AE 782 Flow Control

Instructor: A M Pradeep
Slot 14: Tuesday, Friday: 1705-1830
hrs.
Venue: EDH
Lecture slides @ moodle.iitb.ac.in

 Objectives of this course

Exposure to the need for flow control
Types of flow control methods
Applications of flow control
Benefits of flow control
Hand-on experience of at least one flow
control application

 Significance of this course

Ever-growing demand for improved
efficiency
Emission norms, green technologies
Flow control tries to arrive at a
compromise solution between the above
two requirements
Applications not restricted to
engineering; to medical field as well
(artificial organs, micro-dosage drug
delivery systems etc.)

Course Contents
Introduction
History of flow control
Governing equations of fluid flow
Equations of motion at the wall, boundary layer

Control goals
Classification of flow control methods
Active, passive and reactive flow control

Wall bounded and free shear flows

Coherent structures
Control methods for laminar and turbulent
flows

Reynolds number effects

Transition control
Compliant coatings, free surface waves
Flow separation
Steady and unsteady separation
Mechanics of separation
Characteristics and effects of flow separation
Prevention and delay of separation
Initiation of separation
Control of separation by active and passive
means

Vortex generators and vortex generator jets

 Low Reynolds number aerodynamics

Separation bubble

Drag reduction
Drag reduction in aircraft, automobiles and
submarines

Relaminarization
Noise control
Turbomachinery flow control
Tip leakage flows
Secondary flows

Synthetic jets
MEMS applications in flow control
Emerging trends in flow control

 Evaluation scheme
Mid-semester exam: 20 %
Course project: 30 %
End-semester exam: 50 %
Books/references:
Gad-el-Hak, M., Flow Control, Cambridge
University Press, 2000
Chang, P.K. Control of Flow Separation,
Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, 1976
Lachmann G.V., Boundary Layer and Flow
Control, Volumes 1 & 2 , Pergamon Press, 1961.

 Course project:
Demonstrate flow control in any application
Experiments/Computations/Analytical/Literat
ure review
Project evaluations towards the end of the
semester
Topics to be finalised by 3rd week of August
Instrumentation, test facilities (as per
availability) will be made available
A report to be submitted towards the end of
the course

Introduction
What is flow control?
Boundary layer control includes any
mechanism or process through which
the boundary layer of a fluid flow is
caused to behave differently than it
normally would, were the flow
developing naturally along a smooth
straight surface.
Flow control is an attempt to alter
flow characteristics favourably.

 Why flow control?

Transition delay, flow separation control,
lift enhancement, drag reduction,
turbulence augmentation, noise
suppression...
More efficient systems
Fuel cost savings: land, air and sea
vehicles
Environmentally cleaner systems

 History of flow control

Flow control evolved as an art
Since prehistoric times
Streamlined spears, boomerangs, finstabilised arrows, streamlined boats/canoes,
wind-breaks in fields etc.

The development of flow control

methods were on an empirical basis:
Empirical Era of flow control (prior to
1900s)

 Scientific Era (1900-1940)

Prandtl (1908): boundary layer theory,
physics of steady separation and
boundary layer control
Boundary layer theory proposed in the
historical paper by Prandtl
Experimentally tested boundary layer
suction on circular cylinder
Choice of flow control devices: no longer
empirical

 World War II Era (1940-1970)

Scientific activity accelerated during 2nd
WW and subsequent cold war
Military needs: fast, manoeuvrable
aircraft, missiles, ships, submarines etc.
Laminar and transition flow control:
notable achievements

 Energy Crisis Era (1970-1900)

1973 Arab oil embargo
Shift of interest from military sector to
civil sector
Drag reduction and hence fuel efficient
vehicles
Compliant coatings, large eddy break-up
devices, riblets etc.

 1990s and beyond

Reactive flow control strategies for
transitional and turbulent shear flows
MEMS, chaos control, neural networks
Improved sensors/transducers
DNS/LES of flows with control