The leading-edge vortex and quasisteady vortex shedding on an accelerating plate

A computational inquiry focuses on leading-edge vortex LEV growth and shedding during acceleration of a two-dimensional flat plate at a fixed 10°–60° angle of attack and low Reynolds number. The plate accelerates from rest with a velocity given by a power of time ranging from 0 to 5. During the initial LEV growth, subtraction of the added mass lift from the computed lift reveals an LEV-induced lift augmentation evident across all powers and angles of attack. For the range of Reynolds numbers considered, a universal time scale exists for the peak when 30°, with augmentation lasting about four to five chord lengths of translation. This time scale matches well with the half-stroke of a flying insect. An oscillating pattern of leadingand trailing-edge vortex shedding follows the shedding of the initial LEV. The nondimensional frequency of shedding and lift coefficient minima and maxima closely match their values in the absence of acceleration. These observations support a quasisteady theory of vortex shedding, where dynamics are determined primarily by velocity and not acceleration. Finally, the nondimensional vortex formation time is found to be a function of the Reynolds number, but only weakly when the Reynolds number is high. © 2010 American Institute of Physics. doi:10.1063/1.3327282