A Computational and Experimental Investigation of a Flutter Generator.
Abstract
The phenomenon of flutter is well known to aircraft designers. A fluttering wing on an aircraft absorbs a significant amount of energy from the air-stream. In this study, computational and experimental methods are used to investigate the possibility of extracting power from a flow using an oscillating airfoil. A numerical analysis is conducted using an unsteady panel code based on potential flow theory. Through the numerical study the combination of parameters is determined that results in the optimum performance of an oscillating-wing power generator. An experimental oscillating-wing power generator is described and tested in a water tunnel. Power and efficiency measurements from the generator are compared to the numerical results. Similar trends between the results suggest that an oscillating-wing power generator is capable of performance comparable to windmills and is a potential source of alternative power.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA367882
Entities
People
- Scott T. Davids
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School