Improving Post-Stall Airfoil Performance Using Synthetic Jet-Based Flow Control
10th CEAS Aerospace Europe Conference and 28th AIDAA International Congress, 2025, Turin, Italy, 1 - 04 December 2025, vol.69, pp.154-157, (Full Text)
- Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
- Volume: 69
- Doi Number: 10.21741/9781644904251-27
- City: Turin
- Country: Italy
- Page Numbers: pp.154-157
- Keywords: Active Flow Control, Aerodynamics, Computational Fluid Dynamics
- Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This study numerically investigates the aerodynamic performance of a NACA0012 airfoil equipped with a leading-edge synthetic jet actuator at a Reynolds number of 1.35x105 . The analysis was conducted at a fixed angle of attack of 16° to represent post-stall flow conditions. Two-dimensional unsteady, incompressible Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations were solved using a commercial finite-element solver, and the baseline results were validated against available experimental data. The effects of actuation frequency and jet velocity ratio on aerodynamic characteristics were examined. Results indicate that actuation frequency plays a dominant role in flow control effectiveness. At twice the natural wake frequency (2fc), the synthetic jet substantially improved aerodynamic efficiency, increasing the lift-to-drag ratio by up to 34.1% compared to the baseline case. These findings demonstrate the strong potential of synthetic jet actuators for mitigating flow separation and enhancing post-stall performance in future low-energy aerodynamic applications.