Smart Surface for Flow Control

A smart surface, containing microelectromechanical devices (MEMS), able to enhance the performance capabilities of weapons systems, will be designed, fabricated and tested. The prototype smart surface will consist of an adaptive/predictive controller, an integrated array of microsensors and Deployable Micro-Vortex Generators (DMVGs). The smart surface will be tested on an airfoil where sensors will be able to discern flow conditions indicative of flow separation and deploy the DMVGs. In response, the DMVGs will generate vortices into the freestream, energizing the boundary layer. The DMVGs will make the flow less susceptible to separate from the surface of the airfoil, inhibiting stall and providing additional lift for the aircraft. The smart surface will be able to retract the DMVGs, subtracting the drag caused by the passive vortex generators during normal cruise flight.The engineering prototype will be tested in Phase I at the subsonic wind tunnel at the Ohio State University. The control strategy used to prevent separation will be determined. During this program, the controller will demonstrate its ability to actuate the DMVGs in response to sensor inputs regarding flow conditions incipient to surface flow separation. The ability to control the flow will be determined by flow visualization techniques utilizing laser sheets and time-averaged surface pressure measurements on the airfoil.