3D Vortical Structure of Multiple Moving Spheroids under Adjoint-Based Optimal Control

The study of vortical structures exhibited by formations of moving solid bodies in a three-dimensional domain poses a complex and computationally intensive problem set. An adjoint-based optimization is utilized to approach the hydrodynamic performance and vortical structure interactions of various formations of moving spheroids with multiple degrees of freedom to explore inherent efficiencies and degenerative interactions. Due to the complexity of the degrees of freedom on multiple bodies, adjoint-based methods are utilized to optimize multiple control parameters simultaneously compared to traditional parametric optimizations without scaling up the computational cost. Present work explores the vortical structures of an adjacent trailing configuration and the resulting vortex interactions by optimizing the dynamic drag and lift on the following spheroid. In a tandem pair case, a 18.2% reduction in dynamic drag was achieved when the trailing body resided in the leading body perturbation. When allowed to move outside the leading body's wake, the trailing body could achieve a 503% increase in lift.