Noise and Jet Momentum of Synthetic Jet Actuators with Different Orifice Configurations

Abstract

Sound pressure levels and flow characteristics of a synthetic jet actuator (SJA) are investigated experimentally using the following orifice configurations: a) a slender rectangular slot orifice and b) an array of circular orifices with two different orifice diameters. All configurations have similar total orifice neck area, orifice height, and cavity volume, resulting in a similar Helmholtz frequency. Experiments are conducted for orifices mounted on a flat plate under a quiescent condition. The mean jet velocity exhibits resonant peaks at several excitation frequencies, which also gave rise to the sound pressure levels. The resonant frequencies and peak jet velocities were found to depend on the excitation amplitude and orifice configuration. Investigation of the jet momentum penetration into the quiescent air above the different orifice configurations shows that the momentum issuing from the rectangular slot decays much quicker than that of the circular orifices, irrespective of whether the SJA is excited at resonance or not. The most favorable performance (i.e., the highest momentum in the jet core) was obtained with the array of circular orifices having a smaller orifice diameter, even at off-resonance excitations. The work herein shows the possibility of reducing the SJA noise by 8–10 dB by operating the SJA at a frequency away from the Helmholtz frequency while still achieving comparable levels of jet momentum penetration into the crossflow.