling problem considering vibration and damping, and the oscillation of the temperature field is simultaneously induced. As a result, the computational method and its application research platform have been founded to solve the transient thermodynamic coupling response problem of the structure in strong aerodynamic heating and force environment. By comparing various coupling calculations, it is demonstrated that the present algorithm could give a correct and reliable description of transient thermodynamic responses of structure, the rationality of the sequentially coupling method in engineering calculation is discussed, and the bending deformation mechanism produced by the thermodynamic coupling response from windward and leeward sides of flying body is revealed, which lays the foundation in developing the numerical method to solve material internal temperature distribution, structural deformation, and thermal damage induced by spacecraft dynamic thermoelasticity coupling response under uncontrolled reentry aerothermodynamic condition.

A robust immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM) is proposed to simulate fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems in this work. Compared with the conventional IB-LBM, the current method employs the fractional step technique to solve the lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) with a forcing term. Consequently, the non-physical oscillation of body force calculation, which is frequently encountered in the traditional IB-LBM, is suppressed greatly. It is of importance for the simulation of FSI problems. In the meanwhile, the no-slip boundary condition is strictly satisfied by using the velocity correction scheme. Moreover, based on the relationship between the velocity correction and forcing term, the boundary force can be calculated accurately and easily. A few test cases are first performed to validate the current method. Subsequently, a series of FSI problems, including the vortex-induced vibration of a circular cylinder, an elastic filament flapping in the wake of a fixed cylinder and sedimentation of particles, are simulated. Based on the good agreement between the current results and those in the literature, it is demonstrated that the proposed IB-LBM has the capability to handle various FSI problems effectively.

A direct-forcing immersed boundary method (DFIB) with both virtual force and heat source is developed here to solve Navier-Stokes and the associated energy transport equations to study some thermal flow problems caused by a moving rigid solid object within. The key point of this novel numerical method is that the solid object, stationary or moving, is first treated as fluid governed by Navier-Stokes equations for velocity and pressure, and by energy transport equation for temperature in every time step. An additional virtual force term is then introduced on the right hand side of momentum equations in the solid object region to make it act exactly as if it were a solid rigid body immersed in the fluid. Likewise, an additional virtual heat source term is applied to the right hand side of energy equation at the solid object region to maintain the solid object at the prescribed temperature all the time. The current method was validated by some benchmark forced and natural convection problems such as a uniform flow past a heated circular cylinder, and a heated circular cylinder inside a square enclosure. We further demonstrated this method by studying a mixed convection problem involving a heated circular cylinder moving inside a square enclosure. Our current method avoids the otherwise requested dynamic grid generation in traditional method and shows great efficiency in the computation of thermal and flow fields caused by fluid-structure interaction.

The purpose of this study is to enhance the stability properties of our recently-developed numerical method [D. Kamensky, M.-C. Hsu, D. Schillinger, J.A. Evans, A. Aggarwal, Y. Bazilevs, M.S. Sacks, T.J.R. Hughes, “An immersogeometric variational framework for fluid-structure interaction: Application to bioprosthetic heart valves”, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg., 284 (2015) 1005–1053] for immersing spline-based representations of shell structures into unsteady viscous incompressible flows. In the cited work, we formulated the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problem using an augmented Lagrangian to enforce kinematic constraints. We discretized this Lagrangian as a set of collocated constraints, at quadrature points of the surface integration rule for the immersed interface. Because the density of quadrature points is not controlled relative to the fluid discretization, the resulting semi-discrete problem may be over-constrained. Semi-implicit time integration circumvents this difficulty in the fully-discrete scheme. If this time-stepping algorithm is applied to fluid-structure systems that approach steady solutions, though, we find that spatially-oscillating modes of the Lagrange multiplier field can grow over time. In the present work, we stabilize the semi-implicit integration scheme to prevent potential divergence of the multiplier field as time goes to infinity. This stabilized time integration may also be applied in pseudo-time within each time step, giving rise to a fully implicit solution method. We discuss the theoretical implications of this stabilization scheme for several simplified model problems, then demonstrate its practical efficacy through numerical examples.

We study the settling of solid particles in a viscous incompressible fluid contained within a two-dimensional channel, where the mass density of the particles is greater than that of the fluid. The fluid-structure interaction problem is simulated numerically using the immersed boundary method, where the added mass is incorporated using a Boussinesq approximation. Simulations are performed with a single circular particle, and also with two particles in various initial configurations. The terminal particle settling velocity and drag coefficient correspond closely with other theoretical, experimental and numerical results, and the particle trajectories reproduce the expected behavior qualitatively. In particular, simulations of a pair of interacting particles similar drafting-kissing-tumbling dynamics to that observed in other experimental and numerical studies.

A new simulation method for solving fluid-structure two-way coupling problems has been developed. All the basic equations are numerically solved on a fixed Cartesian grid using a finite difference scheme. A new definition of velocity-vorticity formulation aids us to introduce an immersed boundary method that does not require a force term to impose the no-slip condition on the solid boundaries. The proposed method is easy to implement and apply for two-way fluid-structure interaction problems. The dynamics of a falling and rising circular cylinder in a quiescent fluid as well as the motion of a circular cylinder in a lid-driven cavity are considered to evaluate the capabilities of the presented method.

The immersed boundary method (IBM) has been popular in simulating fluid structure interaction (FSI) problems involving flexible structures, and the recent introduction of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) into the IBM makes the method more versatile. In order to test the coupling characteristics of the IBM with the multiple-relaxation-time LBM (MRT-LBM), the three-dimensional (3D) balloon dynamics, including inflation, release and breach processes, are simulated. In this paper, some key issues in the coupling scheme, including the discretization of 3D boundary surfaces, the calculation of boundary force density, and the introduction of external force into the LBM, are described. The good volume conservation and pressure retention properties are verified by two 3D cases. Finally, the three FSI processes of a 3D balloon dynamics are simulated. The large boundary deformation and oscillation, obvious elastic wave propagation, sudden stress release at free edge, and recoil phenomena are all observed. It is evident that the coupling scheme of the IBM and MRT-LBM can handle complicated 3D FSI problems involving large deformation and large pressure gradients with very good accuracy and stability.

Realistic and accurate computer simulations of the particle-hemodynamics in arterial systems can be a valuable tool for numerous biomedical applications. Examples include optimal by-pass grafting and optimal drug-delivery, as well as best medical management concerning the cardio-vascular system. However, such numerical analyses require large computer resources which may become prohibitive for extended sets of arterial bifurcations. A remedy is to develop a hybrid model where the first few generations of the bifurcating arteries of interest are simulated in full 3-D, while a 1-D model is then coupled for subsequent bifurcations. Alternatively, a 1-D computer model can be directly employed to simulate fluid-particle transport in complex bifurcating networks.

Relying on a representative axial velocity profile, a physiological 1-D model has been developed and validated, which is capable of predicting with reasonable accuracy arterial flow, pressure field and elastic wall interaction as well as particle transport. The usefulness of the novel 1-D simulation approach is demonstrated via a comparison to 3-D blood flow and microsphere transport in a hepatic artery system, featuring as outlets one major branch and four small daughter vessels. Compared to the 3-D simulation, the 1-D analysis requires only about 1% of computational time. The hybrid modeling approach would be also applicable to the human respiratory tract to evaluate the fate of inhaled aerosols.

A simple and cost-effective way to simulate particle-hemodynamics is using a 1-D model for simulating arterial pressures and flow rates as well as microsphere transport, based on assumptions involving the use of a simple algebraic pressure-area relation, an exponential elasticity model for the vessels, and considering only unidirectional flow with a representative skewed velocity profile. In summary, the novel contributions are:

• Particle tracking in arteries via 1-D fluid modeling and selection of an averaged, skewed velocity profile based on 3-D simulation results to provide more realistic friction and inertia term values for modeling a flow system with bifurcations.

• The 1-D model can be coupled to a 3-D model so that simulations can be run for larger regions of vascular or lung-airway systems.

The subject of the paper is the numerical simulation of the interaction of two-dimensional incompressible viscous flow and a vibrating airfoil with large amplitudes. The airfoil with three degrees of freedom performs rotation around an elastic axis, oscillations in the vertical direction and rotation of a flap. The numerical simulation consists of the finite element solution of the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations combined with Spalart-Allmaras or κ–ω turbulence models, coupled with a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations describing the airfoil motion with consideration of large amplitudes. The time-dependent computational domain and approximation on a moving grid are treated by the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation of the flow equations. Due to large values of the involved Reynolds numbers an application of a suitable stabilization of the finite element discretization is employed. The developed method is used for the computation of flow-induced oscillations of the airfoil near the flutter instability, when the displacements of the airfoil are large, up to ±40 degrees in rotation. The paper contains the comparison of the numerical results obtained by both turbulence models.