Numerical Investigation of Jet Angle Effect on Airfoil Stall Control

Abstract

Numerical study on flow separation control is conducted for a stalled airfoil with steady-blowing jet. Stall conditions relevant to a rotorcraft are of interest here. Both static and dynamic stalls are simulated with solving compressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. It is expected that a jet flow, if it is applied properly, provides additional momentum in the boundary layer which is susceptible to flow separation at high angles of attack. The jet angle can influence on the augmentation of the flow momentum in the boundary layer which helps to delay or suppress the stall. Two distinct jet angles are selected to investigate the impact of the jet angle on the control authority. A tangential jet with a shallow jet angle to the surface is able to provide the additional momentum to the flow, whereas a chord-normal jet with a large jet angle simply averts the external flow. The tangential jet reduces the shape factor of the boundary layer, lowering the susceptibility to the flow separation and delaying both the static and dynamic stalls.