Quasi-stationary modeling of the DBD plasma flow control around airfoil

Abstract

This paper presents the results of numerical simulation of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator and shows its effectiveness to control air flow around the NACA(National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics)0015 airfoil. The actuator consists of two tape electrodes separated by a dielectric layer, and it is mounted on the suction side of the airfoil at 18% of the chord length. An alternating voltage with 20 kV magnitude and 10 kHz frequency is applied between both electrodes. The physical model of the DBD includes the drift of two ionic species, positive and negative, and the Poisson equation for the electric potential distribution. The spatio-temporal distribution of the electric field, the space charge density in the ambient air, and the surface charge density on the dielectric layer have been determined. The time average electric body force was entered into the air flow model, which was solved using the Spalart–Allmaras turbulence technique. The simulation of the air flow was performed for the free-stream velocities between 5 m/s and 20 m/s (Reynolds numbers 1.65 × 105–6.61 × 105 based on the chord length). The results of computations show the effect of the electrohydrodynamic actuation on the flow pattern, the lift and drag coefficients, the pressure coefficient, and the flow fluctuation near the airfoil. The ability of the DBD actuation to effectively control the aerodynamic airfoil characteristics has been confirmed, and its limitations for the discussed case have been determined.