Book Description
Synthetic jet actuators (SJAs) are one of the newly developed actuators that have demonstrated great potentials in active flow applications, particularly in closed-loop flow controls. The SJA contains a piezoelectric membrane in a cavity, which vibrates and generates a periodic jet at the exit of the cavity through an orifice that is mounted flush with the solid wall of the flow field. In order to design the feedback control laws, it is crucial to be able to quantitatively capture the dynamics of SJAs. In this thesis, the dynamics of SJAs with six different orifice sizes are experimentally investigated. A synthesis using system identification for the purpose of constructing mathematical models of these zero mass-flux actuators is offered. The experimental study includes two output parameters, the acoustic sound pressure generated by the SJA and the mechanical membrane vibration of the SJA. State-space models for these outputs (sound pressure and mechanical vibration) are developed as a function of orifice size. These results form a foundation for future intelligent design of SJAs. A preliminary result of flow-velocity measurement is given, and finally the contributions of this entire work and future recommendations are discussed as part of the conclusions.
