TAILORED COMPOSITES FOR TUNED DEFORMATION RESPONSE TO UNSTEADY FLUID LOADING

The main motivator for the proposed research is performance improvement of energy capture or hydrodynamic efficiency of propulsion systems. In particular, the application requirements of passively adaptive underwater tidal turbine blades and marine propellers. However, the investigators believe that application of passively adaptive composites structures could extend to include passively adaptive race car aerodynamics, aircraft control surfaces, surface ship and underwater vehicle control surfaces, and wind turbines. In order to achieve this goal it is proposed to employ composite materials with their inherent ability to create a coupled response to in-service loads. Design of such a structure which is tuned to a dynamic load environment will result in improved efficiency of the two main applications of this research, energy capture devices and marine propulsors.The aim of the proposed research is to challenge the existing design philosophy from one whereby a tailored passively adaptive composites is designed to mimic a conventional isotropic structure into a paradigm that allows the ability to tune a geometry and it's internal architecture to deform in a known and controlled manner as the load regime changes. Such an approach requires fundamental research into the modelling of interwoven, 3D fibre structures and novel approaches to design of the internal architecture that can identify fibre stacking/weaving strategies that give tuned deformations across multiple loading/operational conditions. To develop this paradigm shift in structural performance we will explore how lifting surfaces, be they control surfaces, propulsors or turbines are designed using such smart materials. The main focus will be the maritime sector where there has been a much slower take-up in such technology but where the potential benefits are large (see impact plan). To the authors knowledge this has not been conducted anywhere before and is therefore a challenging and exciting programme.

Who will benefit from this research? The beneficiaries from this work will ultimately be the general public. However, it is perceived that the beneficiaries will go beyond the final end user and include: 1.Designers of tidal turbines, marine propellers and any other structures which will benefit from passively adaptive control 2.Manufacturers of tidal energy devices and marine propellers 3.Operators of tidal energy farms and ships 4.The government and other investors in renewable energy and marine transportation 5.The academic community with interests in flexible composite structures and coupled fluid/structure interactions How will they benefit from this research? 1.Turbine blade or marine propeller blade manufacturers will be able to use the design methodology developed to ensure that the best possible internal architecture is created so as to maximise the efficiencies in an environment which may be location or operation specific. 2.Energy companies and shipping operators will be able to increase the efficiencies of their products to minimise the cost of transportation of goods or maximise the energy per unit area captured from the natural resource. 3.The maintenance of the marine propeller or tidal turbine will be reduced because the complexity of the system is reduced. Current technology uses active controllable pitch blades which require complex internal workings which need high levels of maintenance. A passive system will reduce complexity and hence a reduction in maintenance requirements. 4.The development of design approaches for passively adaptive composites will benefit the composites community particularly those interested in fluid/structure interactions. The valuable validation data resulting from the experimental programme of the proposed research will be available for all in the research community. 5.The academic composites community will benefit from a greater understanding of coupled deformations in composite materials. What will be done to ensure that they have the opportunity to benefit from this research? 1.The details of the research output will be disseminated in a number of traditional ways including International Conferences and Journals relevant to the industry. In addition articles in leading industry and popular science magazines will highlight the benefits of the design methodologies researched to a community wider than just academics and specialised industry. 2.Organisation of a workshop specific to numerical simulations through organisations such as NAFEMS will bring to the academic and industrial communities the use of coupled numerical fluid/structure interaction and in particular the use of high-quality experimental data for numerical validation. 3.Host an open source CFD workshop event on coupled FEA/CFD incorporating tailored/tuned passively adaptive structures. 4.Organise an event, or partake in an event, in association with the Materials KTN. It is anticipated that the audience would be wide ranging and encompass all sectors of the composite, marine and energy community. Participation in, or organisation of, events with the materials KTN could happen in 3 phases. Presentation of the project at the early stages to inform of the proposed research area, an interim presentation to demonstrate progress and the hosting of a final event which would disseminate the full output of the project. 5.A website will be developed whereby papers, presentations, posters and news can be disseminated to the internet community. There is an increasing use of the internet as a first stop look for information regarding research activities in a field (e.g. Google Scholar). Hosting a carefully designed website within the University of Southampton internet structure and utilising the experience of web presence through the university's iSolutions team will increase the visibility of the research.