A Discrete and Distributed Steady Blowing Application on a High Reynolds Number Semispan Supercritical Wing Configuration

Abstract

The FAST-MAC circulation control model was modified to test an array of steady and unsteady actuators at realistic flight Reynolds numbers in the National Transonic Facility at the NASA Langley Research Center. Previous experiments in the FAST-MAC test series used a fullspan tapered slot, and that configuration is used as a baseline for performance and weight flow requirements. The goal of the latest experiment was to reduce the weight flow required to achieve comparable performance established by the baseline FAST-MAC data. Thirty-nine interchangeable actuator cartridges of various designs were mounted into the FAST-MAC model where the exiting jet was directed over a 15% chord simple hingedflap. These two types of actuators were fabricated using rapid prototype techniques and their design performance was optimized for a transonic cruise configuration having a 0° flap deflection. The steady actuators were found to provide an off-design drag reduction of 5.5%, nearly equaling the drag reduction of the fullspan tapered slot configuration, but with a 69% weight flow reduction. This weight flow savings is similar to the sweeping jet actuators, but with better drag performance.

Numerical Study of Flow Control on Simplified High-Lift Configurations

“…Over the last decade, aerospace organizations such as NASA, DLR, Boeing and the European consortium AFLoNext, have conducted studies on this subject as shown in the works by Bushnell and Wygnanski (2020), Lin et al (2019), Melton et al (2018), Jones et al (2018), Delfs et al (2017), Ciobaca and Wild (2013), DeSalvo et al (2020), Shmilovich et al (2018), Rosenblum et al (2019), Wild (2020) and Hue et al (2017). These authors show that Active Flow Control mechanisms are able to manipulate the fluid flow field from its natural state to a desired state.…”