Parametric Study of Sweeping Jet Actuators for Separation Control

Abstract

In this paper, studies of separation control over a generic Multiple Flap Airfoil (MFA) using sweeping jet actuator arrays are presented. These jets, exiting from millimeter-scale nozzles, oscillate from side-to-side in a sweeping manner similar to windshield wipers and are henceforth referred to as sweeping jet actuators. Different flap sizes and flap deflections up to 45 o were investigated in the experiments. The MFA, with integrated rows of sweeping jet actuators at several chordwise locations on the flaps, enabled an extensive variation of geometrical and fluid dynamical parameters to study separation control. The effect of flap size, actuator location and actuation parameters on the lift and drag coefficients of the airfoil are discussed.