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The results of the study of the flow separation over a NACA0015 airfoil section and the use
of an oscillating plate vortex generator to re-attach the separated flow shows some novel
use of smart materials for open loop control of separated boundary layer and the methods
can be used to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of an aircraft at off design
operating conditions."
Introduction
Let us imagine an aircraft with no large moving
parts or control surfaces; or a conical diffuser
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whose divergence angle exceeds 45 , or a
VTOL aircraft without jet vectoring nozzles or
a fighter aircraft that can go into a steep climb
without stalling. All of these, although seem to
be quite useful thinking, are possible by
controlling the flow of air over a body by
imparting controlled periodic motion to the
flow. The performance and maneuverability of
an aircraft/ helicopter are restricted by the
separation of the boundary layer at the top
surface of the wings. This flow separation
causes enormous decrease in aircraft lift
leading to the stalling of the aircraft. The flow
separation drastically increases the drag forces
also. Therefore, it is quite apparent, and has
been proved over the years, that the
performance of an aircraft can be significantly
enhanced by preventing this flow separation .
Many methods , e.g., blowing, suction, vortex
generators etc., have been tried over the years
to prevent the flow separation. This paper
discusses the effort initiated at the Department
of Aerospace Engineering at IIT Kanpur to
achieve controlled re-attachment of separated
boundary layers using smart materials.
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Acknowledgement
References
About the author: Dr. Abhijit Kushari had joined IIT Kanpur as an Assistant Professor in the Department
of Aerospace Engineering in July 2001. He had received his doctoral degree in Mechanical
Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. Subsequently, I got his postdoctoral
training in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. His
research interests include Aerospace Propulsion, Combustion, Liquid Atomization, Combustion and
Flow diagnostics and Flow Control.
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