On the possibility of controlling transonic profile flow with energy deposition by means of a plasma-sheet nanosecond discharge

Abstract

A way of effectively affecting the gasdynamic structures of a transonic flow over a surface by means of instantaneous local directed energy deposition into a near-surface layer is proposed. Experimental investigations into the influence of a pulsed high-current nanosecond surface discharge of the “plasma sheet” type on gas fast flow with a shock wave near the surface are carried out. The self-localization of energy deposition into a low-pressure region in front of the shock wave is described. Based on this effect, a facility for automated energy deposition into a dynamic region bounded by the moving shock front can be designed. The limiting value of the specific energy deposition on the surface in front of the shock wave is found. With the help of the direct-shadow method, an unsteady quasi-two-dimensional discontinuous flow arising when a plasma sheet is initiated on the wall in a flow with a plane shock wave is studied. By numerically solving the two-dimensional nonstationary equations of gas dynamics, the influence of the energy of a pulsed nanosecond discharge, which is applied in the frequency regime, on the aerodynamic characteristics of a high-lift profile is investigated. It is ascertained that the energy delivered to the gas before the closing shock wave in a local supersonic region that is located in the neighborhood of the profile contour in zones extended along the profile considerably decreases the wave drag of the profile.