SBIR Phase I: Minimizing Vehicle Aero Drag with Optimized Deturbulators

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将经济有效地优化Sinhatech专利的柔性皮肤除湍流器与车辆减阻风偏转器、飞机机翼和机翼的集成。除湍流器是一种用于减轻分离流中湍流混合的被动柔性蒙皮大涡破碎装置。Sinhatech吗?该公司最近开发的自调心减扰流增强型导风板（DEWD）气动减阻改造，在一些卡车和货车上实现了9-16%的燃油经济性提升。市场接受将需要加快目前的测试和修改，以优化除湍流器的安装。目前的障碍是缺乏具有成本效益的CFD工具来对除湍流器进行建模。与密西西比州立大学的一项联合研究表明，在湍流模型中，用户指定的混合长度限制可以在高效的RANS代码中模拟除湍流器引起的流动变化。在第一阶段，详细的风洞测量将指导基于消湍流器和流场易于量化特征的通用混合长度修改规则的开发。该程序还将对实验数据进行验证，从一个去湍流处理低速翼型。在飞行性能测试中，经过除湍流剂处理的机翼的升力比阻力增加了18%。CFD引导优化将能够设计出升阻比极高的翼型和机翼，以及几乎流线型的车辆，且功能不受影响。拟议项目的广泛潜力/商业影响将立即节省5-10%的燃料和温室气体排放，通过低成本的精简卡车和汽车，而不会影响功能。优化后的降噪器只需2-3个月就能收回成本，相比之下，竞争对手的航空改造需要24个月，创造了30亿美元的市场。除湍流处理可以增强当前发展的快速、短距起降、高续航、零排放电池动力飞机的商业实现，并具有可接受的有效载荷能力和航程。从启用能够提供24小时低空监视的战术无人机平台开始，这将彻底改变3万亿美元的各级商业航空工业，预计市场价值100亿美元。这包括通过对机翼、稳定器、高涵道比涡轮发动机风扇叶片和螺旋桨叶片进行处理，为长途喷气运输节省20%或更多的燃料和排放。该项目还将采用类似的方法来提高风力涡轮机叶片的效率和疲劳寿命，提高风力发电效率。为更容易访问的站点提供成本优势。它可以提供一个数量级的飞跃，在最大速度，耐力或节省燃料的激进层流机翼设计或竞争表面处理，如波纹，努力减少湍流表面摩擦。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will cost effectively optimize the integration of Sinhatech's patented flexible-skin Deturbulator with vehicle drag-reducing wind deflectors, aircraft wings and airfoils. The Deturbulator is a passive flexible-skin large-eddy breakup device for mitigating turbulent mixing in separated flows. Sinhatech?s recently developed self aligning Deturbulator-enhanced wind-deflector (DEWD) aero-drag reducing retrofit has demonstrated 9-16% fuel economy increase on some trucks and vans. Market acceptance will require speeding up current test-and-modify Deturbulator installation optimization. The impediment has been a lack of cost effective CFD tools capable of modeling the Deturbulator. A joint effort with Mississippi State University has just demonstrated that user specified limits on mixing lengths in a turbulence model can mimic Deturbulator induced flow modifications in an efficient RANS code. In Phase-1 detailed wind-tunnel measurements on a DEWD will guide development of universal mixing-length modification rules based on easily quantifiable features of the Deturbulator and the flow-field. This procedure will also be verified against experimental data from a Deturbulator treated low-speed airfoil. Flight performance tests with Deturbulator treated wings have yielded 18% increase in lift to drag. CFD guided optimization will enable designing extreme lift-to-drag airfoils and wings and virtually streamlined vehicles with uncompromised functionality.The proader potential/commercial impact of the proposed project will immediately enable 5-10% fuel saving and greenhouse gas emission reduction by inexpensively streamlining trucks and automobiles without impacting functionality.Optimized Deturbulators payback in 2-3 months compared to 24-months for competing aero-retrofits, creating a $3-Billion market. Deturbulator treatments can enhance commercial realization of currently evolving fast, short takeoff and landing high-endurance zero-emission battery powered aircraft with acceptable payload capacity and range. Beginning with enabling tactical UAV platforms capable of providing round-the-clock low altitude surveillance, an estimated $10 billion market, this will revolutionize the $3 Trillion commercial aviation industry at all levels. This includes 20% or more fuel savings and emission reduction for long haul jet transport by applying the treatment to wings, stabilizers and high bypass turbine engine fan blades and propeller blades. The project will also enable a similar approach for enhancing wind-turbine blade efficiency and fatigue life, improving wind-power?s cost advantage for more accessible sites. It can provide an order of magnitude leap in maximum speed, endurance or fuel savings over aggressive laminar flow wing designs or competing surface treatments like riblets which strive to reduce turbulent skin friction.