“Singularity Methods for the Design of Efficient Flapping Foil Propellers” by Brenden Epps, Dartmouth College

Abstract:
In the quest for energy efficiency in marine transportation, many promising marine propulsor concepts involve flapping hydrofoils.  Flapping hydrofoils generate thrust by oscillating in such a way as to produce a jet-type wake (reverse Karman street).  Design and analysis of such propeller concepts can be facilitated by singularity methods, which are a broad class of computational fluid dynamics methods known for both speed and accuracy in steady, attached flows.  This talk presents extensions of singularity methods to unsteady, separated flows.  These methods are then used to investigate the design and performance of a novel trochoidal propeller. Results of towing tank experiments are presented, showing excellent agreement with the model predictions; such validation of our model opens possibilities for future efficient propulsor design.

Biosketch:
Dr. Brenden Epps is an assistant professor of engineering at Dartmouth College with expertise in both experimental and computational fluid dynamics. Prof. Epps holds degrees in mechanical engineering (B.S. CMU, M.S. MIT, Ph.D. MIT) and has practical industry experience as an engineer at Ford Motor Company. Prof. Epps’ doctoral and postdoctoral research focused on experimental hydrodynamics, fish swimming and maneuvering, and marine propeller design. He is the author of OpenProp, open-source software for marine propeller and horizontal-axis turbine design that has thousands of users worldwide. Prof. Epps teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in fluid mechanics and aircraft design.  In his free time, Brenden enjoys running, downhill and cross-country skiing, and logic puzzles.

Date/Time:
Date(s) - Oct 23, 2015
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Location:
38-138 Engineering IV
420 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles CA 90095