Parameter influence and optimization of energy conversion efficiency of synthetic jet actuators

Piezoelectric-driven synthetic jet actuators have been widely used in various flow control areas due to the characteristics of no air supply, high jet velocity and response frequency. The exit peak velocity and energy conversion efficiency are important indicators to measure the performance of piezoelectric-driven actuators. When a higher exit velocity is obtained, the energy conversion efficiency of the existing piezoelectric-driven synthetic jet actuators is low. To improve the performance of synthetic jet actuators, the exit velocity and power are measured by the hot-wire anemometer and power meter, respectively. The effects of the exit length, exit neck length, cavity height and piezoceramics thickness on the performance of actuators are analyzed. It is found that for different configuration parameters, the exit peak velocity displays a similar trend with power. Based on the optimized actuator configuration, the exit peak velocity is increased, and the energy conversion efficiency is improved in comparison to the previous results with the maximum increment of 233.3%, thereby reducing the energy consumption of actuators.