Large Eddy Simulation of a NACA0015 Circulation Control Airfoil Using Synthetic Jets

TL;DR

This study uses large eddy simulation to analyze a circulation control airfoil with synthetic jets, showing good agreement with experiments and revealing how lift and drag fluctuate with jet momentum and angle of attack.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the flow control mechanisms of synthetic jets on airfoils through detailed LES analysis and comparison with experimental data.

Findings

Lift coefficient increases with momentum coefficient at low levels.

Fluctuations are governed by vortex shedding frequency.

Higher angles of attack slightly reduce lift increment slope.

Abstract

Large eddy simulation of a NACA0015 circulation control airfoil using synthetic jets is conducted. A chord Reynolds number of 110000, the excitation frequency of 175 Hz, the momentum coefficients of 0.0044 to 0.0688, and the angles of attack of 0{\deg}, 6{\deg}, and 12{\deg} are employed in this study. The numerical results presented in this paper show good agreement with the experimental results. Fluctuations in the lift and drag coefficients on the non-actuated airfoil are found to be governed by the vortex shedding frequency. Provided that the momentum coefficient is sufficiently high, the lift and drag coefficients tend to fluctuate at the synthetic jet frequency. The mean lift coefficient linearly increases with the momentum coefficient at a low momentum coefficient range and its incremental rate begins to decline at a high momentum coefficient range. Increasing the angle of attack of the airfoil is observed to slightly reduce the slope of the lift increment.