
Lift Enhancement of a Rotating and Translating NACA 0015 Airfoil Using Dual Synthetic Jets
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Turbomachinery performance relies on efficiently generating lift forces, as demonstrated in wind turbines where blades convert flow kinetic energy into mechanical energy. Active flow control methods, such as Synthetic Jets (SJ), effectively enhance aerodynamic performance by delaying flow separation, re-energizing boundary layers, and mitigating dynamic stall [1]. Synthetic jets generate trains of vortex pairs by periodically suctioning and blowing fluid from a cavity, transferring momentum with no net mass injection nor moving parts in friction. When placed adjacently, and under the right operating parameters, SJs tilt the merged flow through vectoring [2]. In this study, we analyze the impact of dual SJs placed at the trailing edge of a NACA 0015 airfoil undergoing off-axis rotation, resembling the aerodynamics of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine blade. We use a virtual wind tunnel setup and perform unsteady simulations with the Finite Volume Method and the k-ω SST turbulence model in ANSYS Fluent. We find that the vectoring at the trailing edge enhances lift, which leads to higher torque. We also observe a delay in the dynamic stall at critical tip speed ratios.