Active Control of Shock/Boundary Layer Interaction in Transonic Flow Over Airfoils

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to evaluate, via numerical simulation, the feasibility of controlling the shock/boundary layer (SBL) interaction on airfoils in transonic flow thereby weakening the shock wave(s) and reducing the pockets of supersonic regions using synthetic jet actuators and thus achieving the desired changes in aerodynamic forces and moments. It is shown that by properly choosing the amplitude, frequency, momentum and location of the synthetic jet on the airfoil surface, desired modulation in lift, drag and pitching moment coefficients can be obtained for a given free-stream Mach number, Reynolds number and angle of attack. These calculations indicate the possibility of “hingeless” control of airplanes in the future using active flow control (AFC).