Abstract
The objective of this dissertation is to advance the Co-Flow Jet (CFJ) active flow control (AFC) to system level by developing an integrated CFJ system with micro-compressor actuators for the first time. This is the most critical step to establish a virtual simulation system of CFJ AFC to achieve high energy conversion efficiency.
The major intellectual contributions of this dissertation are: 1) Develop a full 3D virtual CFJ simulation system with micro-compressor actuators embedded inside the CFJ airfoil. The CFJ performance is controlled only by varying the RPM of the micro-compressors. 2) Develop a methodology for designing the injection and suction duct with a large ratio of slot width (W) to compressor diameter (D) with W/D up to 10 with no flow separation. A large W/D is important to reduce the number of micro-compressor actuators along the span. 3) Develop an integrated design process from 2D airfoil satisfying mission requirements to a full 3D CFJ system with micro-compressors embedded. 4) Apply the virtual simulation system to a CFJ-NACA-6421 airfoil from cruise with high cruise efficiency at low angle of attack (AoA) of 5° to a high AoA of 70° for takeoff/landing. A high micro-compressor efficiency about 80% is achieved. 5) Apply the virtual simulation system to flapped CFJ wing also from cruise with flap angle of 10° to high flap angle of 70° for takeoff and landing.
This thesis demonstrates the effectiveness and high power conversion efficiency of a CFJ system through simulations at different operating conditions, achieving high compressor efficiencies, contributing to the state of the art of active flow control fluidic actuators. The compressor performance is simulated together with the CFJ airfoil system to accurately measure the power required and efficiency of the integrated CFJ system. This research is the first to demonstrate whole CFJ systems actuated with the power of the micro-compressors, which operate effectively with productivity efficiency, high lift coefficient, and high power conversion efficiency.