Interaction of Adjacent Synthetic Jets in an Airfoil Separation Control Application

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the interaction of adjacent, synchronized synthetic jets for boundary layer separation flow control. A NACA 0025 sixinch chord airfoil with an embedded synthetic jet pair near the leading edge of the model is tested at Rec=10 5 and 12o angle-of-attack. In particular, relative phasing and high frequency forcing amplitude is investigated using flow visualization, Particle Image Velocimetry, and Laser Doppler Velocimetry. The results show that, for the conditions studied, a mean jet does not need to form to achieve separation control. Separation control effectiveness also does not appear to be significantly affected by relative phasing. However, actuation amplitude coupled with synthetic jet location in the streamwise direction play a significant role in flow control effectiveness.