Active Stall Control System on NACA0012 by Using Synthetic Jet Actuator

Abstract

Flow separation is typically an undesirable phenomenon, and boundary layer control is an important technique for the separation problems on airfoils. The synthetic jet actuator is considered as a promising candidate for flow control applications because of its compact nature and ability to generate momentum without the need for fluidic plumbing. In the present study, an active separation control system using synthetic jets is proposed and practically applied to the stall control of the NACA0012 airfoil in a wind tunnel test. In our proposed system, the flow conditions (stalled or unstalled) can be judged by calculating from two static pressure holes on the airfoil upper surface alone. The experimental results indicate that the maximum lift coefficient increases by 11% and the stall angle rises by 4° in contrast to the case under no control. It is confirmed that our proposed system can suppress the stall on the NACA0012 airfoil and that the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil can be enhanced. The proposed system can also be operated prior to the onset of stall. Therefore, separation control is always attained with no stall for all flow fields produced by changing the angle of attack that were examined.