Experimental study on unsteady loads of a synthetic jet at airfoil trailing edge - A: On experimental project design

In order to study the characteristics of the synthetic jet near the trailing edge of an airfoil, an experimental project in wind tunnel is designed for a NACA0015 airfoil. It contains the design of the experimental model, the design of low frequency high power synthetic jet actuator and the method of measurement. The experimental results show that when the speed of the servo-motor runs up to an appropriate rotational speed, the synthetic jet works well. By adjusting the ground cylinder stroke and the operating frequency of the motor, the effect of the spout speed, frequency and other parameters on the aerodynamic loads can be studied. For the two-dimensional test section, a two-dimensional strain balance is designed to measure the dynamic lift and moment. The present experimental project operates successfully in the wind tunnel. It shows that when the frequency of synthetic jet is 3 Hz, the amplitude of lift coefficient is approximate 0.16 which is equal to the value of the experimental airfoil at 1.5 deg angle of attack. So, a synthetic jet actuator of low frequency and high power can supply a large force to control the aeroelastic problem. The new action provides a new way for future aircraft aeroelastic stability control.