Enabling Micro Synthetic Jet Actuators in Boundary Layer Separation Control Using Flow Instability

Research on synthetic jet actuators (SJAs) has shown great potential of using SJAs in control of boundary layer flow separation to reduce the drag and increase the efficiency of aerodynamic devices. The challenge lies in developing an actuator not only small, light, robust and economic, but also capable of reaching the control objectives. This paper presents an idea of using the flow instability to enhance the actuation of a SJA. In the case of controlling laminar separation, the SJA is used to trigger frictional Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) instability. At a forcing frequency strategically determined, the triggered T-S instability which is originally weak can be enhanced by the frictionless Kelvin- Helmholtz (K-H) instability of the baseline flow, until the T-S instability becomes substantially strong to resist the separation. The effective actuation of a SJA in resisting laminar separation caused by adverse pressure gradient in a boundary layer is demonstrated by experimental results of profiles of mean and fluctuating velocities. The orifice diameter, which is the characteristic dimension, of the SJA is 500 μm. The forcing voltage is only ±7.5V., and the forcing frequency is 100 Hz. The Reynolds number is in a range of 1.78x105~2.24x105. Boundary layer properties are used to understand the associated physics, and disturbance intensity is first time used to evaluate the effectiveness of the SJA. Analysis of the experimental results led to the conclusion that flow instability plays a critical role in enabling a micro SJA and also in making the control effectiveness less dependent or independent of the detailed structure and size of the actuator

FDserver: A web service for protein folding research

*Summary:* To facilitate the study of protein folding, we have developed a web service for protein folding rate and folding type prediction as well as for the calculation of a variety of topological parameters of protein structure, which is freely available to the community.
*Availability:* http://sdbi.sdut.edu.cn/FDserve