ABOUT INCREASE OF EFFICIENCY OF PLASMA MULTI-ACTUATOR SYSTEM FOR BOUNDARY LAYER CONTROL

Abstract

The numerical simulation of spatial-periodic systems of electrogasdynamic actuators (plasma actuators), using the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) for a volumetric force impact on a gas flow was carried out. Both the typically used design of actuators and the advanced design with an additional screening electrode are considered. The mathematical model of the dielectric barrier discharge in air was formulated in the drift-diffusion approximation without accounting for convective transfer of the charged particles. The following volumetric reactions are taken into consideration, namely, the ionization of nitrogen and oxygen by electron impacts, the attachment of electrons to oxygen, the detachment of electrons from negative ions, and the ion-ion and the electron-ion recombination. The two types of boundary conditions were considered at the open dielectric surface, namely, the model of instantaneous recombination and the model of finite rates of recombination and electron desorption. The numerical simulation both for the typical and for the advanced actuator systems was done with the same set of problem parameters. It was shown that the advanced scheme provides the better energy efficiency of the system of DBD actuators. It was also found that the main integral characteristics of the DBD actuator weakly depend on the type of boundary conditions used on the dielectric surface. The new simplified design of a system of DBD actuators was proposed.