Dynamic Stall Control with Impulsive Jet

Abstract

The ability to control a separating boundary layer can improve aerodynamic performance of a lifting body. It is natural to investigate flow control methods for a stalled airfoil because of straightforward analysis of the control impact on aerodynamic forces. In this study, unsteady impulsive jet is used for the separation control. The impulsive jet is generated from a ombustion-powered actuator located on the suction side near the leading edge. The performance of the impulsive jet is numerically evaluated for dynamic stall condition. The current flow condition of Mach=0.3 and Re=2.6 million is relevant to the retreating blade stall of a rotorcraft main rotor. The VR-12 airfoil, an advanced rotorcraft blade airfoil, is simulated with the compressible flow solver, SU2. To model impulsive jet, a time-dependent inflow boundary condition is implemented in the solver. Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes computations with the Spalart-Allmaras model is used for turbulence simulation. Current computational results show good agreement with the experimental results. Lift enhancement are observed at high angles of attack with the actuator.