In this study, the effect of perpendicular acoustic excitation on laminar separation bubble over a NACA2415 aerofoil and stall characteristics of the aerofoil was investigated experimentally at low Reynolds numbers (50000 and 75000) and various angles of attack on the aerofoil using force measurement, pressure measurement and smoke-wire flow visualization techniques. The experiments of resonance characteristics of test section of the wind tunnel showed that the frequencies used for acoustic control were not equal to the peak (resonance) frequencies of the wind tunnel test section. The experimental results of acoustic control showed that when acoustic excitation of a certain frequency was applied, the length of the laminar separation bubble was shortened owing to the energy added to the flow by acoustic excitation. Because of the shortened laminar separation bubble, coefficient of lift was increased. Furthermore, at the stall angles the separated flow was forced to reattach to the surface of the aerofoil, so the stall angle was increased from 12° to 17° and maximum coefficient of lift was increased from 1.16 to 1.24 at Re = 50000 and from 13° to 18° and maximum coefficient of lift was increased from 1.18 to 1.34 at Re = 75000.
Effect of synthetic jet modulation schemes on the reduction of a laminar separation bubble
