Separation Control of Axial Compressor Cascade by Fluidic-Based Excitations

Flow separation control was explored on a compressor cascade using three types of fluidic-based excitations: steady suction, steady blowing and synthetic jet. By solving unsteady Reynolds-averaged N-S equations, the effect of excitation parameters (amplitude, angle and location) on the performance were presented. The results showed that the separated flow could be controlled by the fluidic-based actuators effectively and the time-mean performance of flow filed could be remarkably improved. Generally, the positive effect is more visible when the excitation amplitude is increased. The optimal direction varies with each type of excitations and is related to physical mechanisms underlying the separation control. For two types of steady excitations, the most effective jet location is at a distance upstream of the time-mean separation point and the synthetic jet is just at the separation point.