The thrust enhancement for SDBD with nanostructured TiO2 films

Abstract

Design requirements of the structural features, the material properties, and the processing capabilities are hard to be satisfied in nanotechnologies simultaneously. In this paper, TiO2 nanoparticles that are chemically reliable have been processed through the doctor blade method to realize a kind of field enhancement nanostructure, aiming to enhance the dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuation performance. It is found that the thrust enhancement rate could be approximately 72% at 13 kV and 8 kHz, compared to the controlled samples. In addition, a threshold phenomenon of the thrust enhancement effect was also found from the experiments, where the applied voltage and frequency lower than specific criteria could both lead to a decrease in the thrust generation and vice versa. It is suggested that the increase in the ionization frequency resulted from the field enhancement effect of the nanostructures is the leading mechanism for the extra thrust generation, which is inconsistent with the experimental examinations of the plasma characteristics and the plasma kinetic simulation. The results suggested that TiO2 nanoparticles could be used to improve the actuation performance in harsh environments with sound substrate compatibility.