Interaction of a Synthetic Jet with a Flat Plate Boundary Layer

Abstract

The interaction of a modeled synthetic jet with a flat plate boundary layer is investigated numerically using an incompressible Navier–Stokes solver. The diaphragm is modeled in a realistic manner as a moving boundary in an effort to accurately compute the flow inside the jet cavity. The primary focus of the current study is on describing the dynamics of the synthetic jet in the presence of external crossflow. A systematic parametric study has been carried out where the diaphragm amplitude, external flow Reynolds number and slot dimensions are varied. The simulations allow us to extract some interesting flow physics associated with the vortex dynamics of the jet and also provide insight into the scaling of the performance characteristics of the jet with these parameters.