Plasma Actuators For Flow Control Research Articles

Flow Control Over a Finite Wall-Mounted Square Cylinder by Using Multiple Plasma Actuators

Abstract The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of plasma actuators in controlling the flow around a finite wall-mounted square cylinder (FWMSC) with a longitudinal aspect ratio of 4. The test is conducted in a small-scale closed return-type wind tunnel. The Reynolds number of the experiments, Red, is 500 based on the width of the bluff body and the freestream velocity. The plasma actuators are installed on the top surface and the rear surface of the square cylinder. The induced flow velocities of the plasma actuators are modulated by adjusting the operating voltage and frequency of the high-voltage generator. In this work, particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to obtain the velocity fields. Furthermore, force calculations are conducted to investigate the effect of using plasma actuators with different driving voltages on the drag force. Our results show that the plasma actuators can successfully suppress flow separation and reduce the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the wake. A correlation between the drag coefficient and the operating voltage of the power generator is also revealed, and the mean drag coefficient is found to decrease with increasing imposing voltage. The plasma actuators can enhance the momentum exchange and the interactive behavior between the shear layer and the flow separation region, resulting in flow reattachment at the free end and shrinkage of the recirculation zone in the near-wake region of the bluff body. Overall, the present study demonstrates the practical effectiveness of using plasma actuators for flow control around FWMSC.

Improved performance of polyimide Cirlex‐based dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators for flow control

AbstractDielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are simple electrohydrodynamic devices, which are able to provide effective aerodynamic control. One of the main components of these devices is the thin dielectric layer, which allows to separate and prevent the arc between the high‐voltage electrodes. Different materials can be used as dielectric layer to reduce the power consumption or boost the flow controlling effect of the actuators. In this context, this report presents a comparative study of two commercial polyimides, Kapton and Cirlex, used as dielectric layer of surface DBD plasma actuators. The electrical, dielectric, mechanical, electromechanical, and thermal properties were obtained to evaluate overall performance. It was verified that Cirlex (8.3 W) consumes less power than Kapton (21.3 W) to generate higher induced flow velocity of ≈3.4 m/s for an input voltage of 11 kVpp and 24 kHz. During one AC cycle at 11 kVpp the charge transferred for Cirlex (70 nC) is lower than for Kapton (100 nC), as well as the dielectric breakdown voltage to ignite the plasma discharge, 1.5 and 2.2 kVpp, respectively. The Cirlex DBD presents a higher voltage operation limit (at least 14 kVpp) and a more regular plasma discharge, which results in a more homogenous thermal profile and temperature distribution during its operation. The Cirlex actuator delivered higher mechanical power (6.2 mW) and achieved higher electromechanical efficiency (0.004%). The polyimide Cirlex proved to be a suitable alternative for Kapton to fabricate DBD plasma actuators for flow control with improved performance.

Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma Actuators for Flow Control in Turbine Engines: Simulation of Flight Conditions in the Laboratory by Density Matching

Abstract We address requirements for laboratory testing of AC Dielectric Barrier Discharge (AC-DBD) plasma actuators for active flow control in aviation gas turbine engines. The actuator performance depends on the gas discharge properties, which, in turn, depend on the pressure and temperature. It is technically challenging to simultaneously set test-chamber pressure and temperature to the flight conditions. We propose that the AC-DBD actuator performance depends mainly on the gas density, when considering ambient conditions effects. This enables greatly simplified testing at room temperature with only chamber pressure needing to be set to match the density at flight conditions. For turbine engines, we first constructed generic models of four engine thrust-classes; 300-, 150-, 50-passenger, and military fighter, and then calculated the densities along the engine at sea-level takeoff and altitude cruise conditions. The range of chamber pressures that covers all potential applications was found to be from 3 to 1256 kPa (0.03 to 12.4 atm), depending on engine-class, flight altitude, and actuator placement in the engine. The engine models are non-proprietary and can be used as reference data for evaluation requirements of other actuator types and for other purposes. We also provided examples for air vehicles applications up to 19,812 m (65,000 ft).

Schlieren imaging: a powerful tool for atmospheric plasma diagnostic

Schlieren imaging has been widely used in science and technology to investigate phenomena occurring in transparent media. In particular, it has proven to be a powerful tool in fundamental studies and process optimization for atmospheric pressure plasma diagnostics, providing qualitative and (in some cases) also quantitative information on the fluid-dynamic characteristics of plasmas generated by many different types of sources. However, obtaining significant and reliable results by schlieren imaging can be challenging, especially when considering the variety of geometries and applications of atmospheric pressure plasma sources. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt solutions that can address the specific issues of different plasma-assisted processes. In this paper, an overview on the use of the schlieren imaging technique for atmospheric pressure plasma characterization is presented. In the first part, the physical principles behind this technique and the different setups that can be adopted to perform it are presented. In the second part, examples of schlieren imaging applied to different kinds of atmospheric pressure plasmas (non-equilibrium plasma jets, plasma actuators for flow control and thermal plasma sources) are presented, showing how it was used to characterize the fluid-dynamic behavior of plasma-assisted processes and reporting best practices in performing this diagnostic technique.

Efficient needle plasma actuators for flow control and surface cooling

We introduce a milliwatt class needle actuator suitable for plasma channels, vortex generation, and surface cooling. Electrode configurations tested for a channel configuration show 1400% and 300% increase in energy conversion efficiency as compared to conventional surface and channel corona actuators, respectively, generating up to 3.4 m/s air jet across the channel outlet. The positive polarity of the needle is shown to have a beneficial effect on actuator efficiency. Needle-plate configuration is demonstrated for improving cooling of a flat surface with a 57% increase in convective heat transfer coefficient. Vortex generation by selective input signal manipulation is also demonstrated.

Measurement of Ozone Production in Non-thermal Plasma Actuator Using Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Plasma actuators for flow control are intensively studied, but the production of ozone by the surface dielectric barrier discharge used in the actuators has never been quantified. Since ozone is harmful to human health, it is important to quantify its production for an application of this type of actuator on a land vehicle. This paper describes an experimental study to measure the concentration of ozone produced by an actuator with different parameters: amplitude and frequency of the applied high voltage, and the electrode configuration (shape, spacing and length). The results show that, under our experimental conditions, the production of ozone is directly proportional to the power dissipation. The production rate was measured at 21 g/kWh. Although the rate is much lower than that of an industrial ozonizer, it is still far from being negligible and should be taken into account for the future application of these actuators.

Visualization by discharge illumination technique and modification by plasma actuator of rarefied Mach 2 airflow around a cylinder

The use of plasma actuators for flow control has received considerable attention in recent years. This kind of device seems to be an appropriate means of raising abilities in flow control thanks to total electric control, no moving parts and a fast response time. The experimental work presented here shows, firstly, the non-intrusive character of the visualization of the density field of an airflow around a cylinder obtained using a plasma luminescence technique. Experiments are made in a continuous supersonic wind tunnel. The static pressure in the flow is 8 Pa, the mean free path is about 0.3 mm and the airflow velocity is 510 m s−1. Pressure measurements obtained by means of glass Pitot tube without the visualization discharge are proposed. Measured and simulated pressure profiles are in good agreement in the region near the cylinder. There is good correlation between numerical simulations of the supersonic flow field, analytical model predictions and experimental flow visualizations obtained by a plasma luminescence technique. Consequently, we show that the plasma luminescence technique is non-intrusive. Secondly, the effect of a dc discharge on a supersonic rarefied air flow around a cylinder is studied. An electrode is flush mounted on the cylinder. Stagnation pressure profiles are examined for different electrode positions on the cylinder. A shock wave modification depending on the electrode location is observed. The discharge placed at the upstream stagnation point induces an upstream shift of the bow shock, whereas a modification of the shock wave shape is observed when it is placed at 45° or 90°.

Collective phenomena in volume and surface barrier discharges

Barrier discharges are increasingly used as a cost-effective configuration to produce non-equilibrium plasmas at atmospheric pressure. This way, copious amounts of electrons, ions, free radicals and excited species can be generated without significant heating of the background gas. In most applications the barrier is made of dielectric material. Major applications utilizing mainly dielectric barriers include ozone generation, surface cleaning and modification, polymer and textile treatment, sterilization, pollution control, CO2 lasers, excimer lamps, plasma display panels (flat TV screens). More recent research efforts are devoted to biomedical applications and to plasma actuators for flow control. Sinusoidal feeding voltages at various frequencies as well as pulsed excitation schemes are used. Volume as well as surface barrier discharges can exist in the form of filamentary, regularly patterned or diffuse, laterally homogeneous discharges. The physical effects leading to collective phenomena in volume and surface barrier discharges are discussed in detail. Special attention is paid to self-organization of current filaments and pattern formation. Major similarities of the two types of barrier discharges are elaborated.

Multi-scale gas discharge simulations using asynchronous adaptive mesh refinement

The breakdown of a gas gap at high products of pd (pressure × distance) is a multi-scale phenomenon in both time and space. This is especially true when the plasma is interacting with a gas flow, a problem of considerable recent interest in the context of aerodynamic applications of surface discharges. This paper presents a contribution to the numerical modeling of such discharges. We describe here a new approach for adaptive meshing which is suitable for use with the explicit asynchronous integration scheme described in our previous publication. Rather than relying on a family of nested grids as is commonly done, this technique is based on a single unstructured mesh with possible non-conforming cells at the interface between coarse and fine areas. Substantial computational time saving has been achieved for a surface dielectric barrier discharge configuration of the kind proposed as plasma actuators for flow control.

Model description of surface dielectric barrier discharges for flow control

This paper presents a study of the development of a surface dielectric barrier discharge in air under conditions similar to those of plasma actuators for flow control. The study is based on results from a 2D fluid model of the discharge in air that provides the space and time evolution of the charged particle densities, electric field and surface charges. The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force associated with the momentum transfer from charged particles to neutral molecules in the volume above the dielectric layer is also deduced from the model. Results show that the EHD force is important not only during the positive part of the sinusoidal voltage cycle (i.e. when the electrode on top of the dielectric layer plays the role of the anode) but also during the negative part of the cycle (cathode on top of the dielectric layer). During the positive part of the cycle, the EHD force is due to the formation of a positive ion cloud that is periodically interrupted by high current breakdown. The EHD force during the negative part of the cycle is due to the development of a negative ion cloud that continuously grows during the successive high frequency current pulses that form in this regime.