High frequency characterization of a sweeping jet actuator

Abstract

Sweeping jets are an emerging type of actuators that have gained interest due to their potential use in flow control applications. The working principle of these devices is based on the bi-stable attachment of a jet to adjacent walls. They are able to produce unsteady blowing within a wide range of operating frequencies. Nevertheless, the state of art shows a lack of space-time characterization of these actuators for high sweeping frequencies. This paper presents a conditional approach that reconstructs the spatial dynamic response of sweeping jets for sweeping frequencies above 500 Hz. The time-dependent velocity is measured with two single-hot-wire sensors: a reference one placed at the edge of the exit nozzle, and a flying one. The method is then tested to characterize the flow at the exit nozzle of an in-house sweeping jet actuator with 1 mm space resolution, and 50 μs time resolution. These measurements are performed with a sweeping frequency of 639 Hz. Overall this paper demonstrates that the conditional approach is very useful for understanding the physics of flow control actuators.