Three-dimensional interactions between a finite-span synthetic jet and a crossflow

A complementary experimental and numerical investigation was performed to study the three-dimensional flow structures and interactions of a finite-span synthetic jet in a crossflow at a chord-based Reynolds number of 100,000 and a 0° angle of attack. Six blowing ratios in the range of 0.2–1.2 were considered. Experiments were conducted on a finite wing with a cross-sectional profile of NACA 4421, where particle-image velocimetry data were collected at the centre jet. To complement the experiments, three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed, where the numerical set-up matched not only the physical parameters (e.g. free stream) but also the physical dimensions (e.g. orientation and location of the jet. For the low blowing ratio cases, spatial non-uniformities developed, due to the finite span of the slit, which led to the formation of small and organized secondary structures or a streak-like pattern in the mean flow. On the other hand, for the high blowing ratio range, turbulent vortical structures were dominant, leading to larger spanwise structures, with a larger spanwise wavelength. Moreover, the phase-locked flow fields exhibited a train of counter-rotating coherent vortices that lifted off the surface as they advected downstream. In the mid-blowing ratio range, combined features of the low range (near the slit) and high range (in downstream locations) were found, where a pair of counter-rotating vortices issued in the same jet cycle collided with each other. In all cases, the spanwise extent of the secondary coherent structures reduced with downstream distance with a larger decrease at higher blowing ratios. Similar observations were made in earlier studies on finite-span synthetic jets in quiescent conditions.