Chrysopelea paradisi, also known as the flying snake, possesses one of the most unique forms of aerial locomotion found in nature, using its entire body as a dynamic lifting surface without the use of wings or membranes. Unlike other airborne creatures, this species lacks appendages to aid in controlling its flight trajectory and producing lift. The snake exhibits exception gliding and maneuvering capabilities compared with other species of gliders despite this lack of appendages. While gliding, C. paradisi morphs its body by expanding its ribs, essentially doubling its width and utilizing its entire length as a reconfigurable wing. Its cross-sectional shape transforms into a thick, airfoil shape with a concave ventral surface, outwards protruding lips at the leading and trailing edges, a somewhat triangular dorsal surface with a round apex, and fore-aft symmetry. This study investigated the aerodynamic performance of this unique shape by simulating a single, static segment of the snake's body over a wide range of Reynolds numbers (3,000 to 15,000) and angles of attack (-10 to 60o) to simulate the full range of the snake's flight kinematics. This is the first study on an anatomically accurate snake model, and few aerodynamic studies have been performed in this low Reynolds number regime. Load cell measurements and time-resolved digital particle image velocimetry (TRDPIV) were performed on a 2D anatomically accurate model to determine the lift and drag coefficients, wake dynamics, and vortex shedding characteristics. This geometry produced a maximum lift coefficient of 1.9 and maximum lift to drag ratio of 2.7, and maintained increases in lift up to 35o. Overall, this geometry demonstrated robust aerodynamic behavior by maintain significant lift production and near maximum lift to drag ratios over a wide range of test parameters. These aerodynamic characteristics may enable the flying snake to glide at steep angles and over a wide range of angles of attack, often encountered in gliding trajectories. This geometry also produced larger maximum lift coefficients than many other bluff bodies and airfoils in this low Reynolds number regime. This thesis is organized as follows. The first section contains a broad introduction on gliding flight and C. paradisi's unique mode of gliding. The following section is a manuscript that will be submitted to a journal and contains the experimental analysis on the snake's cross-sectional shape. Several appendices attached to the end of this thesis contain additional analysis and work performed throughout the duration of this project and unique Matlab algorithms developed during this research. / Master of Science

The aim of this work was to understand the physical requirements as well as to develop methodology required to employ Time Resolved Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (TRDPIV) for measuring high speed, high magnification, near wall flow fields. Previous attempts to perform measurements such as this have been unsuccessful because of both limitations in equipment as well as proper methodology for processing of the data. This work addresses those issues and successfully demonstrates a test inside of a transonic turbine cascade as well as a high speed high magnification wall jet. From previous studies it was established that flow tracer delivery is not a trivial task in a high speed high back pressure environment. Any TRDPIV measurement requires uniform spatial seeding density, but time-resolved measurements require uniform temporal seeding density as well. To this end, a high pressure particle generator was developed. This advancement enhanced current capability beyond what was previously attainable. Unfortunately, this was not sufficient to resolve the issue of seeding all together, and an advanced data reconstruction methodology was developed to reconstruct areas of the flow field that where lost do to inhomogeneous seeding. This reconstruction methodology, based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), has been shown to produce errors in corrected velocities below tradition spatial techniques alone. The combination of both particle generator and reconstruction methodology was instrumental for successfully acquiring TRDPIV measurements in a high speed high pressure environment such as a transonic wind tunnel facility. This work also investigates the development of a turbulent wall jet. This experiment helped in demonstrating the capability of taking high speed high magnification TRDPIV measurements. This experiment was very unique in that it is one of only a few experiments that studied the developing region of these jets. The Reynolds number ranged for this experiment from 150 – 10,000 which corresponded to velocities of 1 - 80 m/s. The results from this experiment showed good agreement with currently published time averaged data. Using scaling laws for fully developed jets a new scaling law was found for the developing region of the jet that could be applied to all Reynolds numbers in this study. A temporal investigation was also carried out using the temporal coefficients from POD. A vortex identification scheme was also applied to all of the Reynolds numbers showing clear trends as Reynolds number increased. / Master of Science

A stator cascade was developed to simulate the flow conditions within a close-stage-spacing transonic axial compressor. Experiments were conducted in a linear transonic blowdown cascade wind tunnel with an inlet Mach number of 0.65. The bow shock from the downstream rotor was simulated by a single moving normal shock generated with a shock tube. First, steady pressure data were gathered to ensure that the stator cascade operated properly without the presence of the shock. Next, the effects of the passing shock on the stator flow field were investigated using shadowgraph photography and Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV). Measurements were taken for three different shock strengths. In every case studied, a vortex formed near the stator trailing edge as the shock impacted the blade. The size of this vortex was shown to be directly related to the shock strength, and the vortex remained present in the trailing edge flow field throughout the cycle duration. Analysis of the DPIV data showed that the vortex acts as a flow blockage, with the extent of this blockage ranging from 2.9% of the passage for the weakest shock, to 14.3% of the passage for the strongest shock. The vortex was also shown to cause flow deviation up to 75° for the case with the strongest shock. Further analysis estimated that the total pressure losses due to shock-induced vorticity ranged from 46% to 113% of the steady wake losses. Finally, the total pressure loss purely due to the upstream-propagating normal shock was estimated to be roughly 0.22%. / Master of Science

This effort explores novel sub-resolution particle center estimation algorithms for Digital Particle Tracking Velocimetry (DPIV). The errors of these new methods were classified through Monte-Carlo simulations. These schemes provide direct measurements of the apparent particle image diameter and the subpixel position. The new methods significantly reduce the bias error due to pixel discretization, thus reducing the total error in the position and sizing measurement compared to the classic three point and least squares Gaussian estimators. In addition, the accuracy of the least-squares fits were essentially independent of the true particle diameter and significantly reduced the particle position error compared with current estimation schemes. The results of the Monte Carlo simulations were validated in a high pressure spray atomization experiment. / Master of Science

Measuring the liquid velocity and turbulence parameters in multiphase flows is a challenging task. In general, measurements based on optical methods are hindered by the presence of the gas phase. In the present work, it is shown that this leads to a sampling bias. Here, particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to measure the liquid velocity and turbulence in a bubble column for different gas volume flow rates. As a result, passing bubbles lead to a significant sampling bias, which is evaluated by the mean liquid velocity and Reynolds stress tensor components. To overcome the sampling bias a window averaging procedure that waits a time depending on the locally distributed velocity information (hold processor) is derived. The procedure is demonstrated for an analytical test function. The PIV results obtained with the hold processor are reasonable for all values. By using the new procedure, reliable liquid velocity measurements in bubbly flows, which are vitally needed for CFD validation and modeling, are possible. In addition, the findings are general and can be applied to other flow situations and measuring techniques.

This thesis introduces and describes a new experimental setup for examining the effects of pulsating inflow to a ventilated enclosure. The study aimed to test the hypothesis that a pulsating inflow has potential to improve ventilation quality by reducing the stagnation zones through enhanced mixing. The experimental setup, which was a small-scale, two-dimensional (2D), water-filled room model, was successfully designed and manufactured to be able to capture two-dimensional velocity vectors of the entire field using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Using in-house software, it was possible to conclude that for an increase in pulsation frequency or alternatively in the flow rate, the stagnation zones were reduced in size, the distribution of vortices became more homogeneous over the considered domain, and the number of vortices in all scales had increased. Considering the occupied region, the stagnation zones were moved away in a favorable direction from a mixing point of view. In addition, statistical analysis unveiled that in the far-field occupied region of the room model, stronger eddies were developed that we could expect to give rise to improved mixing. As a fundamental experimental study performed in a 2D, small-scale room model with water as operating fluid, we can logically conclude that the positive effect of enhanced mixing through increasing the flow rate could equally be accomplished through applying a pulsating inflow. In addition, this thesis introduces and describes an experimental setup for study of air flow over a wall-mounted radiator in a mockup of a real room, which has been successfully designed and manufactured. In this experimental study, the airflow over an electric radiator without forced convection, a common room-heating technique, was measured and visualized using the 2D PIV technique. Surface blackening due to particle deposition calls for monitoring in detail the local climate over a heating radiator. One mechanism causing particle deposition is turbophoresis, which occurs when the flow is turbulent. Because turbulence plays a role in particle deposition, it is important to identify where the laminar flow over radiator becomes turbulent. The results from several visualization techniques and PIV measurements indicated that for a room with typical radiator heating, the flow over the radiator became agitated after a dimensionless length, 5.0–6.25, based on the radiator thickness. Surface properties are among the influencing factors in particle deposition; therefore, the geometrical properties of different finishing techniques were investigated experimentally using a structured light 3D scanner that revealed differences in roughness among different surface finishing techniques. To investigate the resistance to airflow along the surface and the turbulence generated by the surfaces, we recorded the boundary layer flow over the surfaces in a special flow rig, which revealed that the types of surface finishing methods differed very little in their resistance and therefore their influence on the deposition velocity is probably small. / Det övergripande syftet med den första studien i avhandlingen var att undersöka hypotesen att ett pulserande inflöde till ett ventilerade utrymme har en potential till att förbättra ventilationens kvalitet genom att minska stagnationszoner och därigenom öka omblandningen. För genomförande av studien byggdes en experimentuppställning i form av en tvådimensionell (2D) småskalig modell av ett ventilerat rum. Strömningsmediet i modellen var vatten. Det tvådimensionella hastighetsfältet registrerades över hela modellen med hjälp av Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Vid ett stationärt tillflöde bildas ett stagnationsområde i centrum av rumsmodellen. Vid ett pulserade inflöde genererades sekundära virvlar. Med en egen utvecklad programvara var det möjligt att kvantifiera statistiken hos virvlarna. Det pulserade inflödet gjorde att inom området där det vid stationärt tillflöde fanns en stagnationszon ökade antalet virvlar i alla storlekar och fördelningen av virvlar blev mera homogen än tidigare. Detta kan förväntas ge upphov till förbättrad omblandning. Baserat på en grundläggande experimentell studie utförd i en småskalig tvådimensionell rumsmodell med vatten som strömningsmedium kan vi logiskt dra slutsatsen att ett pulserande tilluftsflöde har en potential att förbättra omblandningen.  I en fortsatt studie i avhandlingen visuliserades och mättes hastighetsfältet och därefter beräknades statistiska värden av exempelvis medelhastighet, standardavvikelse och skjuvspänning hos hastighetsfluktuationerna i luftströmmen över en väggmonterad radiator med 2D-PIV-teknik.  Bakgrunden till studien är att en bidragande orsak till partikelavsättning på väggytor är turbofores som uppträder vid en turbulent luftström. Studien genomfördes genom uppbyggnad av en fullskalig rumsmodell. Eftersom turbulens spelar en roll vid partikelavsättning genom turbofores är det viktigt att identifiera var det laminära flödet över radiatorn blir turbulent. Resultaten baserat på visualisering och PIV-mätningar indikerade att, för ett rum med denna typ av radiatoruppvärmning, blev flödet över radiatorn turbulent efter en dimensionslös längd lika med 5,0‒6,25 gånger radiatorns tjocklek. Ytors egenskaper är viktiga vid partikelavsättning. Därför har de geometriska egenskaperna hos några olika metoder för ytbehandling undersökts experimentellt med hjälp av en scanner för strukturerat 3D-ljus. Resultaten visar på skillnader i ytråhet hos de olika ytbehandlingsmetoderna. För att undersöka motståndet mot luftströmning längs ytan och den turbulens som genereras av ytorna registrerade vi gränsskiktsflödet över ytorna i en speciell luftströmningsrigg. Detta påvisade att motståndet hos de olika typerna av ytbehandlingsmetoder skilde sig mycket litet åt och därför är troligt vid deras påverkan på depositionshastigheten mycket liten. / <p>QC 20150525</p>

Currently environmental concerns are driving internal combustion engine manufacturers to seek greater fuel efficiency, more refinement and lower emissions. Cyclic variation is a known obstacle to achieving the greatest potential against these goals and therefore an understanding of how to reduce these is sought. It is widely accepted that cyclic variation in in-cylinder flow motions is a key contributor to overall cyclic variation and therefore the characterisation of factors affecting these is an important step in the process of achieving a better understanding and ultimately control of cyclic variation. This thesis reports the development of a novel optical engine research facility in which high speed digital particle image velocimetry (HSDPIV) has been applied to the study of flow field behaviour within a direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engine. This study investigates the spatial and temporal development of flow structures over and within many engine cycles. Flow field PIV measurements have been captured with a high spatial resolution and temporal frequencies up to 5 kHz from a number of measurement locations at a large range of crank angles. The major contributions from this work have included the use of the novel measurement technique to investigate spatial and temporal flow field development in the intake runner, valve jet, in-cylinder tumble and swirl planes and the pent roof. The gathered data have been used to investigate cycle by cycle variations in both high and low frequency flow structures. Major findings of this work have included the observation of highly varying flow fields throughout the engine cycle. Frequency analysis of these flows has allowed the low frequency bulk motions and higher frequency turbulent components to be studied. The low frequency flow field components are shown to create varying flow field interactions within the cylinder that also affect the manner in which the flow develops over the course of the cycle. The intensity of the turbulence fluctuations, u , has been calculated based upon the high frequency components within the flow and variations within this are shown to correlate with pressure related combustion parameters.

L’optimisation des chambres de combustion est généralement réalisée à l'aide d’outils desimulation numérique. Lorsque le carburant est injecté sous forme liquide, la qualité des simulationsdépend en partie de la définition des conditions aux limites imposées pour cette phase à proximité del'injecteur (diamètre, vitesse et flux volumique des gouttes, vitesse de glissement entre phases). Cesconditions aux limites sont généralement définies à partir d'une analyse expérimentale dans desconditions réalistes d’injection, qui fait appel, dans le meilleur des cas, à l’utilisation del’Anémogranulomètre Phase Doppler (PDA). Cependant, cette technique ponctuelle est coûteuse entemps pour une caractérisation globale de l’injecteur et fournit une mesure des flux volumiques avecdes limitations. Il est également difficile d’accéder à des grandeurs telles que la vitesse de la phasegazeuse en présence des gouttes. Pour répondre à cette problématique, il paraît judicieux de mettre enœuvre des techniques de diagnostic optique spatialement résolues. Cette étude consiste à développer des techniques optiques de champ couplant des approches basées sur la diffusion de Mie, sur l'émission fluorescente des gouttes ou de traceurs et utilisant des algorithmes de type PIV, pour caractériser de manière simultanée et quantitative la granulométrie, la vitesse et le flux volumique de la phase dispersée, ainsi que la vitesse de la phase continue dans les brouillards de gouttes au sein d’une configuration réaliste de foyer aéronautique. Une attentionparticulière est portée à l'étude de la précision de la mesure. Ainsi, des comparaisons sont effectuéesavec des bases de données complètes obtenues à l’aide du PDA. L'analyse de ces résultats estconfrontée aux modèles de l'optique physique régissant les phénomènes de fluorescence et dediffusion de la lumière par des particules à l’aide de simulations. Cette démarche nous permetd'interpréter efficacement les résultats obtenus par imagerie directe et de définir les paramètresd'acquisition et de traitement assurant une précision optimale des mesures. / The optimization of combustion chambers is generally carried out using numerical simulation tools.When fuel is injected in liquid form, the simulation quality depends on the boundary conditionsimposed to this phase close to the injector (diameter, velocity and volume flux of the droplets, slipvelocity between phases). These boundary conditions are usually set from an experimental analysisunder realistic conditions of injection, which in the best case uses Phase Doppler Anemo-granulometry(PDA). However, this point measurement technique is time consuming for an overall injectorcharacterization and provides a measurement of the volume flux with some limitations. It is alsodifficult to access variables such as the velocity of the gas phase in the presence of droplets. Toaddress this problem, it seems appropriate to implement spatially resolved optical diagnostictechniques. This study consists in the development of optical field techniques which combine approaches based onMie scattering, fluorescent emission from droplets or tracers and use PIV algorithms to characterizesimultaneously and quantitatively size, velocity and volume flux of the dispersed phase, and velocityof the continuous phase in droplet sprays in a realistic configuration of aeronautical injector. Aparticular attention is given to the study of the measurement accuracy. Thus, comparisons are carriedout with complete databases obtained with the PDA. The analysis of these results is faced withphysical optics models governing phenomena of fluorescence and light scattering by particles usingsimulations. This approach allows us to effectively interpret the results obtained by direct imaging anddefine acquisition and processing parameters ensuring optimum accuracy.

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is a powerful technique to measure the velocity at many points in a flow simultaneously by performing correlation analysis on images of particles being transported by the flow. These images are acquired by illuminating the flow with two light pulses so that each particle appears once on each image. <p> The spatial resolution is an important parameter of this measuring system since it determines its ability to resolve features of interest in the flow. The super-resolution technique maximises the spatial resolution by augmenting the PIV analysis with a second pass that identifies specific particles and measures the distance between them. <p> The accuracy of the procedure depends on both the success with which the proper pairings are identified and the accuracy with which their centre-to-centre distance can be measured. This study presents an analysis of both the systematic uncertainty and random uncertainty associated with this process. The uncertainty is analysed as a function of several key parameters that define the quality of the image. The uncertainty analysis is performed by preparing 4000 member ensembles of simulated images with specific setpoints of each parameter. <p> It is shown that the systematic uncertainty is negligible compared to the random uncertainty for all conditions tested. Also, the image contrast and the selection of a threshold for the particle search are the most critical parameters influencing both success rate and uncertainty. It is also shown that high image intensities still yield accurate results. The search radius used by the super-resolution algorithm is shown to be a critical parameter also. By increasing the search radius, the success rate can be increased although this is accompanied by an increase in random uncertainty.

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is a powerful technique to measure the velocity at many points in a flow simultaneously by performing correlation analysis on images of particles being transported by the flow. These images are acquired by illuminating the flow with two light pulses so that each particle appears once on each image. <p> The spatial resolution is an important parameter of this measuring system since it determines its ability to resolve features of interest in the flow. The super-resolution technique maximises the spatial resolution by augmenting the PIV analysis with a second pass that identifies specific particles and measures the distance between them. <p> The accuracy of the procedure depends on both the success with which the proper pairings are identified and the accuracy with which their centre-to-centre distance can be measured. This study presents an analysis of both the systematic uncertainty and random uncertainty associated with this process. The uncertainty is analysed as a function of several key parameters that define the quality of the image. The uncertainty analysis is performed by preparing 4000 member ensembles of simulated images with specific setpoints of each parameter. <p> It is shown that the systematic uncertainty is negligible compared to the random uncertainty for all conditions tested. Also, the image contrast and the selection of a threshold for the particle search are the most critical parameters influencing both success rate and uncertainty. It is also shown that high image intensities still yield accurate results. The search radius used by the super-resolution algorithm is shown to be a critical parameter also. By increasing the search radius, the success rate can be increased although this is accompanied by an increase in random uncertainty.