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A combined experimental and numerical investigation of flow control actuation in a short, rectangular, diffusing S-shape inlet duct using a two-dimensional tangential control jet was conducted. Experimental and numerical techniques were used in conjunction as complementary techniques, which are utilized to better understand the complex flow field. The compact inlet had a length-to-hydraulic diameter ratio of 1.5 and was investigated at a free-stream Mach number of 0.44. In contrast to the baseline flow, where the flow field was fully separated, the two-dimensional control jet was able to eliminate flow separation at the mid-span portion of the duct and changed considerably the three-dimensional flow field, and ultimately, the inlet performance. A comparison between the baseline (no actuation) and forced flow fields showed that secondary flow structures dominated both flow fields, which is inevitably associated with total pressure loss. Contrary to the baseline case, the secondary flow structures in the forced case were established from the core flow stagnating on the lower surface of the duct close to the aerodynamic interface plane. High fidelity spectral analysis of the experimental results at the inlet’s exit plane showed that the baseline flow field was dominated by pressure fluctuations corresponding to a Strouhal number based on hydraulic diameter of 0.26. Not only did the two-dimensional tangential control jet improve the time-averaged pressure recovery at the inlet exit plane (13.3% at the lower half of the aerodynamic interface plane), it essentially eliminated the energy content of the distinct unsteady fluctuations which characterized the baseline flow field. This result has several implications for the design of a realistic engine inlet; furthermore, it depicts that a single non-intrusive static pressure measurement at the surface of the duct can detect flow separation.

An experimental study was undertaken to investigate the influence of leading edge geometry and of relative curvature on the formation of a boundary layer on the surface of a cylinder aligned axially in a uniform flow. Hot wire anemometry was used to measure mean and fluctuating velocity components at a number of axial locations from the leading edge of cylinders of three different relative curvatures and two different leading edge shapes. In all cases a minimum relative axial length of greater than ten radii was examined, hence allowing adequate inspection of the formation region. Six cylinders were employed in the study, three with a blunt leading edge, and three with an ellipsoid of 3:1 ratio leading to the constant radius length. The Reynolds number based on cylinder radius (Rea = Uoa/v) varied from 3000 ≤ Rea ≤ 9000. The elliptical leading edge cylinders experienced laminar boundary layers, and the blunt cylinders created a separated bubble region followed by the development of a turbulent boundary layer. The laminar boundary layer was smaller than what a flat plate would produce at a corresponding length, and its experimental data generated profiles could be universalized with previously developed similarity variables. The turbulent boundary layer assumed a nearly constant velocity profile in the region 10 ≤ x/a ≤ 40, and its height grew proportionally to x1/3 rather than to x4/5 as for a flat plate. Streamwise turbulence intensities diminished rapidly with vertical distance from the surface of the cylinder, and also assumed a constant profile as relative axial distance increased. Over the limited range examined, changes in curvature were of secondary importance on relative boundary layer growth.

An experimental study was undertaken to examine two phenomena associated with a jet issuing from a forward-facing circular cylinder (with a length to outer radius ratio of 6.8) into a counterflow: (1) the effect of the counterflow on the internal velocity profile near the injector exit, and (2) the combined jet and counterflow influence on the external surface boundary layer profiles. Wind tunnel experiments, utilizing hot-wire anemometry, were conducted at very low jet-to-counterflow velocity ratios between 0 and 0.41 and Reynolds numbers based on cylinder outer diameter of 2.6×104 and 5.2×104. It was found that the flow at the internal location was negligibly affected by the counterflow, with the profiles exhibiting typical turbulent pipe flow behavior. However, close to the injector exit plane, the counter-flow accelerated the exiting jet in an annular region adjacent to the cylinder inner wall, creating a high velocity region which reversed direction upon exiting. The exit flow reversal around the lip of the cylinder was manifested downstream as an addition of momentum to the flow field. Boundary layer measurements were taken at seven streamwise locations along the upper surface of the cylinder. A dimensionless parameter constructed from both a traditional flat plate turbulent boundary layer scaling and a geometric curvature ratio was used to plot all data, which collapsed to a single curve at all locations in the absence of a jet, while in the presence of the jet, the only differences in the profiles were close to the surface. Independently of jet-to-counterflow velocity ratio, the boundary layer on the cylinder was seen to grow in the streamwise direction at a rate proportional to x25 rather than x45 as occurs with a turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate, even though the boundary layer height to curvature ratio was relatively low (≈ 1), and hence would have been expected to approximate flat plate behavior.

Active flow control using fluidic actuators, via arrays of synthetic jet actuators, was used to provide control power for the Stingray unmanned aerial vehicle in the longitudinal (pitch) and lateral (roll) directions at low angles of attack. Using this technique, the pitch and roll moments were altered such that the effect is similar to that of a deflection of conventional control effectors. The control effectiveness of the synthetic jets on the aerodynamic performance of the Stingray unmanned aerial vehicle was investigated experimentally in a wind tunnel. Global flow measurements were conducted, where the moments and forces on the vehicle were measured using a six-component sting balance. The effect of the actuation was also examined on the surface static pressure at two spanwise locations. In addition, a particle image velocimetry technique was used to quantify the flowfield over the model, both the global flowfield as well as the localized interaction domain near the synthetic jet orifice. The synthetic jets were able to alter the local streamlines and displace the boundary layer through the formation of a small quasi-steady interaction region on the suction surface of the Stingray unmanned aerial vehicle's wing. Phase-locked particle image velocimetry data were acquired to provide insight into the growth, propagation, and decay of the synthetic jets impulse and their interaction with the crossflow. Furthermore, the changes induced on the moments and forces can be proportionally controlled by either changing the momentum coefficient or by driving the synthetic jets with a pulse modulation waveform. This can lead the way for future development of closed-loop control models.