Influence of low ambient pressure on the performance of a high-energy array surface arc plasma actuator

Abstract

In order to solve the problem of single arc plasma actuator’s failure to suppress the boundary layer separation, the effectiveness of the array surface arc plasma actuator to enhance the excitation intensity is verified by experiment. In this study, an electrical parameter measurement system and high-speed schlieren technology were adopted to delve into the electrical, flow field, and excitation characteristics of the high-energy array surface arc plasma actuator under low ambient pressure. The high-energy array surface arc discharge released considerable heat rapidly; as a result, two characteristic structures were generated, i.e., the precursor shock wave and thermal deposition area. The duration increased with the increase in environmental pressure. The lower the pressure, the wider the thermal deposition area’s influence range. The precursor shock wave exhibited a higher propagation speed at the initial phase of discharge; it tended to decay over time and finally remained at 340 m/s. The lower the environmental pressure, the higher the speed would be at the initial phase. High-energy array surface arc plasma actuator can be employed to achieve effective high-speed aircraft flow control.