An Investigation into a Pressure Anomaly during Synthetic Jet Operation

Abstract

Synthetic jet actuators are an alternative to traditional impinging jets with many benefits. However due to the complex flow physics involved, they require active control via a reduced order model if the jet operating conditions are to be set reliably. An anomaly in the cavity pressure time trace has been identified for a certain operating condition, which has not been investigated by previous literature. A better understanding of the physics involved could help improve reduced order models. A facility has been built that can reproduce the anomaly and collect other data normally used in reduced order models. This additional data includes cavity pressure, diaphragm displacement, and velocity fields using particle image velocimetry.