CONTROL OF WING LOADS BY MEANS OF BLOWING AND MINI-TABS

Abstract

Aircraft and wind turbines suffer from extremes of aerodynamic load due to gusts, turbulence and manoeuvres. Performance could be significantly improved if these extremes could be controlled at the first point of contact, i.e. the fluid-structure interface. Current load-control technologies use large actuators like flaps or ailerons which inevitably have a low frequency response. This is despite evidence [1-2] showing that a fast frequency response is of the utmost importance. The fluidic and small mechanical actuators devised for lift augmentation provide a viable high-frequency alternative. However, these aerodynamic actuators have not previously been considered as a means of lift-decrease and would need to operate in the unsteady control regime. In this abstract we present measurements for two potential actuators: blowing and the mini-tab, see Figure 1, in steady scenarios, but not necessarily near the trailing-edge. Future measurements will extend these measurements to unsteady and closed-loop control scenarios.