Toward Active Computational Fluid Dynamics Role in Open Jet Airfoil Experiments Design

Abstract

The application of computational fluid dynamics to support open jet airfoil experiments is investigated. Aerodynamic installation effects are one of the main challenges encountered in open jet facilities, where the limited jet width and expanding free shear layers can strongly influence the performance of the airfoil being tested. Two promising areas that build on the insight provided by computational fluid dynamics are explored. The first involves assessing the interaction between the free shear layers and airfoil as it gets repositioned inside the working section. For that purpose, the virtual origin deflection is used as a metric of the interaction, which provides a quantitative measure of the free shear layer deflection by the airfoil. The second area of computational fluid dynamics potential involves applying airfoil inverse design to transform the airfoil geometry in order to reduce the error in pressure loading between the available open jet facility and a desired target. The application of the two proposed techniques has been demonstrated successfully by modifying a standard open jet airfoil experiment configuration. Both methods can contribute toward open jet experiments design or assist in the comparison and analysis of data obtained from different open jet facilities.