Ionic wind generation through coplanar discharge: A plasma actuator without exposed electrodes

This study demonstrates the successful induction of a unidirectional ionic wind by adding an embedded electrode in a coplanar discharge, thus breaking the generation of a symmetrical electric field. The strategy for the ionic wind generation is based on separating the ionization process and the charged-particle acceleration process. Conventional plasma actuators used to induce an ionic wind typically incorporate exposed electrodes that pose a risk of unexpected airflow disturbance and reduce durability due to oxidation. However, the coplanar discharge-based, exposed-electrodeless plasma actuator developed in this study overcomes these issues. The coplanar discharge generates a diffused and uniform surface discharge, a desirable attribute for plasma actuators. The ionic wind velocity generated by this coplanar discharge plasma actuator is comparable to that generated by conventional plasma actuators when applying a square-waveform bias voltage to the additional electrode. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the significance of the phase difference between the repetitive pulses for generating coplanar discharge and the square-waveform voltage for accelerating the charged particles. (c) 2023 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the successful induction of a unidirectional ionic wind by adding an embedded electrode in a coplanar discharge, thus breaking the generation of a symmetrical electric field. The coplanar discharge-based, exposed-electrodeless plasma actuator developed in this study generates a diffused and uniform surface discharge, comparable to that generated by conventional plasma actuators. The study emphasizes the significance of the phase difference between the repetitive pulses for generating coplanar discharge and the square-waveform voltage for accelerating the charged particles.