Improved techniques for aerodynamic flow control simulation with fluidic oscillators

Abstract

High-fidelity simulations were performed to characterize the physics of jet interaction fluidic oscillators and provide a basis for the development of improved boundary conditions that obviate the need to model the interior of the fluidic devices. A wind tunnel model was computationally designed which integrates an array of fluidic oscillators to assess their effectiveness in controlling the otherwise separated flow. Computations of the unactuated and actuated flows were correlated with experimental data for the first-order and second-order statistics, and the rich flow field provided by CFD permitted the assessment of the mechanisms governing the flow control. Finally, the new validated boundary condition model was leveraged to further explore the flow control design space and assess some installation parameters such as jet orientation and spacing.