Airfoil leading edge blowing to control bow shock waves

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Fluid Dynamics
• Computational Fluid Dynamics

Background:

• Bow shock waves pose challenges in supersonic aerodynamics.
• Active flow control is crucial for managing shock wave phenomena.
• Leading edge injection offers a potential method for shock wave control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize active control of bow shock waves via leading edge injection.
• To analyze flow phenomena under steady and pulsating injection regimes.
• To evaluate thermal load and drag reductions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized steady and unsteady two-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations.
• Investigated subsonic coolant ejection and Coanda effects.
• Analyzed flow topology and thermal loads.

Main Results:

• Steady supersonic injection significantly reduced thermal load and aerodynamic drag.
• Subsonic and fluctuating injections provided notable improvements with lower mass flow rates.
• Observed and analyzed a novel Coanda effect causing non-symmetric flow topology at reduced injection port sizes.

Conclusions:

• Active leading edge injection is an effective strategy for bow shock wave control.
• Supersonic injection offers superior performance in reducing thermal and drag loads.
• The documented Coanda effect presents new avenues for designing flow control strategies in supersonic flows.