Vector Control of Synthetic Jets Using an Asymmetric Slot

This paper presents a fundamental study on jet vectoring control by adjusting the dimensionless frequency of synthetic jets over time without changing the injection nozzle shape in actuators. This work involves the introduction of asymmetric slots with various sharp projection lengths in free synthetic jets for various actuator frequencies. The influences of the dimensionless parameters, sharp projection length C, and actuator frequency f* on the behavior of free synthetic jets are experimentally investigated under the same slot width b and Reynolds number Re = 990, and numerical simulations are performed to supplement these experiments. Furthermore, the behavior of synthetic jets is compared with that of continuous jets. The measurements of the velocities for both jet types are performed for the flow visualizations to observe the jet behaviors obtained using the smoke-wire method. The typical flow patterns and the time-averaged velocity distributions of the synthetic jets for various sharp projection lengths and dimensionless frequencies are demonstrated through the experiment. The influence of the dimensionless frequency on the stagnation point near a rigid wall when the inclined synthetic jets form a recirculation flow is also investigated. Furthermore, the degree of the bend of the jets is evaluated based on the change in the jet center's position at a reference downstream cross section. The results show that the jet direction of the synthetic jets induced by the asymmetric slots is related to both the dimensionless sharp projection length and the dimensionless frequency.