Experimental Study for Separated Flow Control around Rotor Blades Using Highly Integrated Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator

Abstract

Highly integrated dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators can be driven with a voltage one order of magnitude lower than that of conventional plasma actuators by properly arranging multiple electrodes, and can generate induced flow velocities of equal or greater magnitude. In addition, it is possible to control the large scale separation that occurs around the wings of aircraft and other devices, and thus to improve aerodynamic characteristics. In this study, a highly integrated DBD plasma actuator with multiple 20 electrodes was fabricated and applied to the wing surface to control the airflow from the leading edge to the trailing edge, and the aerodynamic characteristics of the NACA4412 airfoil were experimentally investigated. When the highly integrated DBD plasma actuator was driven, the lift coefficient was found to be improved compared to that with a conventional plasma actuator.