Modelling wake effects in large wind farms in complex terrain: the problem, the methods and the issues

Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) methods are used in this paper to predict the power production from entire wind farms in complex terrain and to shed some light into the wake flow patterns. Two full three-dimensional Navier–Stokes solvers for incompressible fluid flow, employing k − ϵ and k − ω turbulence closures, are used. The wind turbines are modeled as momentum absorbers by means of their thrust coefficient through the actuator disk approach. Alternative methods for estimating the reference wind speed in the calculation of the thrust are tested. The work presented in this paper is part of the work being undertaken within the UpWind Integrated Project that aims to develop the design tools for next generation of large wind turbines. In this part of UpWind, the performance of wind farm and wake models is being examined in complex terrain environment where there are few pre-existing relevant measurements. The focus of the work being carried out is to evaluate the performance of CFD models in large wind farm applications in complex terrain and to examine the development of the wakes in a complex terrain environment.

Far wake structure in rarefied plasma flows past charged bodies

The asymptotic structure of the far-wake behind a charged body in a rarefied plasma flow is investigated under the assumption of small ion-to-electron temperature ratio and of flow speed hypersonic with respect to the ions but not with respect to the electrons. It is found that waves are excited even if the flow is subacoustic (flow velocity less than the ion-acoustic speed). For both superacoustic and subacoustic velocities a steep wave front develops separating the weakly perturbed, quasineutral plasma ahead, from the region behind where ion waves appear. Near the axis a trailing front develops;the region between this and the axis is quasineutral for superacoustic speeds. The decay laws in all of these regions, the self-similar structure of the fronts and the general character of the waves are determined.The damping of the waves and special flow detail for bodies large and small compared with the Debye length are discussed. A nonlinear analysis of the leading wave front in superacoustic flow is carried out. A hyperacoustic equivalence principle is presented.

Development of a wake model for wind farms based on an open source CFD solver. Strategies on parabolization and turbulence modeling

Wake effect represents one of the most important aspects to be analyzed at the engineering phase of every wind farm since it supposes an important power deficit and an increase of turbulence levels with the consequent decrease of the lifetime. It depends on the wind farm design, wind turbine type and the atmospheric conditions prevailing at the site. Traditionally industry has used analytical models, quick and robust, which allow carry out at the preliminary stages wind farm engineering in a flexible way. However, new models based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are needed. These models must increase the accuracy of the output variables avoiding at the same time an increase in the computational time. Among them, the elliptic models based on the actuator disk technique have reached an extended use during the last years. These models present three important problems in case of being used by default for the solution of large wind farms: the estimation of the reference wind speed upstream of each rotor disk, turbulence modeling and computational time. In order to minimize the consequence of these problems, this PhD Thesis proposes solutions implemented under the open source CFD solver OpenFOAM and adapted for each type of site: a correction on the reference wind speed for the general elliptic models, the semi-parabollic model for large offshore wind farms and the hybrid model for wind farms in complex terrain. All the models are validated in terms of power ratios by means of experimental data derived from real operating wind farms.

Development of a Uniform Theory of Diffraction for Scattered and Surface Electromagnetic Field Analysis on a Cylinder

Con esta tesis ”Desarrollo de una Teoría Uniforme de la Difracción para el Análisis de los Campos Electromagnéticos Dispersados y Superficiales sobre un Cilindro” hemos iniciado una nueva línea de investigación que trata de responder a la siguiente pregunta: ¿cuál es la impedancia de superficie que describe una estructura de conductor eléctrico perfecto (PEC) convexa recubierta por un material no conductor? Este tipo de estudios tienen interés hoy en día porque ayudan a predecir el campo electromagnético incidente, radiado o que se propaga sobre estructuras metálicas y localmente convexas que se encuentran recubiertas de algún material dieléctrico, o sobre estructuras metálicas con pérdidas, como por ejemplo se necesita en determinadas aplicaciones aeroespaciales, marítimas o automovilísticas. Además, desde un punto de vista teórico, la caracterización de la impedancia de superficie de una estructura PEC recubierta o no por un dieléctrico es una generalización de varias soluciones que tratan ambos tipos de problemas por separado. En esta tesis se desarrolla una teoría uniforme de la difracción (UTD) para analizar el problema canónico del campo electromagnético dispersado y superficial en un cilindro circular eléctricamente grande con una condición de contorno de impedancia (IBC) para frecuencias altas. Construir una solución basada en UTD para este problema canónico es crucial en el desarrollo de un método UTD para el caso más general de una superficie arbitrariamente convexa, mediante el uso del principio de localización de los campos electromagnéticos a altas frecuencias. Esta tesis doctoral se ha llevado a cabo a través de una serie de hitos que se enumeran a continuación, enfatizando las contribuciones a las que ha dado lugar. Inicialmente se realiza una revisión en profundidad del estado del arte de los métodos asintóticos con numerosas referencias. As í, cualquier lector novel puede llegar a conocer la historia de la óptica geométrica (GO) y la teoría geométrica de la difracción (GTD), que dieron lugar al desarrollo de la UTD. Después, se investiga ampliamente la UTD y los trabajos más importantes que pueden encontrarse en la literatura. As í, este capítulo, nos coloca en la posición de afirmar que, hasta donde nosotros conocemos, nadie ha intentado antes llevar a cabo una investigación rigurosa sobre la caracterización de la impedancia de superficie de una estructura PEC recubierta por un material dieléctrico, utilizando para ello la UTD. Primero, se desarrolla una UTD para el problema canónico de la dispersión electromagnética de un cilindro circular eléctricamente grande con una IBC uniforme, cuando es iluminado por una onda plana con incidencia oblicua a frecuencias altas. La solución a este problema canónico se construye a partir de una solución exacta mediante una expansión de autofunciones de propagación radial. Entonces, ésta se convierte en una nueva expansión de autofunciones de propagación circunferencial muy apropiada para cilindros grandes, a través de la transformación de Watson. De esta forma, la expresión del campo se reduce a una integral que se evalúa asintóticamente, para altas frecuencias, de manera uniforme. El resultado se expresa según el trazado de rayos descrito en la UTD. La solución es uniforme porque tiene la importante propiedad de mantenerse continua a lo largo de la región de transición, a ambos lados de la superficie del contorno de sombra. Fuera de la región de transición la solución se reduce al campo incidente y reflejado puramente ópticos en la región iluminada del cilindro, y al campo superficial difractado en la región de sombra. Debido a la IBC el campo dispersado contiene una componente contrapolar a causa de un acoplamiento entre las ondas TEz y TMz (donde z es el eje del cilindro). Esta componente contrapolar desaparece cuando la incidencia es normal al cilindro, y también en la región iluminada cuando la incidencia es oblicua donde el campo se reduce a la solución de GO. La solución UTD presenta una muy buena exactitud cuando se compara numéricamente con una solución de referencia exacta. A continuación, se desarrolla una IBC efectiva para el cálculo del campo electromagnético dispersado en un cilindro circular PEC recubierto por un dieléctrico e iluminado por una onda plana incidiendo oblicuamente. Para ello se derivan dos impedancias de superficie en relación directa con las ondas creeping y de superficie TM y TE que se excitan en un cilindro recubierto por un material no conductor. Las impedancias de superficie TM y TE están acopladas cuando la incidencia es oblicua, y dependen de la geometría del problema y de los números de onda. Además, se ha derivado una impedancia de superficie constante, aunque con diferente valor cuando el observador se encuentra en la zona iluminada o en la zona de sombra. Después, se presenta una solución UTD para el cálculo de la dispersión de una onda plana con incidencia oblicua sobre un cilindro eléctricamente grande y convexo, mediante la generalización del problema canónico correspondiente al cilindro circular. La solución asintótica es uniforme porque se mantiene continua a lo largo de la región de transición, en las inmediaciones del contorno de sombra, y se reduce a la solución de rayos ópticos en la zona iluminada y a la contribución de las ondas de superficie dentro de la zona de sombra, lejos de la región de transición. Cuando se usa cualquier material no conductor se excita una componente contrapolar que tiende a desaparecer cuando la incidencia es normal al cilindro y en la región iluminada. Se discuten ampliamente las limitaciones de las fórmulas para la impedancia de superficie efectiva, y se compara la solución UTD con otras soluciones de referencia, donde se observa una muy buena concordancia. Y en tercer lugar, se presenta una aproximación para una impedancia de superficie efectiva para el cálculo de los campos superficiales en un cilindro circular conductor recubierto por un dieléctrico. Se discuten las principales diferencias que existen entre un cilindro PEC recubierto por un dieléctrico desde un punto de vista riguroso y un cilindro con una IBC. Mientras para un cilindro de impedancia se considera una impedancia de superficie constante o uniforme, para un cilindro conductor recubierto por un dieléctrico se derivan dos impedancias de superficie. Estas impedancias de superficie están asociadas a los modos de ondas creeping TM y TE excitadas en un cilindro, y dependen de la posición y de la orientación del observador y de la fuente. Con esto en mente, se deriva una solución UTD con IBC para los campos superficiales teniendo en cuenta las dependencias de la impedancia de superficie. La expansión asintótica se realiza, mediante la transformación de Watson, sobre la representación en serie de las funciones de Green correspondientes, evitando as í calcular las derivadas de orden superior de las integrales de tipo Fock, y dando lugar a una solución rápida y precisa. En los ejemplos numéricos realizados se observa una muy buena precisión cuando el cilindro y la separación entre el observador y la fuente son grandes. Esta solución, junto con el método de los momentos (MoM), se puede aplicar para el cálculo eficiente del acoplamiento mutuo de grandes arrays conformados de antenas de parches. Los métodos propuestos basados en UTD para el cálculo del campo electromagnético dispersado y superficial sobre un cilindro PEC recubierto de dieléctrico con una IBC efectiva suponen un primer paso hacia la generalización de una solución UTD para superficies metálicas convexas arbitrarias cubiertas por un material no conductor e iluminadas por una fuente electromagnética arbitraria. ABSTRACT With this thesis ”Development of a Uniform Theory of Diffraction for Scattered and Surface Electromagnetic Field Analysis on a Cylinder” we have initiated a line of investigation whose goal is to answer the following question: what is the surface impedance which describes a perfect electric conductor (PEC) convex structure covered by a material coating? These studies are of current and future interest for predicting the electromagnetic (EM) fields incident, radiating or propagating on locally smooth convex parts of highly metallic structures with a material coating, or by a lossy metallic surfaces, as for example in aerospace, maritime and automotive applications. Moreover, from a theoretical point of view, the surface impedance characterization of PEC surfaces with or without a material coating represents a generalization of independent solutions for both type of problems. A uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD) is developed in this thesis for analyzing the canonical problem of EM scattered and surface field by an electrically large circular cylinder with an impedance boundary condition (IBC) in the high frequency regime, by means of a surface impedance characterization. The construction of a UTD solution for this canonical problem is crucial for the development of the corresponding UTD solution for the more general case of an arbitrary smooth convex surface, via the principle of the localization of high frequency EM fields. The development of the present doctoral thesis has been carried out through a series of landmarks that are enumerated as follows, emphasizing the main contributions that this work has given rise to. Initially, a profound revision is made in the state of art of asymptotic methods where numerous references are given. Thus, any reader may know the history of geometrical optics (GO) and geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD), which led to the development of UTD. Then, the UTD is deeply investigated and the main studies which are found in the literature are shown. This chapter situates us in the position to state that, as far as we know, nobody has attempted before to perform a rigorous research about the surface impedance characterization for material-coated PEC convex structures via UTD. First, a UTD solution is developed for the canonical problem of the EM scattering by an electrically large circular cylinder with a uniform IBC, when it is illuminated by an obliquely incident high frequency plane wave. A solution to this canonical problem is first constructed in terms of an exact formulation involving a radially propagating eigenfunction expansion. The latter is converted into a circumferentially propagating eigenfunction expansion suited for large cylinders, via the Watson transformation, which is expressed as an integral that is subsequently evaluated asymptotically, for high frequencies, in a uniform manner. The resulting solution is then expressed in the desired UTD ray form. This solution is uniform in the sense that it has the important property that it remains continuous across the transition region on either side of the surface shadow boundary. Outside the shadow boundary transition region it recovers the purely ray optical incident and reflected ray fields on the deep lit side of the shadow boundary and to the modal surface diffracted ray fields on the deep shadow side. The scattered field is seen to have a cross-polarized component due to the coupling between the TEz and TMz waves (where z is the cylinder axis) resulting from the IBC. Such cross-polarization vanishes for normal incidence on the cylinder, and also in the deep lit region for oblique incidence where it properly reduces to the GO or ray optical solution. This UTD solution is shown to be very accurate by a numerical comparison with an exact reference solution. Then, an effective IBC is developed for the EM scattered field on a coated PEC circular cylinder illuminated by an obliquely incident plane wave. Two surface impedances are derived in a direct relation with the TM and TE surface and creeping wave modes excited on a coated cylinder. The TM and TE surface impedances are coupled at oblique incidence, and depend on the geometry of the problem and the wave numbers. Nevertheless, a constant surface impedance is found, although with a different value when the observation point lays in the lit or in the shadow region. Then, a UTD solution for the scattering of an obliquely incident plane wave on an electrically large smooth convex coated PEC cylinder is introduced, via a generalization of the canonical circular cylinder problem. The asymptotic solution is uniform because it remains continuous across the transition region, in the vicinity of the shadow boundary, and it recovers the ray optical solution in the deep lit region and the creeping wave formulation within the deep shadow region. When a coating is present a cross-polar field term is excited, which vanishes at normal incidence and in the deep lit region. The limitations of the effective surface impedance formulas are discussed, and the UTD solution is compared with some reference solutions where a very good agreement is met. And in third place, an effective surface impedance approach is introduced for determining surface fields on an electrically large coated metallic circular cylinder. Differences in analysis of rigorouslytreated coated metallic cylinders and cylinders with an IBC are discussed. While for the impedance cylinder case a single constant or uniform surface impedance is considered, for the coated metallic cylinder case two surface impedances are derived. These are associated with the TM and TE creeping wave modes excited on a cylinder and depend on observation and source positions and orientations. With this in mind, a UTD based method with IBC is derived for the surface fields by taking into account the surface impedance variation. The asymptotic expansion is performed, via the Watson transformation, over the appropriate series representation of the Green’s functions, thus avoiding higher-order derivatives of Fock-type integrals, and yielding a fast and an accurate solution. Numerical examples reveal a very good accuracy for large cylinders when the separation between the observation and the source point is large. Thus, this solution could be efficiently applied in mutual coupling analysis, along with the method of moments (MoM), of large conformal microstrip array antennas. The proposed UTD methods for scattered and surface EM field analysis on a coated PEC cylinder with an effective IBC are considered the first steps toward the generalization of a UTD solution for large arbitrarily convex smooth metallic surfaces covered by a material coating and illuminated by an arbitrary EM source.

Instability and topology bifurcations on a hemisphere-cylinder at high angle of attack

La configuración de un cilindro acoplado a una semi-esfera, conocida como ’hemispherecylinder’, se considera como un modelo simplificado para numerosas aplicaciones industriales tales como fuselaje de aviones o submarinos. Por tanto, el estudio y entendimiento de los fenómenos fluidos que ocurren alrededor de dicha geometría presenta gran interés. En esta tesis se muestra la investigación del origen y evolución de los, ya conocidos, patrones de flujo (burbuja de separación, vórtices ’horn’ y vórtices ’leeward’) que se dan en esta geometría bajo condiciones de flujo separado. Para ello se han llevado a cabo simulaciones numéricas (DNS) y ensayos experimentales usando la técnica de Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), para una variedad de números de Reynolds (Re) y ángulos de ataque (AoA). Se ha aplicado sobre los resultados numéricos la teoría de puntos críticos obteniendo, por primera vez para esta geometría, un diagrama de bifurcaciones que clasifica los diferentes regímenes topológicos en función del número de Reynolds y del ángulo de ataque. Se ha llevado a cabo una caracterización completa sobre el origen y la evolución de los patrones estructurales característicos del cuerpo estudiado. Puntos críticos de superficie y líneas de corriente tridimensionales han ayudado a describir el origen y la evolución de las principales estructuras presentes en el flujo hasta alcanzar un estado de estabilidad desde el punto de vista topológico. Este estado se asocia con el patrón de los vórtices ’horn’, definido por una topología característica que se encuentra en un rango de números de Reynolds muy amplio y en regímenes compresibles e incompresibles. Por otro lado, con el objeto de determinar las estructuras presentes en el flujo y sus frecuencias asociadas, se han usado distintas técnicas de análisis: Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) y análisis de Fourier. Dichas técnicas se han aplicado sobre los datos experimentales y numéricos, demostrándose la buena concordancia entre ambos resultados. Finalmente, se ha encontrado en ambos casos, una frecuencia dominante asociada con una inestabilidad de los vórtices ’leeward’. ABSTRACT The hemisphere-cylinder may be considered as a simplified model for several geometries found in industrial applications such as aircrafts’ fuselages or submarines. Understanding the complex flow phenomena that surrounds this particular geometry is therefore of major industrial interest. This thesis presents an investigation of the origin and evolution of the complex flow pattern; i.e. separation bubbles, horn vortices and leeward vortices, around the hemisphere-cylinder under separated flow conditions. To this aim, threedimensional Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) and experimental tests, using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) techniques, have been performed for a variety of Reynolds numbers (Re) and angles of attack (AoA). Critical point theory has been applied to the numerical simulations to provide, for the first time for this geometry, a bifurcation diagram that classifies the different flow topology regimes as a function of the Reynolds number and the angle of attack. A complete characterization about the origin and evolution of the complex structural patterns of this geometry has been put in evidence. Surface critical points and surface and volume streamlines were able to describe the main flow structures and their strong dependence with the flow conditions up to reach the structurally stable state. This state was associated with the pattern of the horn vortices, found on ranges from low to high Reynolds numbers and from incompressible to compressible regimes. In addition, different structural analysis techniques have been employed: Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) and Fourier analysis. These techniques have been applied to the experimental and numerical data to extract flow structure information (i.e. modes and frequencies). Experimental and numerical modes are shown to be in good agreement. A dominant frequency associated with an instability of the leeward vortices has been identified in both, experimental and numerical results.

A new UTD for the electromagnetic plane wave scattering by a canonical circular cylinder with an impedance boundary condition

A UTD solution is developed for describing the scattering by a circular cylinder with an impedance boundary condition (IBC), when it is illuminated by an obliquely incident electromagnetic (EM) plane wave. The solution to this canonical problem will be crucial for the construction of a more general UTD solution valid for an arbitrary smooth convex surface with an IBC, when it is illuminated by an arbitrary EM ray optical field. The canonical solution is uniformly valid across the surface shadow boundary that is tangent to the surface at grazing incidence. This canonical solution contains cross polarized terms in the scattered fields, which arise from a coupling of the TEz and TMz waves at the impedance boundary on the cylinder. Here, z is the cylinder axis. Numerical results show very good accuracy for the simpler and efficient UTD solution, when compared to exact but very slowly convergent eigenfunction solution.

Surface impedance for scattered field on a dielectric-coated circular cylinder

In the scattering analysis of a circular cylindrical structure, the impedance boundary condition (IBC) can approximate and simplify the perfect electric conductor (PEC) boundary condition. The circular cylinder problem can be solved with modal methods but they require a large number of terms when the cylinder radius is large in terms of the wave length. The uniform theory of diffraction (UTD) [1] is commonly used to overcome this issue. The two-dimensional problem of scattering on a circular cylinder covered by a dielectric layer has been analyzed by [2]–[5], but their solutions either do not consider oblique incidence, fail on the transition region or use a constant surface impedance.

Surface impedance for electromagnetic fields over a dielectric-coated circular cylinder

For small or medium size conformal array antennas in terms of the wave length, modal solutions in spectral domain for mutual coupling analysis are convenient for canonical shapes such as circular cylinder [1] or sphere [2], but as the antenna dimensions increase a large number of terms are necessary. For large structures the uniform theory of diffraction (UTD) is commonly used to solve this problem for canonical and arbitrarily convex shaped perfect electric conductor (PEC) surfaces [3]. A UTD solution for mutual coupling on an impedance cylinder has been introduced in [4], [5] but using a constant surface impedance.

Arquitectura de Radios Wake-up para redes de sensores inalámbricas basada en FPGA

En este artículo se muestra la implementación de una Wake-up radio para nodos de redes de sensores inalámbricas basada en FPGAS de ultra bajo consumo. El objetivo principal es evaluar la utilización de dispositivos de lógica programable para realizar el procesamiento de los mensajes y explotar su velocidad de, flexibilidad y bajo consumo comparado con las implementaciones más tradicionales basadas en ASIC o microcontroladores.

Drifting plasma collection by a positive biased tether wire in LEO-like plasma conditions: current measurement and plasma diagnostic

BETs is a three-year project financed by the Space Program of the European Commission, aimed at developing an efficient deorbit system that could be carried on board any future satellite launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The operational system involves a conductive tape-tether left bare to establish anodic contact with the ambient plasma as a giant Langmuir probe. As a part of this project, we are carrying out both numerical and experimental approaches to estimate the collected current by the positive part of the tether. This paper deals with experimental measurements performed in the IONospheric Atmosphere Simulator (JONAS) plasma chamber of the Onera-Space Environment Department. The JONAS facility is a 9- m3 vacuum chamber equipped with a plasma source providing drifting plasma simulating LEO conditions in terms of density and temperature. A thin metallic cylinder, simulating the tether, is set inside the chamber and polarized up to 1000 V. The Earth's magnetic field is neutralized inside the chamber. In a first time, tether collected current versus tether polarization is measured for different plasma source energies and densities. In complement, several types of Langmuir probes are used at the same location to allow the extraction of both ion densities and electron parameters by computer modeling (classical Langmuir probe characteristics are not accurate enough in the present situation). These two measurements permit estimation of the discrepancies between the theoretical collection laws, orbital motion limited law in particular, and the experimental data in LEO-like conditions without magnetic fields. In a second time, the spatial variations and the time evolutions of the plasma properties around the tether are investigated. Spherical and emissive Langmuir probes are also used for a more extensive characterization of the plasma in space and time dependent analysis. Results show the ion depletion because of the wake effect and the accumulation of- ions upstream of the tether. In some regimes (at large positive potential), oscillations are observed on the tether collected current and on Langmuir probe collected current in specific sites.

A Spectral Analysis of LDA Turbulent Flow Measurements in a Ship Air Wake

Helicopters are one of the most important tactical elements in maritime operations. The necessity for an improvement in the conditions in which the landing and take-off operations are carried out leads to the study of the flow that separates from the ship?s superstructure over the flight deck. To investigate this flow a series of wind tunnel experiments have been performed by testing a sub-scale model of a generic frigate. Measurements of the flow?s velocity have been taken by means of Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) in five points that simulate the last path of the landing trajectory. The data obtained in these experiments is manipulated in a frequency analysis where the corresponding spectra are calculated. Onboard measurements from an actual full scale frigate are analyzed and compared with the wind tunnel results. Conclusions obtained consist of a series of illustrative values of turbulent energy frequency ranges which can be valuable for any study in this field. The comparison shows a clear similarity between both experiments, reasserting the wind tunnel measurements and its reliability.

Determination of the JWL constants for ANFO and emulsion explosives from cylinder test data

The Jones-Wilkins-Lee (JWL) equation of state parameters for ANFO and emulsion-type explosives have been obtained from cylinder test expansion measurements. The calculation method comprises a new radial expansion function, with a non-zero initial velocity at the onset of the expansion in order to comply with a positive Gurney energy at unit relative volume, as the isentropic expansion from the CJ state predicts. The equations reflecting the CJ state conditions and the measured expansion energy were solved for the JWL parameters by a non-linear least squares scheme. The JWL parameters of thirteen ANFO and emulsion type explosives have been determined in this way from their cylinder test expansion data. The results were evaluated through numerical modelling of the tests with the LS-DYNA hydrocode; the expansion histories from the modelling were compared with the measured ones, and excellent agreement was found.

Dynamic interactions between solids and viscous liquids with free surface = Interacciones dinámicas entre sólidos y líquidos viscosos con superficie libre

En esta tesis se investiga la interacción entre un fluido viscoso y un cuerpo sólido en presencia de una superficie libre. El problema se expresa teóricamente poniendo especial atención a los aspectos de conservación de energía y de la interacción del fluido con el cuerpo. El problema se considera 2D y monofásico, y un desarrollo matemático permite una descomposición de los términos disipativos en términos relacionados con la superficie libre y términos relacionados con la enstrofía. El modelo numérico utilizado en la tesis se basa en el método sin malla Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). De manera análoga a lo que se hace a nivel continuo, las propiedades de conservación se estudian en la tesis con el sistema discreto de partículas. Se tratan también las condiciones de contorno de un cuerpo que se mueve en un flujo viscoso, implementadas con el método ghost-fluid. Se ha desarrollado un algoritmo explícito de interacción fluido / cuerpo. Se han documentado algunos casos de modo detallado con el objetivo de comprobar la capacidad del modelo para reproducir correctamente la disipación de energía y el movimiento del cuerpo. En particular se ha investigado la atenuación de una onda estacionaria, comparando la simulación numérica con predicciones teóricas. Se han realizado otras pruebas para monitorizar la disipación de energía para flujos más violentos que implican la fragmentación de la superficie libre. La cantidad de energía disipada con los diferentes términos se ha evaluado en los casos estudiados con el modelo numérico. Se han realizado otras pruebas numéricas para verificar la técnica de modelización de la interacción fluido / cuerpo, concretamente las fuerzas ejercidas por las olas en cuerpos con formas simples, y el equilibrio de un cuerpo flotante con una forma compleja. Una vez que el modelo numérico ha sido validado, se han realizado simulaciones numéricas para obtener una comprensión más completa de la física implicada en casos (casi) realistas sobre los había aspectos que no se conocían suficientemente. En primer lugar se ha estudiado el el flujo alrededor de un cilindro bajo la superficie libre. El estudio se ha realizado con un número de Reynolds moderado, para un rango de inmersiones del cilindro y números de Froude. La solución numérica permite una investigación de los patrones complejos que se producen. La estela del cilindro interactúa con la superficie libre. Se han identificado algunos inestabilidades características. El segundo estudio se ha realizado sobre el problema de sloshing, tanto experimentalmente como numéricamente. El análisis se restringe a aguas poco profundas y con oscilación horizontal, pero se ha estudiado un gran número de condiciones, lo que lleva a una comprensión bastante completa de los sistemas de onda involucradas. La última parte de la tesis trata también sobre un problema de sloshing pero esta vez el tanque está oscilando con rotación y hay acoplamiento con un sistema mecánico. El sistema se llama pendulum-TLD (Tuned Liquid Damper - con líquido amortiguador). Este tipo de sistema se utiliza normalmente para la amortiguación de las estructuras civiles. El análisis se ha realizado analíticamente, numéricamente y experimentalmente utilizando líquidos con viscosidades diferentes, centrándose en características no lineales y mecanismos de disipación. ABSTRA C T The subject of the present thesis is the interaction between a viscous fluid and a solid body in the presence of a free surface. The problem is expressed first theoretically with a particular focus on the energy conservation and the fluid-body interaction. The problem is considered 2D and monophasic, and some mathematical development allows for a decomposition of the energy dissipation into terms related to the Free Surface and others related to the enstrophy. The numerical model used on the thesis is based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH): a computational method that works by dividing the fluid into particles. Analogously to what is done at continuum level, the conservation properties are studied on the discrete system of particles. Additionally the boundary conditions for a moving body in a viscous flow are treated and discussed using the ghost-fluid method. An explicit algorithm for handling fluid-body coupling is also developed. Following these theoretical developments on the numerical model, some test cases are devised in order to test the ability of the model to correctly reproduce the energy dissipation and the motion of the body. The attenuation of a standing wave is used to compare what is numerically simulated to what is theoretically predicted. Further tests are done in order to monitor the energy dissipation in case of more violent flows involving the fragmentation of the free-surface. The amount of energy dissipated with the different terms is assessed with the numerical model. Other numerical tests are performed in order to test the fluid/body interaction method: forces exerted by waves on simple shapes, and equilibrium of a floating body with a complex shape. Once the numerical model has been validated, numerical tests are performed in order to get a more complete understanding of the physics involved in (almost) realistic cases. First a study is performed on the flow passing a cylinder under the free surface. The study is performed at moderate Reynolds numbers, for various cylinder submergences, and various Froude numbers. The capacity of the numerical solver allows for an investigation of the complex patterns which occur. The wake from the cylinder interacts with the free surface, and some characteristical flow mechanisms are identified. The second study is done on the sloshing problem, both experimentally and numerically. The analysis is restrained to shallow water and horizontal excitation, but a large number of conditions are studied, leading to quite a complete understanding of the wave systems involved. The last part of the thesis still involves a sloshing problem but this time the tank is rolling and there is coupling with a mechanical system. The system is named pendulum-TLD (Tuned Liquid Damper). This kind of system is normally used for damping of civil structures. The analysis is then performed analytically, numerically and experimentally for using liquids with different viscosities, focusing on non-linear features and dissipation mechanisms.

Deciduous tree reconstruction algorithm based on cylinder fitting from mobile terrestrial laser scanned point clouds

Vector reconstruction of objects from an unstructured point cloud obtained with a LiDAR-based system (light detection and ranging) is one of the most promising methods to build three dimensional models of orchards. The cylinder fitting method for woody structure reconstruction of leafless trees from point clouds obtained with a mobile terrestrial laser scanner (MTLS) has been analysed. The advantage of this method is that it performs reconstruction in a single step. The most time consuming part of the algorithm is generation of the cylinder direction, which must be recalculated at the inclusion of each point in the cylinder. The tree skeleton is obtained at the same time as the cluster of cylinders is formed. The method does not guarantee a unique convergence and the reconstruction parameter values must be carefully chosen. A balanced processing of clusters has also been defined which has proven to be very efficient in terms of processing time by following the hierarchy of branches, predecessors and successors. The algorithm was applied to simulated MTLS of virtual orchard models and to MTLS data of real orchards. The constraints applied in the method have been reviewed to ensure better convergence and simpler use of parameters. The results obtained show a correct reconstruction of the woody structure of the trees and the algorithm runs in linear logarithmic time

A panel method free-wake code for aeroelastic rotor predictions

A panel method free-wake model to analyse the rotor flapping is presented. The aerodynamic model consists of a panel method, which takes into account the three-dimensional rotor geometry, and a free-wake model, to determine the wake shape. The main features of the model are the wake division into a near-wake sheet and a far wake represented by a single tip vortex, and the modification of the panel method formulation to take into account this particular wake description. The blades are considered rigid with a flap degree of freedom. The problem solution is approached using a relaxation method, which enforces periodic boundary conditions. Finally, several code validations against helicopter and wind turbine experimental data are performed, showing good agreement