Force production mechanisms of a tangential jet on bodies at high alpha

This work explores the mechanisms by which tangential slot blowing creates forces on a body at a high angle of attack. The study is conducted numerically by solving the three-dimensional, compressible-flow Navier-Stokes equations. A tangent-ogive cylinder configuration is used with the blowing slot located both on the nose and on the cylindrical part of the body. The angle of attack used is 30 deg., the Mach no. is 0.2 and the Reynolds no., based on diameter, is 52,000. Several conclusions were made concerning the physical mechanisms by which the jet interacts with the ambient flowfield to produce a side force: (1) A centrifugal force component is created at the wall due to the momentum of the jet being forced to follow the curvature of the surface. (2) A large amount of vorticity is added to the flowfield by the jet. In the region of the slot, the vorticity has the effect of inducing circulation around the body. Downstream of the slot, the vorticity alters the strength of the nose vortices. (3) The position of the nose vortices can be altered to the jet changing the location of separation. And (4), the jet has the ability to excite unstable behavior producing a global change in the character of the flow.