Investigation of Wing Lift Enhancement by Combination of Plasma Jet Actuator and Synthetic Jet Actuator

In order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics and maneuverability of fixed-wing UAV, an improved method to enhance the wing lift by the combination of plasma jet actuator and synthetic jet actuator based on active flow control technique is presented. The aerodynamics of the wing under flow control are calculated by fluent hydrodynamics software. Firstly, the effects of different control modes on the aerodynamic characteristics are compared, including single PJA control, single SJA control, combined PAS control and combined SAP control modes. Lift enhancement mechanism in combined control mode and the advantages are analyzed. Secondly, the effects of flow control parameters, involving the plasma discharge voltage, the maximum exit velocity of the synthetic jet and the deflection angle on the aerodynamic characteristics are investigated in detail. The results show that installing a flow control device at the leading edge of the aileron can substantially increase the lift of both the main wing and aileron when using the PAS flow control mode. The main wing lift is the primary contributor to the total lift increase, accounting for up to 79% of the total lift increase. The hysteresis phenomenon of the pressure recovery on the surface of the main wing is one of the main reasons for the total lift to remain at a high level. Meanwhile, raising the plasma voltage can steadily increase the lift of the wing, while raising the exit velocity of the synthetic jet can cause more lift fluctuations while increasing the lift.