Development of a real time actuation control in a network-simulation framework for active drag reduction in turbulent flow

Active drag reduction in high Reynolds numbers (>10⁴) by span-wise transversal surface waves is a promising approach to gain less energy consumption and less pollution in air transportation. The development of robust methods for this flow control is based on numerical studies and wind tunnel experiments. In final application, flow control is expected to be performed by real time actuator and sensor networks. In a first step a SIMULINK model of the network is developed which is also used to drive wind tunnel experiments for parameter studies and testing of control algorithms. In this paper we focus on the LabView based interface to the actuating and sensing hardware enabling continuous changes of actuating parameters in real time. This implementation already allows for extensive and efficient experimental wind tunnel studies.