Sharif Digital Repository

Microrobots with their promising applications are attracting a lot of attention currently. A microrobot with a triangular mechanism was previously proposed by scientists to overcome the motion limitations in a low-Reynolds number flow; however, the control of this swimmer for performing desired manoeuvres has not been studied yet. Here, we have proposed some strategies for controlling its position. Considering the constraints on arm lengths, we proposed an optimal controller based on quadratic programming. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed optimal controller can steer the microrobot along the desired trajectory as well as minimize fluctuations of the actuators length. ©... 

An experimental study of a lab scale rotating detonation combustor (RDC) has been conducted to identify and classify its modes of operation under different feeding conditions. The chamber uses air as oxidizer and hydrogen as fuel. The stability diagram of the RDC has been determined based on the detonation chamber Reynolds number and reactants mixture equivalence ratio values. The Reynolds number is based on the air volume flow rate, chamber annulus size, and the reactants mixture feeding slot area. Hence the effects of geometrical parameters and operational parameters on the detonation wave stability can be presented in a single stability map. This diagram identifies different zones in... 

In the present study, the effects of rotary tubes and magnetic-induced nanofluid on heat transfer characteristics of a compact heat exchanger are individually investigated. Two-phase Eulerian model is employed to predict the hydrothermal and entropic characteristics of Fe3O4/water ferrofluid in the heat exchanger. Results indicate that utilizing each rotary tubes and magnetic field method can improve the energy and exergy efficiencies of the compact heat exchanger under specific circumstances by forming different types of secondary flow. It is found that employing each method individually can increase the maximum heat transfer rate by more than 60%. In comparison with methods like passive... 

In this study, we introduce a novel three-dimensional micro-scale robot capable of swimming in low Reynolds number. The proposed robot consists of three rotating disks linked via three perpendicular adjustable rods, actuated by three rotary and three linear motors, respectively. The robot mechanism has an important property which makes it superior to the previously designed micro swimmers. In fact, our goal is designing a micro swimmer which its controllability matrix has full rank and hence it will be capable to perform any desired maneuver in space. After introducing the mechanism and derivation of the dynamical equations of motion, we propose a control method to steer the robot to the... 

An extensive experimental investigation was conducted to study the effects of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD), on the flow field of an airfoil at low Reynolds number. The DBD was mounted near the leading edge of a section of a wind turbine blade. It is believed that DBD can postpone the separation point on the airfoil by injecting momentum to the flow. The effects of steady actuations on the velocity profiles in the wake region have been investigated. The tests were performed at α = 4 to 36 degrees i.e. from low to deep stall angles of attack regions. Both surface pressure distribution and wake profile show remarkable improvement at high angles of attack, beyond the static stall angle of... 

We have introduced a new low-Reynolds-number microrobot with high 3D maneuverability. Our novel proposed microrobot has a higher rank of the controllability matrix with respect to the previous microswimmers which makes it capable of performing complex motions in space. In this study, governing equations of the microswimmer's motion have been derived and simulated. Subsequently, we have proposed a cascade optimal control technique to control the swimmer trajectory. In the proposed control scheme, the actuation is provided in a way that an exponential stability on the system trajectory error as well as minimum fluctuations of control signals are achieved. © The Author(s), 2021. Published by... 

Swarm motion is an amazing collective behavior in nature for energy saving. Inspiring this natural phenomenon in microorganisms’ swimming, we have proposed a motion strategy for a swarm of microrobots to reduce their energy consumption during path tracking. The investigated microrobot is an artificial Self-Propelled Microswimmer (SPM) with high maneuverability at low Reynolds number flow (Re ≪ 1). In this study, we have demonstrated that forming a swarm behavior with minimum energy consumption requires the microswimmers to be close enough to each other, since at small distances the hydrodynamic interactions of microswimmers reduce their energy consumption. Moreover, we also showed that... 

Transitional boundary layer over a pitching airfoil at low Reynolds number (Re = 2:7 × 105) is experimentally investigated using space-frequency and time-frequency analyses of hot- film signals. Boundary layer events are visualized based on the space-frequency and time-frequency plots. The precursor phenomenon for turbulent and fully separated flows is presented based on the time-frequency analysis. A new technique based on time-frequency analysis of hot- film signals is introduced to measure the transition onset and relaminarization locations. This technique functions based on the analysis of high-frequency disturbances of the measured data. Significant attention has been drawn to the... 

Swarm motion is an amazing collective behavior in nature for energy saving. Inspiring this natural phenomenon in microorganisms’ swimming, we have proposed a motion strategy for a swarm of microrobots to reduce their energy consumption during path tracking. The investigated microrobot is an artificial Self-Propelled Microswimmer (SPM) with high maneuverability at low Reynolds number flow (Re ≪ 1). In this study, we have demonstrated that forming a swarm behavior with minimum energy consumption requires the microswimmers to be close enough to each other, since at small distances the hydrodynamic interactions of microswimmers reduce their energy consumption. Moreover, we also showed that... 

Transitional boundary layer over a pitching airfoil at low Reynolds number (Re = 2:7 × 105) is experimentally investigated using space-frequency and time-frequency analyses of hot- film signals. Boundary layer events are visualized based on the space-frequency and time-frequency plots. The precursor phenomenon for turbulent and fully separated flows is presented based on the time-frequency analysis. A new technique based on time-frequency analysis of hot- film signals is introduced to measure the transition onset and relaminarization locations. This technique functions based on the analysis of high-frequency disturbances of the measured data. Significant attention has been drawn to the... 

Compact heat exchangers as modern industrial devices are designed to improve heat recovery and saving energy processes in restricted spaces. In the current study, effect of a uniform external magnetic field with Fe3O4/water nanofluid for heat transfer enhancement of a fin-and-tube compact heat exchanger is numerically investigated. The obtained results are verified by the available experimental data to demonstrate accuracy of the present simulation. The results indicated that the local and average heat transfer coefficients increase around the tubes in the presence of an external magnetic field due to the vortex formation behind the tubes as well as the flow pattern alteration in the heat... 

An experimental study of a lab scale rotating detonation combustor (RDC) has been conducted to identify and classify its modes of operation under different feeding conditions. The chamber uses air as oxidizer and hydrogen as fuel. The stability diagram of the RDC has been determined based on the detonation chamber Reynolds number and reactants mixture equivalence ratio values. The Reynolds number is based on the air volume flow rate, chamber annulus size, and the reactants mixture feeding slot area. Hence the effects of geometrical parameters and operational parameters on the detonation wave stability can be presented in a single stability map. This diagram identifies different zones in... 

To increase the flight endurance of a Micro air vehicle (MAVs), which operates at low Reynolds number flow, one way is to harvest energy during its flight. By inspiring from the nature when all the birds use their feathers to control and distribute their power along the flying time, a solution might be design of a piezoelectric plate as feathers, which scavenges energy directly from the fluid flow. Cantilevered beam with piezo-ceramic layer undergoing vortex-induced vibrations can convert the mechanical energy available from the ambient environment to a usable electrical power. Since a flow-driven piezoelectric composite beam takes a form of natural three-way coupling of the turbulent fluid... 

Swimming microrobots have a variety of applications including drug delivery, sensing, and artificial fertilization. Their small size makes onboard actuation very hard, and therefore an external source such as the magnetic field is a practical way to steer and move the robot. In this paper, we have designed a novel microrobot steered by magnetic paddles. We have also discussed design parameters where, based on the conducted simulation, the robot speed reaches 520 um/s. It is shown that the microrobot speed depends on the robot paddle dimensions. According to the microrobots motion characteristics and their different reactions to the same input, we have designed a steering strategy for... 

This experimental study investigated the patterns and characteristics of the liquid sheet formed by two axial misaligned colliding jets and two colliding jets with different velocities. The tests were limited to the low Reynolds number region, 100