Vortex generator jets - Means for flow separation control

Stalled regions (zones of detached or separated flow sometimes followed by reattachment) in a turbulent boundary layer may be eliminated by a technique called the vortex-generator-jet (VGJ) method. The method employs spanwise arrays of small, skewed, and pitched jets from holes in the surface. Low-speed air-flow experiments are described which 1) demonstrate that the VGJ method creates longitudinal (streamwise) vortices in the boundary layer downstream of the jet holes similar to the vortices behind solid vortex generators and 2) show that the cross-stream mixing associated with these vortices is effective in reduction and elimination of stalled regions.