Flow modeling and flow calculations
One application-field of flow analysis is the analytical modeling and prediction of the flow field around lifting surfaces such as wings and propellers. Their geometry influences the flow. The reduction of drag and increase of the propulsion and lift will lead to a greater efficiency. Flow simulations are mainly done in ANSYS Fluent, on a 36-core calculation cluster.
Prediction of thrust and drag in oscillating foils lies at the basis of Huygens Engineers. The founders started their cooperation on a large, highly disciplined and AP Moller-Maersk funded project to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of flapping foil propulsors for container ships. The program comprised of several phases, including an analytical prediction of thrust and efficiency, and culminated on the scientific side in a successful systematic measurement program performed at MARIN. The results of the measurement program have been presented at the ONR conference in Gothenburg and have been published under the name “A Systematic Experimental Study on Powering Performance of Flapping Foil Propulsors”. CFD modelling of the performance of the flapping foils was done after the measurement program. The illustration shows a CFD simulation of a flapping foil, while the video demonstrates the flapping propulsor in practice.