Small-width wall-attached Coanda jets for flow control

The flow dynamics of small-width wall-attached jets generated by a Coanda-effect nozzle is investigated by unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations. The data are validated by comparison with hot-wire velocity measurements performed on the same flow configurations. The jets exhibit a complex topology strongly influenced not only by the spanwise vorticity (as usually observed in wall jets) but also by a vorticity component normal to the wall and induced by the shear layer developing on the jet sides. This results in an original U-shaped jet whose characteristics are studied in detail for three different mass flow rates. The robustness of the flow topology on a larger range of injected mass flow rates is finally presented and discussed in terms of the injected momentum near the wall. The resulting flow profiles point out that our injector is expected to be a promising candidate for active flow control in gas-turbine compressors for aeronautical and energy applications.