Experimental Characterization of Surface Temperature Variation on Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator in External Flow

Abstract

The dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator (DBDPA) is an active flow control device that induces the wall surface jet utilizing the electrohydrodynamic force coming from the atmospheric barrier discharge. In recent years, de-icing of aircraft wings and heat transfer enhancement using DBDPA gets much attention. In the applications of DBDPA to the field of thermal engineering, it is important to understand the thermal characteristics of DBDPA itself. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the surface temperature of the dielectric in the external flow and characterize the surface temperature using the similarity law. For this purpose, we experimentally obtained the temperature distribution on the DBDPA surface using the infrared camera. The measurement was performed by varying the dielectric material and thickness of DBDPA, applied voltage amplitude, and external flow velocity. Additionally, the thrust and the power consumption were measured. As a result, we characterized the surface temperature variation assuming that all power consumption of the DBDPA turns into the temperature rise in the induced jet, and the dielectric is heated by the heat convection from the induced jet.