AVIA: Adaptive Virtual Aerosurface

Abstract : One can change the effective shape of a surface without any change in its physical moldlines through the transient injection of momentum to control unsteady flow phenomena, such as separation. This research program consists of a system level evaluation of the potential benefits and costs of active flow control as applied to UAVs for separation control, development of innovative actuator concepts, and proof-of-concept experiments showing aerodynamic effectiveness. System-level benefits include increased gust margin, reduced takeoff field length, increased payload capacity, and greater maneuverability. Actuator research has resulted in two major innovations: the use of pulsed/modulated waveforms to increase the effectiveness of synthetic jet actuators and the development of compact, high power, combustion-driven actuator modules. The general performance of the combustion actuators are characterized in isolation, embedded in cross-flows up to M=0.7, and integrated on a two-dimensional wing model. In addition, since conventional machining would not be suitable for low-cost, large volume production, a simpler, MEMS-based, batch fabrication