A New Sensor to Characterize Flow Separation on a Hydrofoil

Abstract

The performance of lifting bodies such as hydrofoils is determined by the flow state and particular attention should be paid to flow separation, as this greatly affects the generated lift and drag. Sailors are used to look at telltales (woolies) to trim their sails or steer their yacht. A French company developed an electronic telltale for sails based on a strain gauge activated by a silicon strand, with the appropriate signal processing to deliver the same information as a classical wool-made telltale, basically attached or separated flow. This new sensor proved useful when woolies are not visible or to deliver a signal to feed a control system, such as the autopilot for example. It was also applied to wind turbines to control the blade pitch. Mer Agit\'ee is now developing an equivalent hydrodynamic e-Telltale to be used on hydrofoils and rudders to help trimming and controlling. The present work presents the investigation of a foil section fitted with this new sensor in a water tunnel, combining force and PIV measurements with the sensor signal, on a wide range of angle of attack. Results show that the hydro e-Telltale enables detecting the flow separation and anticipate stall, and possibly allows for detecting the boundary layer transition to turbulence. In many cases of fluid flow over a lifting body, it is interesting to get some real-time feedback from the flow in order to help optimizing performance and controlling the system. The feedback from this new sensor could be used in a closed-loop controlling system, for example feeding a reduced-order model of the flow around the foil.