Experimental and numerical studies of synthetic jets driven by a dual-diaphragm piezoelectric actuator

Abstract

The applications of piezoelectric synthetic jet actuators have shown great potential as active flow control devices. The objective of this study is to investigate the flow phenomenon of a synthetic jet generated by a dual-diaphragm piezo-driven actuator. In this analysis, the computational approach adopted unsteady three-dimensional conservation equations of mass and momentum for examining the development process of synthetic jets. The moving boundary was also treated to represent the motion of the piezo diaphragm. Experimentally, a flow visualization system was employed to acquire the particle-streak images scattered from red fluorescent spheres for observing the synthetic jet flow. The jet velocity along the centre-line was also measured by using a hot-wire anemometer. The system test results demonstrated a satisfactory functioning of the actuator for producing synthetic jets. The predictions were then compared with the visualized particle-streak images and the measured centre-line velocity of the synthetic jet to validate the computer software. In the near-field, both simulation results and experimental observations revealed the time-cyclical formation and advection of a vortex pair in a full sinusoidal actuation cycle at an operating frequency of 4 Hz. When the vortex pair travelled well downstream, the ambient air from the vicinity of the slot was entrained into the cavity of the actuator. However, the overall far-field flow pattern, characterized by longitudinal decay of the centre-line velocity and lateral spreading, resembled a conventional continuous air-jet in essence.