Active and passive flow control on a precessing jet

Abstract

A precessing jet nozzle with water as the working fluid is investigated under passive and active flow control. The actuation effectiveness of 12 microjets around the nozzle inlet for active control of the precessing jet is the focus of this work. Passive control is also applied by modifying the geometry of the precessing jet either by adding a center body near the chamber exit or varying the chamber length. The flow behavior under control is studied using pressure measurement at the chamber exit plane to monitor jet precession. The pressure data are analyzed using a phase plane representation to determine the motion of the jets high-velocity region in the chamber exit plane. The standard deviation of the phase of the triggered pressure data is used for stability analysis. This analysis results in a phase diagram in terms of Reynolds number and actuation frequency. Active control can be utilized over a range of actuation frequencies (and corresponding Strouhal numbers) to control precession direction and stability which can be further enhanced with passive control mechanisms. However, the flow follows the actuation with the lowest variation when the active actuation matches with the natural Strouhal number \((0.002<St<0.006)\) of the nozzle jet flow.