Large Eddy Simulation of optimal Synthetic Jet Actuation on a SD7003 airfoil in post-stall conditions

Abstract

Aerodynamic performances may be optimised by the appropriate tuning of Active Flow Control (AFC) parameters. For the first time, we couple Genetic Algorithms (GA) with an unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver using the Spalart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model to maximise lift and aerodynamic efficiency of an airfoil in stall conditions [1], and then validate the resulting set of optimal Synthetic Jet Actuator (SJA) parameters against well-resolved three-dimensional Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The airfoil considered is the SD7003, at the Reynolds number Re=6×104 and the post-stall angle of attack α=14∘. We find that, although SA-RANS is not quite as accurate as LES, it can still predict macroscopic aggregates such as lift and drag coefficients, provided the free-stream turbulence is prescribed to reasonable values. The sensitivity to free-stream turbulence is found to be particularly critical for SJA cases. Baseline LES simulation agrees well with literature results, while RANS-SA would seem to remain a valid model to a certain degree. For optimally actuated cases, our LES simulation predicts far better performances than obtained by suboptimal SJA LES computations as reported by other authors [2] for the same airfoil, Re and α, which illustrates the applicability and effectiveness of the SJA optimisation technique applied, despite using the less accurate yet computationally faster SA-RANS. The flow topology and wake dynamics of baseline and SJA cases are thoroughly compared to elucidate the mechanism whereby aerodynamic performances are enhanced.