Plasma Actuator Research Articles

Development of a Background-Oriented Schlieren (BOS) System for Thermal Characterization of Flow Induced by Plasma Actuators

Cold climate regions have great potential for wind power generation. The available wind energy in these regions is about 10% higher than in other regions due to higher wind speeds and increased air density. However, these regions usually have favorable icing conditions that lead to ice accumulation on the wind turbine blades, which in turn increases the weight of the blades and disrupts local airflow, resulting in a reduction in wind turbine performance. Considering this problem, plasma actuators have been proposed as devices for simultaneous flow control and deicing. These devices transfer momentum to the local airflow, improving the aerodynamic performances of the turbine blades while producing significant thermal effects that can be used to prevent ice formation. Considering the potential application of plasma actuators for simultaneous flow control and deicing, it is very important to investigate the thermal effects induced by these devices. However, due to the significant electromagnetic interference generated by the operation of these devices, there is a lack of experimental techniques that can be used to analyze them. In the current work, a background-oriented Schlieren system was developed and is presented as a new experimental technique for the thermal characterization of the plasma-induced flow. For the first time, the induced flow temperatures are characterized for plasma actuators with different dielectric materials and different dielectric thicknesses. The results demonstrate that, due to the plasma discharge, the temperature of the plasma-induced flow increases with the increase of the applied voltage and may achieve temperatures five times higher than the room temperature, which proves the potential of plasma actuators for deicing applications. The results are presented and discussed with respect to the potential application of plasma actuators for simultaneous flow control and deicing of wind turbine blades.

Real-time feedback control of flow velocity field around a cylindrical model using sparse processing PIV and plasma actuators

Real-time feedback control of flow velocity field around a cylindrical model using sparse processing PIV and plasma actuators

Improving the energy efficiency of surface dielectric barrier discharge devices for plasma nitric oxide conversion utilizing active flow control

Improving energy efficiency in plasma NO removal is a critical issue. When the surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) device is considered as a combination of multiple plasma actuators, the induced plasma aerodynamic effect cannot be ignored, which can affect the mass transfer, then affect the chemical reactions. Five SDBD devices with different electrode arrangements are studied for NO conversion. They correspond to different flow patterns. We find that the energy efficiency in an SDBD device with a common structure (Type 1) is 28% lower than that in SDBD devices with a special arrangement (Types 2–5). Two reasons may explain the results. First, fewer active species are produced in Type 1 because the development of discharge is hindered by the mutually exclusive electric field forces caused by the symmetrically distributed charged particles. Second, the plasma wind induced by the plasma actuator can enhance the mass and heat transfer. The mixing of reactants and products is better in Types 2–5 than Type 1 due to higher turbulence kinetic energy.

Circular jet with annular backflow using a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator (Effect of backflow on circular jet diffusion)

In the present study, the influence of the direction of the backward plasma-induced flow generated by a plasma actuator (PA) on the jet flow was investigated. In the case of the backflow PA, the centerline velocity was increased by the contraction of the main flow near the nozzle exit due to the influence of the backflow. The fluctuation of the jet boundary layer became stronger as the duty ratio was increased. Based on these factors, it is considered that the backflow by the plasma-induced flow effectively works on the diffusion of the jet structure. Furthermore, experiments were conducted by varying the Reynolds number as Re = 1.0×103 (the effect of the induced flow is large) and Re = 3.0×103 (the effect of the induced flow is small), and the difference in jet diffusion due to the induced flow effect was confirmed.

Thermal effects on the performance of a nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator at low air pressure

The thermal effects of a pulsed nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator (NSDBD) with varying pulse voltages and pulse repetitive frequencies under different air pressures ranging from 0.1 to 1 bar are studied experimentally. By observing discharge features with a charge-coupled device camera, the transition from a filamentary discharge mode to a diffuse mode with decreasing air pressure is described. The filamentary streamers extend along the radius direction, forming a thicker yet more stable and uniform plasma region due to the increasing ionized volume yielded by the decreasing air pressure to maintain the high values of the reduced electric field. The spatiotemporal temperature distribution on the surface is captured by an infrared camera, indicating that the heated surface can be divided into three typical regions with different features. Because gas heating is generated in the quenching process of excited molecules, the maximum temperature increase on the surface occurs in the plasma region and attenuates downstream. The surface temperature increase is primarily caused by heat convection from the residual heat in plasma and the heat generated by the dielectric losses. The results of heat flux on the surface suggest that the rising applied voltage may not increase the heat flux in a moderate air pressure ranging from 0.6 to 0.8 bar. Different discharge modes and discharge parameters exhibit markedly different thermal performances. Also, the Schlieren technique and the pressure sensor are used to visualize the induced shock wave, estimate the thermal expansion region, and measure the overpressure strength. The results of the overpressure strength at different air pressures are similar to the thermal features, which highlights the strong influence of the discharge mode on the thermal effect of NSDBD plasma actuators.

Active control of coupling and its effect on near-field pressure fluctuations in supersonic rectangular twin jets

Supersonic rectangular twin jets (SRTJ) are of interest for current and future generations of tactical aircraft. However, the adverse effects of screech-loop coupling have previously been documented to significantly increase the near-field (NF) pressure fluctuations. These high-amplitude pressure fluctuations have the potential to fatigue and damage nearby aft components of the aircraft. Previous studies have documented that the NF pressure fluctuation level depends on the coupling of the jets: in-phase coupling along the twin jets’ minor axes produces stronger NF pressure fluctuations than that of out-of-phase coupling. The objective of this work is to further investigate the effects of coupling modes on NF pressure fluctuations in SRTJ and to mitigate the adverse effects of coupling using active flow control. Localized arc filament plasma actuators are employed to alter the SRTJs’ coupling mode by leveraging natural flow instabilities with minimal power input. A NF microphone array is used for simultaneous coupling and NF pressure fluctuation measurements. Schlieren imaging and spectral proper orthogonal decomposition are used to assess the effects of control on the flow field. The effect of excitation at various frequencies and actuation patterns on coupling and NF pressure fluctuations in different flow regimes are explored and discussed.

Jet flow control by synchronous drive of two DBD-PAs in nozzle and on bluff body

In this study, two dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators (DBD-PAs) are driven at different times to control a circular jet flow. DBD-PA was installed inside a nozzle and on a disk-shaped bluff body above the nozzle. A vortex was generated in the jet using DBD-PA in the nozzle, and the development of the vortex was controlled using the DBD-PA installed in the disk-shaped bluff body above the nozzle. The two DBD-PAs were driven with a time lag based on the time the vortex reached the bluff body. The findings reveal that the vortices did not pair with each other when the DBD-PA of the bluff body was slightly delayed from the timing of the occurrence of the vortex on the circulating flow side. When the vortices did not pair, the flow was not entrained in the circulating flow, causing the jet width to widen. The vortices paired with each other when the DBD-PA of the bluff body was driven at the same time as or long after the occurrence of the vortex on the circulating flow side. When the vortex pair with each other, they collapse quickly after pairing, and the jet width narrows, as the flow is entrained in the circulating flow. The difference in jet width downstream of the bluff body was found by driving the two DBD-PAs installed inside the nozzle and on the bluff body at different times.

Double coaxial pipe jet control using DBD-PA and bluff body

In this study, a double-tube burner nozzle with a DBD-PA (dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator) and flame holder was employed to regulate the lifted flame. The flame holder held the lifted flame and the DBD-PA regulated the lifted flame to suppress the lifted flame’s vertical oscillation. To form a lifted flame, pseudo-biogas, a mixture of CH4 and CO2 in the ratio of 6:4, was jetted out through an inner nozzle and air through an annular nozzle. To control the air jet and prevent the lifted flame’s vertical oscillation, the DBD-PA was installed inside an annular nozzle. The DBD-PA was driven intermittently at regular intervals to produce a tangential flow in the same direction as the jetting gas, and the flame holder was placed above the nozzle outlet on the nozzle center axis. The finding indicated that by driving the DBD-PA at the slightly lower frequency than the frequency of the naturally shedding vortices in the free jet, the lifted flame’s vertical oscillation can be reduced by collapsing the jet’s vortex ring at a steady position and with a steady cycle. By impeding the lifted flame’s vertical oscillation, it is forecasted to reduce the blowout of the lifted flame and combustion noise.

Flow control performance evaluation of a tri-electrode sliding discharge plasma actuator

Tri-electrode sliding discharge (TED) plasma actuators are formed by adding a direct current (DC) exposed electrode to conventional dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators. There are three TED modes depending on the polarity and amplitude of the DC supply: DBD discharge, extended discharge and sliding discharge. This paper evaluates the electrical, aerodynamic and mechanical characteristics of a TED plasma actuator based on energy analysis, particle image velocimetry experiments and calculations using the Navier–Stokes equation. The flow control performances of different discharge modes are quantitatively analyzed based on characteristic parameters. The results show that flow control performance in both extended discharge and sliding discharge is more significant than that of DBD, mainly because of the significantly higher (up to 141%) body force of TED compared with DBD. However, conductivity loss is the primary power loss caused by the DC polarity for TED discharge. Therefore, power consumption can be reduced by optimizing the dielectric material and thickness, thus improving the flow control performance of plasma actuators.

Numerical Technique for Implementation of SDBD Plasma Actuators for Flow Control Applications in Wing Surfaces

In the subsequent study a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis technique to simulatea plasma actuator over an airfoil Re= O(205) is presented. The technique uses a two-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Method coupled to the Kloker plasma-fluid model to study the effects of a Single Dielectric-Barrier Discharge (SDBD) as a Plasma Actuator. The CFD technique have been implemented in OpenFOAM platform for two setups, when: i) the actuator was located at x/c=0.03 and ii) x/c=0.1 of the chord length of the airfoil. The magnitude of the body force is equivalent to the results obtained by Hofkens and the actuator operates for both cases in the continuous and in the burst mode. To perform the numerical technique for a stable solution in OpenFOAM,various numerical procedures were tested, including a mixed solver between PISO and SIMPLE algorithm better known as pimpleFoam with nCorrector. The cases were solved in parallel on distributed processors using OpenMPI implementation and the accuracy of the resultsare strongly depends on the choice of grid size, y-plus,wall function and discretization scheme. The results indicate a high potential, suitability and great capabilities of this numerical technique implemented in OpenFOAM platform for free instability flow simulation.

Investigation of flow separation control over airfoil using nanosecond pulsed plasma actuator

A detailed investigation of flow separation control over a stalled NACA 0015 airfoil model using pulsed nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge (NS-DBD) plasma actuator is conducted through combined large eddy simulation (LES), dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) and experimental particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement possibly for the first time. Airfoil flow at chord-based Reynolds number (Re) of Re = 6.3 × 104 is considered. It is found that the interplay of the residual heat due to the nanosecond plasma discharge with external flow causes the generation of vortices through the baroclinic and vortex dilation mechanisms and finally promotes the formation of large-scale vortical structures that dominate the early-stage evolution of the flow control process. One of the most important findings of this work is that the flow control mechanisms are not universal but depend on the forcing frequencies of plasma actuation, and are categorized into three different types. Meanwhile, three-dimensional DMD analysis of LES datasets is performed and the output of modal analysis helps provide more physical insights into flow control and determine the optimum forcing frequency. Depending on the value of forcing frequency, the global or local resonance of the forced flow with the periodic plasma actuation occurs. The plasma forcing at any frequencies in the range 1≤F+≤20 produces pronounced flow control authority except for that at F+=20. Moreover, the optimum forcing frequency is identified and its relationship with the inherent characteristic frequencies of the baseline flow is established based on DMD analysis. It is found that the most favorable control effect is achieved when the plasma excitation frequency is high and very close to the characteristic frequency of the separated shear layer in the unforced baseline flow.

Recent Developments on Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma Actuators for Icing Mitigation

Ice accretion is a common issue on aircraft flying in cold climate conditions. The ice accumulation on aircraft surfaces disturbs the adjacent airflow field, increases the drag, and significantly reduces the aircraft’s aerodynamic performance. It also increases the weight of the aircraft and causes the failure of critical components in some situations, leading to premature aerodynamic stall and loss of control and lift. With this in mind, several authors have begun to study the thermal effects of plasma actuators for icing control and mitigation, considering both aeronautical and wind energy applications. Although this is a recent topic, several studies have already been performed, and it is clear this topic has attracted the attention of several research groups. Considering the importance and potential of using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators for ice mitigation, we aim to present in this paper the first review on this topic, summarizing all the information reported in the literature about three major subtopics: thermal effects induced by DBD plasma actuators, plasma actuators’ ability in deicing and ice formation prevention, and ice detection capability of DBD plasma actuators. An overview of the characteristics of these devices is performed and conclusions are drawn regarding recent developments in the application of plasma actuators for icing mitigation purposes.

Experimental investigation into the flow structure of plasma induced Jet in a 2-D Cross-Flow

This study is focused on the flow physics in the condition of employing the active flow control methods and DBD plasma actuators as a transverse jet. In the current research, a single DBD plasma actuator is added to the Trailing Edge of a flat plate model and several wind tunnel experiments are conducted to study the flow structures. The salient goal of this work is to investigate the flow physics of Plasma Jet in Cross-Flow. Wind tunnel experiments results in two different free stream velocities of U∞=10m/sandU∞=20m/s and several model’s angles of attack show that the flow domain consists of two different counter rotating vortices at St=0.1886 and 0.1725 and a secondary vortex with St=0.5842. The manner of these vortices in the different AoA and free stream velocities, and also the shape of the velocity profile in the near wake and far-field wake of the plasma jet prove that the flow domain around the Plasma Jet in Cross-Flow is very similar to the flow around an airfoil equipped with Gurney Flap.

Evolution of a single sessile droplet under the influence of the dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

Ice accretion on airplane surfaces has been widely recognized as a significant safety threat, and corresponding investigations of anti-/de-icing technologies have experienced tremendous growth during the last two decades. Dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators involve different characteristics, such as thermal, acoustic, and flow characteristics, which are well suited for reducing and preventing ice accretion on wing surfaces effectively and safely. However, the correlation between the droplet, as the core of ice formation, and the plasma actuator is still not very clear. In order to understand the anti-/de-icing mechanism of the plasma actuator further, the evolution of a single sessile droplet under the influence of a symmetrical plasma actuator is studied. Interestingly, the oscillation of the droplet is first observed on the initiation of the plasma actuator, which is quite different from the droplet variation under traditional heating or cooling. Then, the flow field inside the droplet under the effect of the induced flow field of the plasma actuator is first uncovered by using the particle image velocimetry system. Subsequently, the evolution process of droplet deformation, deformed droplet moving downstream, deformed droplet moving downstream and evaporating, and water film moving downstream and evaporating is revealed. In addition, the underlying mechanism of the evolution process of the droplet is discussed based on the different characteristics of the plasma actuator. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the correlation between the droplet and the plasma actuation and lay a foundation for proposing the optimized strategy of anti-/de-icing using plasma actuators.

Identification of flow structures in a closed chamber in the presence of a needle plasma actuator

This study deals with the experimental characterization of the induced flow dynamics by a disk-needle-type plasma actuator driven by a sinusoidal generator and located in a rectangular cross-section burner. Flow characterization was performed using different plasma actuation conditions and standoff distances. Experiments were conducted under non-reactive flow conditions. Electrical characterization was carried out. Airflow behavior was also analyzed using smoke flow visualization. Smoke flow visualization showed the dynamic behavior of the plasma-induced flow. Post-processing of high-quality images was performed by using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) technique to recognize the dominant flow vortexes and coherent structures. This could support the design of plasma actuation devices in real combustors and be useful for the implementation of numerical models. Moreover, it has been concluded that flow dynamics can be controlled by a variation of the plasma power or the gap distance between two electrodes. Laser Droplet Velocimetry (LDV) was used to investigate the distribution of flow velocities and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) at different plasma power values of the sinusoidal alternating current generator and standoff distances. From POD and LDV analyses, it has been observed that there is quite a linear relation between the POD energy of the first mode and the maximum TKE. The POD method could be used to identify motions in the flow field carrying the most TKE. TKE peaks are present in the area with the most energetic flow structures, as identified by the POD.

Flow induced by a pair of plasma actuators on a circular cylinder in still air under duty-cycle actuation

A pair of surface mounted dielectric-barrier-discharge (DBD) plasma actuators is placed diametrically on a circular cylinder model. The flow field generated by the actuators in steady and duty-cycle actuation modes is measured by particle image velocimetry. Salient features of the flow and vortices are discovered for the duty-cycle actuation modes with frequency ranging from 5 to 1000 Hz and duty-cycle ratio from 0.01 to 0.99. The results are compared with those for continuous steady actuation. For a given duty-cycle ratio, a discrete vortex is generated by each of the DBD actuator in an actuation cycle for low frequencies. Such vortices are created alternately from each side of the cylinder. They interact and move laterally in response to the on-off signals of the actuators. As the frequency increases, the distance between the vortices generated from successive duty-cycles decreases and the lateral motion of the vortices becomes smaller so that the vortices are packed together as a vortex train along a narrow path on each side of the cylinder. As the frequency is further increased, the vortices in the vortex trains lose their individual characteristics and the vortex trains become steady jets. Regardless of the actuation frequency, the direction of the average total momentum of the air is found to be continuously dependent on the duty-cycle ratio. The magnitude of the average total momentum depends on the frequency. An optimum frequency exists for maximum average momentum, which may exceed that in the continuous steady actuation mode.

Experimental Investigation and Intelligent Optimization of Airfoil Zero-Lift Drag Reduction with Plasma Actuators

Micro aerial vehicles flying at low speeds are becoming increasingly popular in military and daily life. Nevertheless, the short cruise time related to the poor aerodynamic efficiency of the wing at low Reynolds numbers is still a key issue. To deal with this, a spanwise plasma actuator array is used to reduce the zero-lift drag of a low-Reynolds-number airfoil, and experimental optimization of the electrical parameters is performed with intelligent algorithms. Results show that for efficient drag reduction, an unsteady unidirectional jet working mode should be preferred by the plasma actuator. In this mode, the drag reduction maps are mostly flat, and the drag reduction magnitude is insensitive to the variation of input voltage amplitude. There exists a threshold particle-observed Strouhal number (0.2) below which the drag reduction effectiveness drops sharply. As a comparison, the map of the power saving ratio shows a steep gradient, and its maximum always resides on the lower bound of duty cycle. With increasing freestream velocity, the mean drag reduction decreases monotonically. A genetic algorithm shows superior performance over surrogate-based optimization by reaching a maximum drag reduction of 40% and a peak power saving ratio of 0.7. Particle image velocimetry results reveal that there exists a laminar separation bubble on the airfoil. With plasma actuation, the transition location is shifted upstream, and the separation region is eliminated significantly. At low speeds, this pressure drag reduction exceeds the friction drag increase, resulting in a net drag decrease. However, transition-induced drag variation can only explain part of the total drag reduction, and the rest is inferred to be turbulent friction drag reduction.

Numerical Investigation of Flow Separation Control over Rotor Blades Using Plasma Actuator

The flow separation control over rotating rotor blades in hover using an alternating current dielectric barrier discharge (AC-DBD) plasma actuator is investigated through numerical simulation, possibly for the first time. Three-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes calculation with a Reynolds stress turbulence model is adopted to resolve the airflow. The impact of the AC-DBD plasma discharge on the airflow is modeled by an empirical body force model. The objective of this work is to characterize the separated flow over the rotating blades, resolve the flow control procedure, reveal the flow control mechanism, and evaluate the control authority. Compared with the experiment, the numerical simulation can provide satisfactory predictions of the baseline flow over the rotor for the qualitative flow pattern and quantitative aerodynamic features. The good agreement between the simulation and experiment lends credibility to the observations made from the numerical result. It is found that in the baseline flow, the flow separation occurs in the vicinity of the blade tips and exhibits strong three-dimensional characteristics under the influence of centrifugal force. The plasma excitation can significantly inhibit the flow separation over the blades at large angles of attack (AOAs). The flow control is seen to be dominated by the spanwise vortices induced by the plasma discharges, for which the strong entrainment effect makes the separated flow fully or partially reattach to the blade surfaces. The resulting forced flow pattern is influenced by the AOA of the blades. At each high AOA under consideration, the controlled flow is a significant improvement over the baseline case, and the aerodynamic characteristics of the rotor blades are appreciably enhanced.

Visualization study of perturbations induced by plasma actuators and its effect on shock wave/boundary-layer interaction

Surface arc plasma actuator array is used to control the shock wave/boundary-layer interaction in a Ma = 2 flow. Two types of interaction are examined. The flow topology of Surface arc plasma actuator array operating at high-frequency is firstly visualized via particle laser scattering (PLS) technique. The results show that two typical flow structures are observed in the discharging process: the thermal gas bubble and the trailing vortices. The high-frame low-exposure schlieren results for flow visualization indicate a significant separation inhibition in both experiments due to an improvement in the mixture upstream of the interaction region and promoting more turbulent structure into the boundary layer. In the baseline, the separation shock oscillates in a low-frequency mode. When plasma actuation is turned on, the spectra change dramatically when compared to the baseline condition without control. There is an apparent frequency shift for separation shock.Graphical abstract

Comparison between Density and Velocity Fields in Burst Modulation of a Dielectric-Barrier-Discharge Plasma Actuator

The flow field produced by a dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuator using burst modulation was experimentally investigated in quiescent air from two viewpoints: density and vorticity fields. A wide range of burst signal parameters were evaluated using particle-image velocimetry and background-oriented schlieren measurements. Four types of flow-field patterns were found: Type 1 was a wall jet, similar to continuous operation; Type 2 was a periodical, independent vortex moving along the wall surface; Types 3 and 4 demonstrated a feature wherein the periodic shedding of the vortex pair (primary and secondary vortices) occurred while moving over the surface. While Types 3 and 4 demonstrated a shared feature, they had different density and vorticity structures. The change of the flow-field pattern from Type 1 to Type 4 was triggered by a lower burst frequency and ratio, as well as a higher base frequency. In addition, the vorticity strength and density were strongly negatively correlated and depended on the rate of power consumption to generate one vortex.