CBL - Campus del Baix Llobregat

Projecte llegit

Títol: Active flow control via synthetic jets

Estudiants que han llegit aquest projecte:

Director/a: ALTMEYER, SEBASTIÁN ANDREAS

Departament: FIS

Títol: Active flow control via synthetic jets

Data inici oferta: 22-12-2025     Data finalització oferta: 22-07-2026


Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
    GR ENG SIS TELECOMUN
    GR ENG SIST AEROESP
    GR ENG TELEMÀTICA
Tipus: Individual
 
Lloc de realització: EETAC
 
Paraules clau:
Active flow control, synthetic jet actuator (SJA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), NACA 0012 airfoil, chordwise position, flow separation
 
Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats:
This project presents a theoretical and computational study of active flow control using synthetic jet actuators applied to a NACA 0012 airfoil. The main objective is to analyse the effect of the synthetic jet according to its position on the airfoil chord, with greater emphasis on lift enhancement and drag reduction associated with delayed flow separation, as this directly affects boundary layer instabilities. The jet configurations are studied and modified to obtain reduction of viscous drag, improvement in pressure distribution and interference effects over and below
the airfoil and maximize lift coefficient.

The key object of the project is to show through the study in which chord configuration the synthetic jet produces greater aerodynamic efficiency. Pre and Post processing stage would include the generation of a complete airfoil design with
built-in sweeping jets. It requires parametric inputs like altering the position of jets in order to calculate the induced drag and thus decrease the drag effects. The NACA 0012 airfoil design will be created with SolidWorks, where the airflow will be studied in ANSYS Fluent, analyzing components such as flow separation, velocity and pressure fields, and aerodynamic coefficients such as lift and drag.

The expected result is a quantitative validation of the effectiveness of synthetic jet actuators for active flow control, contributing to the identification of optimal configurations and the possible improvement of aerodynamic performance.
 
Overview (resum en anglès):
This work studies the use of synthetic jet actuators as an active flow-control method on a NACA 0012 airfoil. The main objective is to analyse how the aerodynamic response varies with the actuator position along the chord and to identify which of the investigated configurations provides the best performance. Synthetic jets transfer momentum to the boundary layer through an oscillatory flow with zero net mass flux, which can modify flow separation, increase lift and reduce aerodynamic drag.

A two-dimensional transient CFD model of the airfoil was developed in ANSYS Fluent. The k-¿ SST turbulence model was used, and the SJA actuation was represented through a sinusoidal velocity boundary condition. Before carrying out the parametric study, a mesh-refinement analysis was performed, and the numerical model corresponding to the SJA OFF configuration was compared with published experimental data for the NACA 0012 airfoil. Twelve actuator positions between x/c = 0.05 and x/c = 0.50 were then simulated at an angle of attack of 14°, while keeping the remaining parameters constant. The configurations were compared using the mean lift and drag coefficients, the lift-to-drag ratio, and the analysis of the velocity fields, pressure coefficient and skin-friction distributions.

The results show that the aerodynamic response clearly depends on the actuator position. Within the discrete set investigated, the configuration located at x/c = 0.45 provides the best overall performance compared with the SJA OFF case. At this position, the mean lift coefficient increases by approximately 5.5%, the drag coefficient decreases by 13.8%, and the aerodynamic efficiency improves by 22.4%. The flow-field analysis also shows local modifications produced by the actuation, although it does not allow the separation point to be determined precisely.

Therefore, this study identifies x/c = 0.45 as the most favourable position among the simulated configurations, but not as an absolute optimum. The results are limited by the two-dimensional nature of the model, the selected actuation conditions and the fact that strict mesh independence was not achieved for every aerodynamic quantity.

© CBLTIC Campus del Baix Llobregat - UPC