Active Turbulent Boundary Layer Control

Boundary Layer and Flow Control: Its Principles and Application, Volume 2 focuses on the layer of fluid in the immediate area of a bounding surface where the effects of viscosity are substantial. This book is organized into two main topics—boundary layer control for low drag, and shock-induced separation and its prevention by design and boundary layer control. It specifically discusses the nature of transition, effect of two-dimensional and isolated roughness on laminar flow, and progress in the design of low drag aerofoils. The onset of separation effects for aerofoils and wings, shock-induced separation for laminar boundary layers, and shock-induced separation for laminar boundary layers are also deliberated. This volume is recommended to physicists and specialists interested in boundary layer and flow control.

Experimental investigation in turbulent boundary layer flows represents one of the canonical geometries of wall bounded shear flows. Utmost relevance of such experiments, however, is applied in the engineering applications in aerospace and marine industries. In particular, continuous effort is being imparted to explore the underlying physics of the flow in order to develop models for numerical tools and to achieve flow control. Flow control experiments have been widely investigated since 1930’s. Several flow control technique has been explored and have shown potential benefit. But the choice of control technique depends largely on the boundary condition and the type of application. Hence, friction drag of subsonic transport aircraft is intended to be reduced within the scope of this Ph. D. topic. Therefore, application of active control method such as microblowing effect in the incompressible, zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer was investigated. A series of experiments have been performed in two different wind tunnel facilities. Wind tunnel from Department of Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics (LAS) was used for the measurements for moderate Reynolds number range in co-operation with the wind tunnel from Laboratoire de M´ecanique de Feiret Lille for large Reynolds number range. Measurements are conducted with the help of state-of-the-art techniques such as Laser Doppler Anemometry, Particle Image Velocimetry and electronic pressure sensors.

The primary purpose of this project was to explore actuators, sensors, and control strategies for active control of turbulent jets and boundary layers. Potential applications of this work are to boundary layer control in aircraft and propulsion systems, which should be enabled by concurrent developments in MEMS fabrication technology. The present experiments were performed in a low-speed water flow, where the turbulence is large scale and slow, allowing easy measurement of flow properties and use of actuators and sensors that could be fabricated individually. A zero net mass flow actuator was developed and used in conjunction with wall stress sensors to demonstrate control of laminar flows containing steady and unsteady streamwise vorticies similar to those found in the near-wall region of turbulent boundary layers. Various closed loop control schemes, including an adaptive inverse neural net control, were explored. An early phase of the project was devoted to extension of work on control of round jets by acoustic excitation. It was shown that the jet direction and mixing can be strongly influenced by acoustic and fluidic actuation.