Role of induced vortex interaction in a semi-active flapping foil based energy harvester

The role of induced vortex interaction in a semi-active flapping foil based energy harvester is numerically examined in this work. A NACA0015 airfoil, which acts as an energy harvester, is placed in a two-dimensional laminar flow. It performs an imposed pitching motion that subsequently leads to a plunging motion. Two auxiliary smaller foils, which rotate about their centers, are arranged above and below the flapping foil, respectively. As a consequence, the vortex interaction between the flapping foil and the rotating foil is induced. At a Reynolds number of 1100 and the position of the pitching axis at one-third chord, the effects of the distance between two auxiliary foils, the phase difference between the rotating motion and the pitching motion as well as the frequency of pitching motion on the power extraction performance are systematically investigated. It is found that compared to the single flapping foil, the efficiency improvement of overall power extraction for the flapping foil with two auxiliary foils can be achieved. Based on the numerical analysis, it is indicated that the enhanced power extraction, which is caused by the increased lift force, thanks to the induced vortex interaction, directly benefits the efficiency enhancement. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.