High-speed micro-actuation in a supersonic dual-stream jet flow

TL;DR

This study uses resolvent analysis and active micro-jet control to mitigate flow instabilities and shock unsteadiness in a supersonic dual-stream jet, improving flow stability and reducing adverse effects.

Contribution

It introduces a resolvent analysis-guided placement of micro-jet actuators for effective flow control in supersonic jets, demonstrating improved stability and reduced shock unsteadiness.

Findings

Optimal actuation angles disperse energy from shear layer instabilities.

Actuators mitigate baseline flow instabilities and shock unsteadiness.

Flow control improves boundary layer and plume stability.

Abstract

Supersonic shear layers experience instabilities that generate significant adverse effects; in complex configurations, these instabilities have global impacts as they foster compounding complications with other independent flow features. We consider the flow near the exit of a dual-stream rectangular nozzle, in which the supersonic core and sonic bypass streams mix downstream of a splitter plate trailing edge (SPTE) just above an adjacent deck representative of a wing surface. Active flow control is explored to alleviate the prominent tone associated with vortices shed at the SPTE; these vortices also initiate an unsteady shock system that affects the entire flow field through a shock-induced separation and the downstream evolution of plume shear layers. Resolvent analysis is performed on the baseline flow. The identified optimal location guides the placement of steady-blowing micro-jet actuators. A Navier--Stokes-based parametric study is carried out to consider various actuation angles and locations. Since the resolvent analysis fundamentally investigates the input-output dynamics of a system, it is also utilized to uncover actuation-induced changes in the forcing-response dynamics. Spectral analysis shows that the baseline flow fluctuating energy is concentrated in the shedding instability. Actuating at optimal angles based on location disperses this energy into various flow features; this affects the shedding itself, and the structure and unsteadiness of the shock system and thus the response of the deck and nozzle wall boundary layers and the plume. The resolvent analysis indicates, and Navier-Stokes solutions confirm, that favorable control is obtained by either indirectly or directly mitigating the baseline instability.