Analysis of pulsed suction flow control behavior based on a nonlinear reduced-order model

The use of pulsed suction is an effective unsteady flow control method. However, compared with steady suction, which simply eliminates low-energy boundary layer, pulsed suction flow control presents unique phenomena and complex control mechanisms that are not explained fully. Thus, in this paper, pulsed suction flow control in a compressor cascade is investigated by numerical simulation. Numerical results show that the control performance depends on the suction frequency, momentum, and location, as any unsteady active flow control method. To further reveal the mechanism and explain the phenomena of pulsed suction, a nonlinear reduced-order model for pulsed suction flow control is established on the basis of the Navier–Stokes equation, Stuart vortex row model, Oseen vortex model, and Stuart–Landau equation. The entrainment degree and maximal Lyapunov exponent are used as indices to evaluate the flow losses and control performance in this model. By solving the equations of this model under different parameters, the model presents similar phenomena as found in the numerical simulations with various suction frequencies, momentum, and locations. Thus, it is innovative that the model with calibrated parameters has the ability to roughly predict control performance of unsteady pulsed suction in an efficient way. Also, based on this reduced-order model, one can explain that, unlike steady suction, chaos control, momentum transfer and lock-in mechanisms are especially relevant with the control physics of pulsed suction.