Feedback control of boundary layer Tollmien-Schlichting waves using a simple model-based controller

Abstract The attenuation of spatially evolving instability Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) waves in the boundary layer of a flat plate with zero pressure gradients using an active feedback control scheme is theoretically and numerically investigated. The boundary layer is excited artificially by various perturbations to create a three-dimensional field of instability waves. Arrays of actuators and sensors are distributed locally at the wall surface and connected together via a feedback controller. The key elements of this feedback control are the determination of the dynamic model of the flat plate boundary layer between the actuators and the sensors, and the design of the model-based feedback controller. The dynamic model is established based on the linear stability calculation which simulates the three-dimensional input-output behaviour of the boundary layer. To simplify the control problem, an uncoupled control mode of the dynamic model is made to capture only those dynamics that have greatest influences on the input-output behaviour. A Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller, i.e. a lead-lag compensator, combining with a standard Smith predictor is designed based on the system stability criterion and the specifications using frequency-response methods. Good performance of the feedback control with the uncoupled control mode is demonstrated by the large reduction of the three-dimensional disturbances in the boundary layer. This simple feedback control is realistic and competitive in a practical implementation of T-S wave cancellation using a limited number of localised sensors and actuators.