Development of localized arc filament RF plasma actuators for high-speed and high Reynolds number flow control

Recently developed localized arc filament plasma actuators (LAFPAs) have shown tremendous control authority in high-speed and high Reynolds number flow for mixing enhancement and noise mitigation. Previously, these actuators were powered by a high-voltage pulsed DC plasma generator with low energy coupling efficiency of 5–10%. In the present work, a new custom-designed 8-channel pulsed radio frequency (RF) plasma generator has been developed to power up to 8 plasma actuators operated over a wide range of forcing frequencies (up to 50 kHz) and duty cycles (1–50%), and at high energy coupling efficiency (up to 80–85%). This reduces input electrical power requirements by approximately an order of magnitude, down to 12 W per actuator operating at 10% duty cycle. The new pulsed RF plasma generator is scalable to a system with a large number of channels. Performance of pulsed RF plasma actuators used for flow control was studied in a Mach 0.9 circular jet with a Reynolds number of about 623,000 and compared with that of pulsed DC actuators. Eight actuators were distributed uniformly on the perimeter of a 2.54-cm diameter circular nozzle extension. Both types of actuators coupled approximately the same amount of power to the flow, but with drastically different electrical inputs to the power supplies. Particle image velocimetry measurements showed that jet centerline Mach number decay produced by DC and RF actuators operating at the same forcing frequencies and duty cycles is very similar. At a forcing Strouhal number near 0.3, close to the jet column instability frequency, well-organized periodic structures, with similar patterns and dimensions, were generated in the jets forced by both DC and RF actuators. Far-field acoustic measurements demonstrated similar trends in the overall sound pressure level (OASPL) change produced by both types of actuators, resulting in OASPL reduction up to 1.2–1.5 dB in both cases. We conclude that pulsed RF actuators demonstrate flow control authority similar to pulsed DC actuators, with a significantly reduced power budget.     

Large-eddy simulations of plasma-based asymmetric control of supersonic round jets

Localised arc filament plasma actuators are modelled with a validated technique to examine asymmetric control of a perfectly expanded round free jet to deflect its downstream trajectory. The nominal Mach and Reynolds numbers are 1.3 and 1 million, respectively. No-control, symmetrically controlled, and under-expanded jets are also simulated for comparison purposes. Parametric variation of actuation frequency and duty cycle indicate that asymmetric control can alter the trajectory, and, within the confines of the parameters investigated, the optimal forcing scheme was found to correspond to the jet's column-mode frequency and a duty cycle of approximately 60%. Increasing frequency and duty cycle beyond these values have a detrimental effect on control, which is consistent with experimental findings. Asymmetric actuation resulted in significant mixing enhancement on the actuated side, as evidenced by the increased growth rate of the non-dimensional momentum thickness. The effectiveness of control is reduced for under-expanded jet conditions.     

Development and characterization of plasma actuators for high-speed jet control

Active control of high Reynolds number and high-speed jets has been hampered due to the lack of suitable actuators. Some of the attributes that would make an actuator suitable for such flows are: high amplitude and bandwidth; small size for distribution around the jet; phase-locking ability for jet azimuthal mode forcing; and sufficient ruggedness for hot jets. We have been developing a class of actuators termed localized arc filament plasma actuators, which possess such characteristics. In this paper, we present the development and characterization of these actuators as well as preliminary results on their applications in high Reynolds number Mach 0.9 and ideally expanded Mach 1.3 jets.Patent pending     

Reduced-order modeling of high-speed jets controlled by arc filament plasma actuators

Arc filament plasma actuators applied to high-speed and high Reynolds number jets have demonstrated significant mixing enhancement when operated near the jet column mode (JCM) frequency. A feedback-oriented reduced-order model is developed for this flow from experimental data. The existent toolkit of stochastic estimation, proper orthogonal decomposition, and Galerkin projection is adapted to yield a 35-dimensional model for the unforced jet. Explicit inclusion of a "shift mode" stabilizes the model. The short-term predictive capability of instantaneous flow fields is found to degrade beyond a single flow time step, but this horizon may be adequate for feedback control. Statistical results from long-term simulations agree well with experimental observations. The model of the unforced jet is augmented to incorporate the effects of plasma actuation. Periodic forcing is modeled as a deterministic pressure wave specified on the inflow boundary of the modeling domain. Simulations of the forced model capture the nonlinear response that leads to optimal mixing enhancement in a small range of frequencies near the JCM.     

Experimental investigation of liquid jet injection into Mach 6 hypersonic crossflow

The injection of a liquid jet into a crossing Mach 6 air flow is investigated. Experiments were conducted on a sharp leading edge flat plate with flush mounted injectors. Water jets were introduced through different nozzle shapes at relevant jet-to-air momentum–flux ratios. Sufficient temporal resolution to capture small scale effects was obtained by high-speed recording, while directional illumination allowed variation in field of view. Shock pattern and flow topology were visualized by Schlieren-technique. Correlations are proposed on relating water jet penetration height and lateral extension with the injection ratio and orifice diameter for circular injector jets. Penetration height and lateral extension are compared for different injector shapes at relevant jet-to-air momentum–flux ratios showing that penetration height and lateral extension decrease and increase, respectively, with injector’s aspect ratio. Probability density function analysis has shown that the mixing of the jet with the crossflow is completed at a distance of x/d _j  ~ 40, independent of the momentum–flux ratio. Mean velocity profiles related with the liquid jet have been extracted by means of an ensemble correlation PIV algorithm. Finally, frequency analyses of the jet breakup and fluctuating shock pattern are performed using a Fast Fourier algorithm and characteristic Strouhal numbers of St = 0.18 for the liquid jet breakup and of St = 0.011 for the separation shock fluctuation are obtained.     

Fluidic oscillators for flow control

Fluidic oscillators are based on the bi-stable states of a jet (or a pair of jets) of fluid inside a specially designed flow chamber. These produce sweeping or pulsing jets of high exit velocity (~sonic exit velocities) extending the control authority achievable to high subsonic flows. Sweeping and pulsing jets with frequencies ranging from 1 to 20 kHz have been obtained with meso-scale (nozzle sizes in the range of 200 μm–1 mm) fluidic oscillators with very low mass flow rates of the order of 1 g/s. Such actuators have been recently used in laboratory scale experiments for separation control and cavity noise control with significant promise to be implemented in full-scale systems. In this paper, we provide a historical background of fluidic oscillators and methods to produce either sweeping or pulsing jets, their typical frequency, flow rate, and scaling characteristics. Some challenges in detailed characterization of such actuators through measurement will be presented. We will also discuss some of the system integration issues of translating this technology into practice. This is followed by a brief discussion of the need for further development of such actuators and the understanding of the mechanism by which flow control is achieved by these sweeping jets.     

Dynamics of heavy particles in two swirling jets

We report flow visualisations and laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) velocity measurements in the near field of two swirling jets. The Reynolds number based on jet diameter and bulk velocity at the nozzle exit is 1.4 × 10⁵. In the first jet, a small recirculation region is formed around the jet axis, while, in the second, the streamwise velocity remains positive and overshoots near the jet centre. In both cases, flow visualisations show that the vortex core of the jets is depleted of seeding particles. By using time-averaged distributions of the streamwise and tangential velocities measured at the nozzle outlet, the dynamics of the particles is simulated, by integrating their simplified equations of motion. The particles trajectory thus computed agrees well with that observed in the flow visualisations. Although the turbulence intensity is substantially different in the core of the two jets, its effect on the seeding concentration is localised near the edge of the core.     

Control of diffuser jet flow: turbulent kinetic energy and jet spreading enhancements assisted by a non-thermal plasma discharge

An axisymmetric air jet exhausting from a 22-degree-angle diffuser is investigated experimentally by particle image velocimetry (PIV) and stereo-PIV measurements. Two opposite dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) actuators are placed along the lips of the diffuser in order to force the mixing by a co-flow actuation. The electrohydrodynamic forces generated by both actuators modify and excite the turbulent shear layer at the diffuser jet exit. Primary air jet velocities from 10 to 40 m/s are studied (Reynolds numbers ranging from 3.2 to 12.8 × 10⁴), and baseline and forced flows are compared by analysing streamwise and cross-stream PIV fields. The mixing enhancement in the near field region is characterized by the potential core length, the centreline turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), the integrated value of the TKE over various slices along the jet, the turbulent Reynolds stresses and the vorticity fields. The time-averaged fields demonstrate that an effective increase in mixing is achieved by a forced flow reattachment along the wall of the diffuser at 10 m/s, whereas mixing enhancement is realized by excitation of the coherent structures for a primary velocity of 20 and 30 m/s. The actuation introduces two pairs of contra-rotating vortices above each actuator. These structures entrain the higher speed core fluid toward the ambient air. Unsteady actuations over Strouhal numbers ranging from 0.08 to 1 are also studied. The results suggest that the excitation at a Strouhal number around 0.3 is more effective to enhance the turbulence kinetic energy in the near-field region for primary jet velocity up to 30 m/s.     

Skin-friction drag reduction in a high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layer via real-time control of large-scale structures

While large-scale motions are most energetic in the logarithmic region of a high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layer, they also have an influence in the inner-region. In this paper we describe an experimental investigation of manipulating the large-scale motions and reveal how this affects the turbulence and skin-friction drag. A boundary layer with a friction Reynolds number of 14 400 is controlled using a spanwise array of nine wall-normal jets operated in an on/off mode and with an exit velocity that causes the jets in cross-flow to penetrate within the log-region. Each jet is triggered in real-time with an active controller, driven by a time-resolved footprint of the large-scale motions acquired upstream. Nominally, the controller injects air into large-scale zones with positive streamwise velocity fluctuations; these zones are associated with positive wall-shear stress fluctuations. This control scheme reduced the streamwise turbulence intensity in the log-region up to a downstream distance of more than five times the boundary layer thickness, δ, from the point of actuation. The highest reduction in spectral energy—more than 30%—was found for wavelengths larger than 5δ in the log-region at 1.7δ downstream of actuation, while scales larger than 2δ still comprised more than 15% energy reduction in the near-wall region. In addition, a 3.2% reduction in mean skin-friction drag was achieved at 1.7δ downstream of actuation. Our reductions of the streamwise turbulence intensity and mean skin-friction drag exceed a base line control-case, for which the jet actuators were operated with the same temporal pattern, but not synchronised with the incoming large-scale zones of positive fluctuating velocity.     

Experimental study of parallel and inclined turbulent wall jets

An experimental study of the flow field in a two-dimensional wall jet has been conducted. All measurements were carried out using hot-wire anemometry. The experimental facility has a rectangular slot nozzle of high aspect ratio l/b = 100 (where l and b are the length and height slot, respectively). Mean velocities and Reynolds stresses were determined with three nozzle Reynolds numbers (Re = 1 × 10⁴, 2 × 10⁴ and 3 × 10⁴) and four different inclination angles between the wall and the flow velocity at the nozzle (β = 0°, 10°, 20° and 30°). Results indicate that all wall jets are self-preserving in the developed region. Normal to the wall two regions can be identified: one similar to a plane free jet and the other similar to a boundary layer. Downstream the interaction between these two regions creates a mixed or third region. The logarithmic region increases with the distance from the nozzle and with the Reynolds number. For the inclined wall jet, the spreading rate expressed in terms of jet half-width or maximum velocity decay with respect to the streamwise distance, asymptotes to a linear law. The streamwise locations where the jet becomes self-similar are farther from the exit than in parallel wall jet. The slope of both half-width and maximum velocity decay in the developed region are affected by both wall jet inclination angle and nozzle exit Reynolds number.     

Duty cycle and directional jet effects of a plasma actuator on the flow control around a NACA0015 airfoil

This paper reports on the effects of a series of fluid-dynamic dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators on a NACA0015 airfoil at high angle of attack. A set of jet actuators able to produce plasma jets with different directions (vectoring effect) and operated at different on/off duty cycle frequencies are used. The experiments are performed in a wind tunnel facility. The vectorized jet and the transient of the flow induced by unsteady duty cycle operation of each actuator are examined and the effectiveness of the actuator to recover stall condition in the range of Reynolds numbers between 1.0 × 10⁵ and 5.0 × 10⁵ (based on airfoil chord), is investigated. The actuator placed on the leading edge of the airfoil presents the most effective stall recovery. No significant effects can be observed for different orientations of the jet. An increase of the stall recovery is detected when the actuator is operated in unsteady operation mode. Moreover, the frequency of the on/off duty cycle that maximizes the stall recovery is found to be a function of the free stream velocity. This frequency seems to scale with the boundary layer thickness at the position of the actuator. A lift coefficient increase at low free stream velocities appears to linearly depend on the supply voltage.     

UV-mediated coalescence and mixing of inkjet printed drops

In the present study, the characteristics of supersonic rectangular microjets are investigated experimentally using molecular tagging velocimetry. The jets are discharged from a convergent–divergent rectangular nozzle whose exit height is 500 μm. The jet Mach number is set to 2.0 for all tested jets, and the Reynolds number Re is altered from 154 to 5,560 by changing the stagnation pressure. The experimental results reveal that jet velocity decays principally due to abrupt jet spreading caused by jet instability for relatively high Reynolds numbers (Re > ~450). The results also reveal that the jet rapidly decelerates to a subsonic speed near the nozzle exit for a low Reynolds number (Re = 154), although the jet does not spread abruptly; i.e., a transition in velocity decay processes occurs as the Reynolds number decreases. A supersonic core length is estimated from the streamwise distribution of the centerline velocity, and the length is then normalized by the nozzle exit height and plotted against the Reynolds number. As a result, it is found that the normalized supersonic core length attains a maximum value at a certain Reynolds number near which the transition in the velocity decay process occurs.     

Wall jet similarity of impinging planar underexpanded jets

Velocity profiles and wall shear stress values in the wall jet region of planar underexpanded impinging jets are parameterized based on nozzle parameters (stand-off height, jet hydraulic diameter, and nozzle pressure ratio). Computational fluid dynamics is used to calculate the velocity fields of impinging jets with height-to-diameter ratios in the range of 15–30 and nozzle pressure ratio in the range of 1.2–3.0. The wall jet has an incomplete self-similar profile with a typical triple-layer structure as in traditional wall jets. The effects of compressibility are found to be insignificant for wall jets with Ma < 0.8. Wall jet analysis yielded power-law relationships with source dependent coefficients describing maximum velocity, friction velocity, and wall distances for maximum and half-maximum velocities. Source dependency is determined using the conjugate gradient method. These power-law relationships can be used for mapping wall shear stress as a function of nozzle parameters.     

Experimental Investigation of Nozzle Exit Reflector Effect on Supersonic Jet

The present study describes an experimental work to investigate the effect of a nozzle exit reflector on a supersonic jet that is discharged from a convergent–divergent nozzle with a design Mach number of 2.0. An annular reflector is installed at the nozzle exit and its diameter is varied. A high-quality spark schlieren optical system is used to visualize detailed jet structures with and without the reflector. Impact pressure measurement using a pitot probe is also carried out to quantify the reflector’s effect on the supersonic jet which is in the range from an over-expanded to a moderately under-expanded state. The results obtained show that for over-expanded jets, the reflector substantially increases the jet spreading rate and reduces the supersonic length of the jet, compared with moderately under-expanded jets. The reflector’s effect appears more significant in imperfectly expanded jets that have strong shock cell structures, but is negligible in correctly expanded jet.     

The effect of sidewalls on rectangular jets

An experimental study is presented regarding the influence of sidewalls on the turbulent free jet flow issuing from a smoothly contracting rectangular nozzle of aspect ratio 15. “Sidewalls” are two parallel plates, flush with each of the slots’ short sides, practically establishing bounding walls extending the nozzle sidewalls in the downstream direction. Measurements of the streamwise and lateral velocity mean and turbulent characteristics have been accomplished, with an x-sensor hot wire anemometer, up to an axial distance of 35 nozzle widths, for jets with identical inlet conditions with and without sidewalls. Centreline measurements for both configurations have been collected for three Reynolds numbers, Re_D = 10,000, 20,000 and 30,000. For Re_D = 20,000 measurements in the transverse direction were collected at 13 different downstream locations in the range, x = 0–35 nozzle widths, and in the spanwise direction at three different downstream locations, x = 2, 6 and 25 nozzle widths.Results indicate that, the two jet configurations (with and without sidewalls) produce statistically different flow fields. Sidewalls do not lead to the production of a 2D flow field as undulations in the spanwise mean velocity distribution indicate. They do increase the two-dimensionality of the jet increasing the longevity of 2D spanwise rollers structures formed in the initial stages of entrainment, which are responsible for the convection of longitudinal momentum towards the outer field, establishing larger streamwise mean velocities at the jet edges. In the near field, up to 25 nozzle widths, lower outward lateral velocities in the presence of the sidewalls are held responsible for the decrease of turbulent terms including rms of velocity fluctuations and Reynolds stresses. Skewness factors increase monotonically across the shear layers from negative values to positive forming sharp peaks at the outer edges of the jet, illustrative of the presence of well defined 2D roller structures in the jet with sidewalls.     

Heat transfer characteristics from an array of thin strips pin fins due to their exposures to a single downward jet impingement

This paper investigates the heat transfer characteristics from thin strips pin fins due to their exposure to a single circular downward air jet impingement. Five aluminum specimens were considered; each one has a rectangular base of 84 mm × 78 mm and it has an array of about 300 thin strips pin fins. A test rig consists mainly of air compressor; nozzle and protractor mechanism was setup. Experiments were done to find out the effects of attack angle, Reynolds number, nozzle-to-target spacing, lateral pitch and parallel pitch among the fins on the heat transfer characteristics. Empirical correlations were deduced to describe the experimental data. A CFD-numerical model was introduced to monitor the flow characteristics on a scale of more details than that possible in the experimental work. The comparison among the results of the present work and those by the literature shows about 50% improvement in heat transfer characteristics rather than the single jet impingement onto flat plates, cylindrical surfaces, ribbed walls and multiple jets impingement onto flat plates.     

An experimental study on the vortical structures and behaviour of jets issuing from inclined coaxial nozzles

An experimental study on inclined coaxial jets using laser-induced fluorescence and particle image velocimetry is presented here. The Reynolds numbers of the inner primary jet and outer secondary jet were Re = 2,500 and between Re = 500 and 2,000 (based on gap size), respectively, which corresponded to secondary-to-primary jet velocity ratios (VR) of VR = 0.5–2.0. The secondary-to-primary jet area ratio was 2.25, and 45° and 60° incline-angles were studied. Flow visualizations show that relatively independent inclined primary and secondary jet vortex roll-ups were formed at VR = 0.5. At VR = 1.0, regular pairings and mergings between primary and secondary jet vortex roll-ups led to large-scale entrainment of secondary jet and ambient fluids into the primary jet column and conferred a “serpentile”-shaped outline upon it. While the “serpentile”-shaped outline continued to exist at VR = 2.0, it was a result of stronger secondary jet inner vortex roll-ups which “pinched” the primary jet column regularly. These flow behaviours are observed to intensify with an increase in the incline-angle used. Velocity measurements demonstrate that inclined coaxial nozzles promoted vectoring of the primary jet momentum towards the longer nozzle lengths when velocity-ratio and/or incline-angle were increased. Lastly, peak velocity and higher turbulence intensity levels due to augmented vortical interactions are also detected along shorter nozzle lengths.     

Effect of Sudden Expansion on Entrainment and Spreading Rates of a Jet Issuing from Asymmetric Nozzles

Turbulent free jets issuing from five different nozzle geometries; smooth pipe, contracted circular, rectangular, triangular, and square, are experimentally investigated by using TSI 2-D laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) to assess the effect of nozzle geometry and quarl (i.e. a cylindrical sudden expansion) on jet entrainment and spreading. The centerline mean velocity decay and the jet half-velocity width, which are indicators of jet entrainment and spreading rates, are determined for each nozzle’s flow configuration, i.e. with and without sudden expansion. Furthermore, turbulence quantities, such as the flow mean velocities and their mean fluctuating components, as well as Reynolds shear stresses, are all measured along the centerline plane of the jet to facilitate understanding the extent of the effect of nozzle’s geometry (i.e. nozzle’s orifice shape and sudden expansion) on jet’s entrainment and spreading. The main results show that the jet flow with the presence of sudden expansion exhibits higher rates of entrainment and spreading than without. In addition, these results reveal that sudden expansion exercises a greater effect on the asymmetric jet characteristics, especially for the triangular and rectangular nozzles compared to their axisymmetric counterparts (i.e. circular contracted nozzle).     

Axisymmetric Coanda-assisted vectoring

An experimental demonstration of a jet vectoring technique used in our novel spray method called Coanda-assisted Spray Manipulation (CSM) is presented. CSM makes use of the Coanda effect on axisymmetric geometries through the interaction of two jets: a primary jet and a control jet. The primary jet has larger volume flow rate but generally a smaller momentum flux than the control jet. The primary jet flows through the center of a rounded collar. The control jet is parallel to the primary and is adjacent to the convex collar. The Reynolds number range for the primary jet at the exit plane was between 20,000 and 80,000. The flow was in the incompressible Mach number range (Mach < 0.3). The control jet attaches to the convex wall and vectors according to known Coanda effect principles, entraining and vectoring the primary jet, resulting in controllable r − θ directional spraying. Several annular control slots and collar radii were tested over a range of momentum flux ratios to determine the effects of these variables on the vectored jet angle and spreading. Two and Three-component Particle Image Velocimetry systems were used to determine the vectoring angle and the profile of the combined jet in each experiment. The experiments show that the control slot and expansion radius, along with the momentum ratios of the two jets predominantly affected the vectoring angle and profile of the combined jets.     

Particle image velocimetry investigation on mixing enhancement of non-circular sharp edge nozzles

An experimental study using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) on free jets issuing from different orifice plate (OP) nozzles is reported. Mean velocity, turbulence intensity and higher order profiles relevant for large and small scale mixing are considered in the near field and interaction zone (0 < X/D < 20). This is done to determine mixing enhancement due to rectangular, squared, elliptic and triangular nozzles in comparison to circular nozzle results in two orthogonal planes. The effect of Reynolds number on the differences among the nozzle shapes is also considered by performing measurements just after laminar–turbulent transition (Re = 8000) and in the fully turbulent regime (Re = 35,000). The results at low Reynolds number show two classes of jets, i.e. at one side, those closer to axial-symmetric conditions, as circular, square and triangular jets, whereas on the other side those with elongated nozzles as rectangular and elliptic. The reason for the different behavior of the latter is connected to the phenomenon of axis-switching which allows a rearrangement of turbulence over the different velocity components and directions. However, for the highest Reynolds number investigated, all nozzles show similar behavior especially in the jet far field (X/D > 10), thus suggesting a significant Reynolds number dependence of the results.