Postponing the Onset and Alleviating the Load of Transonic Buffet by Using Steady and Periodic Tangential Slot Blowing

Featured Application Transonic buffet alleviation for airplanes. Abstract Transonic buffet not only influences the structural integrity, handling quality and ride comfort, but also limits the flight envelope of transporters and airliners. To delay buffet onset and alleviate the buffet load, the effects of both steady and periodic tangential slot blowing are investigated. The results show that steady tangential blowing on the airfoil upper surface can postpone the buffet onset margin and evidently increase the lift coefficient at incidence angles near and above the buffet onset case of the clean airfoil. Under buffeting conditions of the clean airfoil, unsteady aerodynamic loads can be greatly suppressed by both steady and periodic blowing. The control effort is depicted as reduced wedge effect and weakened dynamic effect. The buffet mechanism includes (a) the feedback loop between the Kutta wave and the separation bubble under the shock foot, and (b) the interaction between the shear layer shed by the shockwave and Kutta waves. Under blowing conditions, the upstream creeping Kutta waves are prevented, and the intensity of the shear layer shed by the shockwave into separated flows is evidently reduced. Parametric studies show that the control effect is reduced as the blowing slot moves downstream, and steady blowing at 41% x/c is the most favorable control case.