Abstract:

Synthetic jet actuator, which can be miniaturized, can improve aerodynamic performance of airfoils of miniature air vehicles (MAV) by suppressing separated flow. In this paper, synthetic jet actuator was placed into an NACA0012 airfoil to conduct wind tunnel tests. Conclusions are drawn as follows. (1) The synthetic jet significantly reduces the separation regions when the Reynolds number is 18 000and the angle of attack is less than 15°. (2)Different frequencies of actuatorare needed for various angles of attack. For example, when the angles of attack are 2.5°, 5°, and above 7.5°, the proper frequencies are 1 300 Hz, 400 Hz or 1 300 Hz, and 960 Hz respectively. (3) The synthetic jet can enhance the lift of airfoil by about 5% when the Reynolds number is 140 000 and the angle of attack is less than 15°.

Key words: miniature aerial vehicle (MAV); low Reynolds number; wind tunnel experiment; synthetic jet