
Controlled Limit Cycle Oscillations in Modified Glauert Airfoil
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We report on the recent progress in the development of a novel, aeroelastic response control technology that employs an array of synthetic-jet actuators (SJAs) embedded in two-degrees-of-freedom (2-DOF), elastically mounted, optimized Modified Glauert (MG) airfoil design in order to control limit cycle oscillations (LCO) at low subsonic flow regimes. In particular, the focus is on the conceptual design of a wind energy harvesting system that may employ a piezoelectric or some other conversion device to extract energy from plunging LCO, with the closed-loop controller capable of sustaining the required LCO amplitudes over a wide range of wind speeds. The current study expands on the previous theoretical study [1] and high-fidelity computational analysis [2], and further develops a robust reduced-order model (ROM) of MG airfoil’s 2-DOF plunging/pitching and 1-DOF plunging responses. A set of parametric case studies examines open-loop and closed-loop LCO control strategies that employ the ability of MG airfoil to sustain LCO at subcritical velocities due to natural separation-induced flutter. The LCO ROM model combining an aeroelastic analysis tool with an unsteady panel-based method for aerodynamic predictions, paves the way to future airfoil shape and structural optimization studies.