arXiv subjects

Vedasri Godavarthi

Publications and source records attributed to Vedasri Godavarthi.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Energy Transfer Mechanisms in Wake-Modulated Transonic Flutter

Transonic flutter is a detrimental aeroelastic instability that can generate large-amplitude structural oscillations, leading to severe vibration, fatigue damage, reduced operational limits, and potentially catastrophic structural failure. Incoming wake disturbances can further amplify this instability, making it critical to identify the underlying aerodynamic mechanisms responsible for predicting and controlling flutter onset. The underlying flow physics is complex with nonlinear interactions between the wake and the wing, shock motion, shock-induced flow separation, vortex shedding and the wing motion. In this study, we perform high-fidelity direct numerical simulations of a sinusoidally pitching NACA0012 airfoil with an underwing cylinder at various transonic Mach numbers and a Reynolds number of 10,000. Through energy maps, we identify that the addition of the cylinder significantly expands flutter boundaries compared to an airfoil-only system. We extend the force partitioning method to partition the power transferred between the flow and the airfoil for compressible flows. Application of this approach to distinct regions of the flow domain indicates that the gap flow between the wing and the cylinder is the dominant contributor to the energy transfer from flow to the wing. The blockage effects due to the cylinder cause flow acceleration on the wing which further enhances the tendency for flutter. We investigate cylinder placement relative to the airfoil to reveal that flutter is enhanced only when the cylinder is placed upstream of the pivot point on the airfoil. The current study highlights how such partitioning methods can parse force and energy transfer mechanisms in complex, unsteady high-speed flows.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Phase-based analysis and control of supersonic turbulent cavity flows

We present a phase-based framework for reducing the pressure fluctuations within a spanwise-periodic supersonic turbulent cavity flow with an incoming free-stream Mach number of 1.4 and a depth-based Reynolds number of 10,000. Open cavity flows exhibit large fluctuations due to the feedback between the shear layer instabilities and the acoustic field. The dominant flow physics includes the formation, convection, and impingement of large-scale spanwise-oriented vortical structures. We formulate a flow control strategy to effectively modify the vortex convection frequency, thereby disrupting the feedback loop and suppressing pressure fluctuations within the cavity. We implement a phase-reduction approach to identify the flow response about the time-varying convective process by defining a phase variable using dynamic mode decomposition. Three-dimensional impulse perturbations are introduced from the cavity leading edge to characterize phase response in terms of advancement or delay of convection. We perform open-loop flow control through unsteady blowing using actuation frequencies slightly different from the vortex convection frequency to disrupt the feedback loop. After designing a phase-sensitivity-based actuation waveform optimized for quick flow modification, we investigate the speed of fluctuation reduction and compare it to a sinusoidal waveform. At a spanwise actuation wavenumber of $β=2π$, both perform similarly, achieving a 46% reduction of pressure fluctuations within five convective times. At $β=π$, the phase-sensitivity-based actuation performs better by achieving a 40% reduction compared to the 30% with a sinusoidal waveform within six convective times. This study shows the potential of phase-based analysis for timing-based flow control of unsteady turbulent flows.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Leveraging three-dimensionality for navigation in bluff-body wakes

Biological flyers and swimmers navigate in unsteady wake flows using limited sensory abilities and actuation energies. Understanding how vortical structures can be leveraged for energy-efficient navigation in unsteady flows is beneficial in developing autonomous navigation for small-scale aerial and marine vehicles. Such vehicles are typically operated with constrained onboard actuation and sensing capabilities, making energy-efficient trajectory planning critically important. This study finds that trajectory planners can leverage three-dimensionality appearing in a complex unsteady wake for efficient navigation using limited flowfield information. This is revealed with comprehensive investigations by finite-horizon model-predictive control for trajectory planning of a swimmer behind a cylinder wake at Re=300. The navigation performance of three-dimensional (3D) cases is compared to scenarios in a two-dimensional (2D) wake. The underactuated swimmer is able to reach the target by leveraging the background flow when the prediction horizon exceeds one-tenth of the wake-shedding period, demonstrating that navigation is feasible with limited information about the flowfield. Further, we identify that the swimmer can leverage the secondary transverse vortical structures to reach the target faster than is achievable navigating in a 2D wake.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Influence of three-dimensionality on wake synchronization of oscillatory cylinder

We investigate the effect of three-dimensionality on the synchronization characteristics of the wake behind an oscillating circular cylinder at Re = 300. Cylinder oscillations in rotation, transverse translation, and streamwise translation are considered. We utilize phase-reduction analysis, which quantifies the phase-sensitivity function of periodic flows, to examine the synchronization properties. Here, we present an ensemble-based framework for phase-reduction analysis to handle three-dimensional wakes that are not perfectly time-periodic. Based on the phase-sensitivity functions, synchronizability to three types of cylinder oscillations is evaluated. In spite of similar trends, we find that phase-sensitivity functions involving three-dimensional wakes are lower in magnitude compared to those of two-dimensional wakes, which leads to narrower conditions for synchronization to weak cylinder oscillations. We unveil that the difference between the phase-sensitivity functions of two- and three-dimensional flows is strongly correlated to the amplitude variation of the three-dimensional flow by the cylinder motions. This finding reveals that the cylinder motion modifies the three-dimensionality of the wake as well as the phase of vortex shedding, which leads to reduced phase modulation. The synchronization conditions of three-dimensional wakes, predicted by phase-reduction analysis, agree with the identification by parametric studies using direct numerical simulations for forced oscillations with small amplitudes. This study presents the potential capability of phase-reduction to study synchronization characteristics of complex flows.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2023

Optimal waveform for fast synchronization of airfoil wakes

We obtain an optimal actuation waveform for fast synchronization of periodic airfoil wakes through the phase reduction approach. Using the phase reduction approach for periodic wake flows, the spatial sensitivity fields with respect to the phase of the vortex shedding are obtained. The phase sensitivity fields can uncover the synchronization properties in the presence of periodic actuation. This study seeks a periodic actuation waveform using phase-based analysis to minimize the time for synchronization to modify the wake-shedding frequency of NACA0012 airfoil wakes. This fast synchronization waveform is obtained theoretically from the phase sensitivity function by casting an optimization problem. The obtained optimal actuation waveform becomes increasingly non-sinusoidal for higher angles of attack. Actuation based on the obtained waveform achieves rapid synchronization within as low as two vortex shedding cycles irrespective of the forcing frequency whereas traditional sinusoidal actuation requires O(10) shedding cycles. Further, we analyze the influence of actuation frequency on the vortex shedding and the aerodynamic coefficients using force-element analysis. The present analysis provides an efficient way to modify the vortex lock-on properties in a transient manner with applications to fluid-structure interactions and unsteady flow control.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2022

Adjoint-based phase reduction analysis of incompressible periodic flows

We establish the theoretical framework for adjoint-based phase reduction analysis for incompressible periodic flows. Through this adjoint-based method, we obtain spatiotemporal phase sensitivity fields through a single pair of forward and backward direct numerical simulations, as opposed to the impulse-based method that requires a very large number of simulations. Phase-based analysis involves perturbation analysis about a periodically varying base state and hence is tailored for the analysis of periodic flows. We formulate the phase description of periodic flows with respect to the potential and vortical perturbations in the flow field. The current phase-reduction analysis can also be implemented consistently in the immersed boundary projection method, which facilitates the analysis over arbitrarily-shaped bodies. We demonstrate the strength of the phase-based analysis for periodic flows over circular cylinder and symmetric airfoils at high incidence angles. The critical regions for phase modification in the cylinder flow are investigated and the locations of flow separation are shown to be the most sensitive regions. Further, the results reveal the influence of the angle of attack and airfoil thickness on the phase-sensitivity distribution of flows over various airfoils. The phase for such flows is defined based on the lift coefficient, and hence is influenced by the vortical structures responsible for lift production. The present framework sheds light on the connection between phase-sensitivity and vortex formation dynamics.

physics.flu-dyn↗