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Computational and experimental investigation of fluidic thrust vectoring actuator

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Abstract

Fluidic thrust vectoring (FTV) control is an innovative technique employed to affect the pitch control of an air vehicle or an unmanned air vehicle in the absence of conventional control surfaces such as elevators. The main motivation in using FTV is to render the aircraft low observable. In this work, a relatively new concept called co-flow type of FTV concept is investigated. Wherein, a high velocity secondary jet is injected into the boundary layer of the primary jet causing deflection of main primary jet thereby enabling generation of pitch moment. Two sets of numerical simulations studies were undertaken, one for different ratios of Coanda surface radius (R) and primary height (hprim) while the other for different ratios of secondary gap height (∆h) and primary height (hprim). The insight gained from simulations guided the design of a working FTV test rig. A static test rig was manufactured where blower and a compressor were used to provide primary and secondary flows, respectively. Comparison of vectored jet behaviour predicted by computational fluid dynamics analyses is found to be in agreement with those obtained through experimentation.

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Acknowledgements

The work was undertaken at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and funded by the GIK Institute, Pakistan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi, 23460, Pakistan

    S. M. Ahmad, S. M. Siddique, M. S. Yousaf, M. Tariq, M. I. Khan & M. A. Alam

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  1. S. M. Ahmad
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  2. S. M. Siddique
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  3. M. S. Yousaf
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  4. M. Tariq
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  5. M. I. Khan
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  6. M. A. Alam
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Correspondence to S. M. Ahmad.

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Technical Editor: André Cavalieri.

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Ahmad, S.M., Siddique, S.M., Yousaf, M.S. et al. Computational and experimental investigation of fluidic thrust vectoring actuator. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 40, 315 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-018-1248-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-018-1248-8

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