Injection Jet on 2D Airfoil, CFD Simulation

Description

Description

Active flow control employing simultaneous injection jet is used in this project to study the aerodynamic performance of a two-dimensional NACA0018 airfoil. The main goal is to examine how the combined use of steady injection at specific locations along the airfoil surface affects flow behavior—especially in delaying boundary layer separation and improving the lift-to-drag ratio. Space Claim software was used to design the airfoil shape; ANSYS Meshing software handled meshing. Better near-wall effect resolution was achieved using an unstructured grid and revised boundary layers close to the walls. A thorough assessment of the interaction between suction and injection as active flow control mechanisms meant to enhance aerodynamic efficiency in low-speed airflows is provided by this simulation. In a similar project, only the effect of suction alone was investigated, and the simulation results were also extracted and analyzed. 

Methodology

Using a pressure-based solver, steady-state conditions guided the simulation. Gravity’s influence was ignored. Boundary layer phenomena are successfully captured by the k-Omega SST turbulence model, which accurately predicts flow behavior near the walls. This model produces better forecasts of flow separation and reattachment zones by combining the benefits of the k-epsilon and k-omega models. Using ANSYS Meshing, the mesh was created with particular focus on capturing tiny details near the surface of the airfoil through inflating layers, therefore guaranteeing correct modeling of the boundary layer under the impact of injection.

Conclusion

The outcome of the simulation shows that the aerodynamic performance of the NACA0018 airfoil may be much enhanced by simultaneous suction and injection. This combined approach boosts lift while lowering drag by changing the flow pattern and postponing boundary layer separation. The study of the lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) unequivocally reveals improved aerodynamic efficiency in comparison to the baseline scenario. These results confirm the possibility of integrated active flow control techniques in the design of sophisticated airfoils for aerospace applications.