SEPARATION DYNAMICS: THE VIEW FROM THE WALL

Abstract

The profound impact of flow separation on aerodynamic performance has led to inventive strategies for its control. Some efforts have exploited empirical observations, others have been based on physical understanding, and yet others have relied on mathematical and computational approaches. No matter the strategy, a pre-requisite for effective control of separated flows is knowledge of the state of the flow to be controlled and how it changes as actuation is applied. Characteristics of the boundary layer upstream of separation, the onset location of separation, the extent of reverse flow, and the nature of the boundary layer at reattachment are all but certain because they are all sensitive to the environmental conditions. In practice, the environment is not necessarily known precisely and as a result the characteristics of separation can vary appreciably in flight. In addition, techniques to predict the state of attached flow fail in separated configurations. This effort focuses on how the dynamics separation limits the interpretability of observations, and how to mitigate the adverse impact of separation on the estimation of the flow state.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Aug 12, 2021
Source ID
FA95502010269

Entities

People

  • Tamer A. Zaki

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • United States Air Force

Tags

Readers

  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Theoretical Analysis.