Abstract
The flap lift device is an important part of the conventional configuration of aircrafts and has an important impact on the aerodynamic performance. In this paper, a high-efficiency, simple, and energy-saving nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator is placed in the vicinity of the flap lift device to improve the aerodynamic performance of the flap by controlling the flow field. The two-dimensional airfoil GAW-1 and its 29% flap were selected as the research objects, and the nanosecond (NS) DBD actuators were fixed at different locations near the deflection angle of the 10°flap. The excitation frequency, pulse width, and energy density parameters of the pulse discharge were adjusted, and then, the effects of parameter changes on aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil were studied by numerical simulation. The simulation results show that adjusting the excitation frequency on the aerodynamic drag is weak and that the effect on the aerodynamic lift is obvious. The increase of the discharge pulse width will have a more significant effect on the flow field, i.e., a proper increase of the discharge pulse width can achieve better drag reduction, and increase lift after a stall at a high angle of attack. Although the increase of discharge energy density can strengthen the pulse perturbation effect on the flow field, it also contributes to some adverse effects and has no obvious optimization effect on the control efficiency of lift increase and drag reduction.
Highlights
As an important part of aircraft aerodynamic design, the flap lift device affects the take-off and landing performance of the aircraft and is closely related to flight safety, environmental protection, and economy
The results show that the plasma actuator can effectively restrain the flow separation at the leading edge of the airfoil and significantly improve the maximum lift coefficient of the airfoil
This paper focuses on the research of NS-dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator on the control of increasing lift and reducing drag of two-section airfoil
Summary
As an important part of aircraft aerodynamic design, the flap lift device affects the take-off and landing performance of the aircraft and is closely related to flight safety, environmental protection, and economy. Popov [18] reported the disturbance phenomenon of NS-DBD on the laminar boundary layer by numerical simulation They believe that the main NS-DBD mechanism is the generation of a T-S disturbance wave, and the flow control mechanism of the NS-DBD may include a large-scale vortex, flow transitions, or other factors. NS-DBD plasma actuators are arranged near the gap between the main wing and the flap, and the influence on the aerodynamic performance of the flap lift device is analysed by adjusting the discharge parameters of the actuator This method has the advantages of simplicity, energy savings, and small size, and it is applicable to the case in which the space for mounting the actuator around the flap is relatively limited.
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