Flow Field Analysis of a Synthetic Jet in the Presence of a Crossflow: Application of Different Turbulence Models

Synthetic jet is a novel means for various industrial applications and has received a lot of attention by researchers because of its small size and zero-net mass flux (ZNMF) characteristic. The aim of the present study is to investigate the flow field of the synthetic jet in the presence of the crossflow in order to gain a better understanding of the flow mechanism and also assessing high Reynolds turbulence models. For this purpose, three high Reynolds turbulence models (Realizable k-ε(RKE), RNG k-ε(RNG) and Standard k-ε(SKE)) are applied. The results show that contrary to Standard k-ε and Realizable k-ε turbulence model, RNG k-ε model is capable of capturing the vortical structures generated in the flow field. Furthermore, comparison of the normalized instantaneous velocity magnitude at the orifice exit confirmed that unlike the standard model, RNG and RKE showed a better prediction of relative maximum and minimum peaks in the suction cycle.