Burst-Mode Frequency Effects of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator for Separation Control

Abstract

The various separation control mechanisms of burst-mode actuation with a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator were experimentally investigated in this study. The control of the separated flow around a NACA 0015 airfoil at a Reynolds number of was investigated using a plasma actuator mounted at a distance from the leading edge of 5% of the chord length. A parametric study on the nondimensionalized burst frequency was conducted at three poststall angles of attack and various input voltages using time-averaged pressure measurements and time-resolved particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) results. The measurement results of the trailing edge pressure, which was selected as the index of separation control, indicate that the optimal burst frequency varies with the angle of attack. Several flow fields are discussed in detail in this paper, and two flow control mechanisms were observed: the use of a large-scale vortex and the promotion of turbulent transition. With regard to the first mechanism, the phase-locked PIV results indicate that a vortex structure, the size of which increases with decreasing burst frequency in the experimental range, is shed from the shear layer for each burst actuation. With regard to the second mechanism, time-averaged pressure and PIV measurements reveal that a burst frequency of is able to promote turbulent transition. Among these two mechanisms, at higher angles of attack, the use of a large-scale vortex structure provides better separation control, whereas near the stall angle, the promotion of the turbulent transition provides better separation control.