Visualization of the Electrohydrodynamic and Thermal Effects of AC-DBD Plasma Actuators of Plate- and Wire-Exposed Electrodes

The dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator is a promising flow control device that uses surface discharge. The actuator generates an electrohydrodynamic force and Joule heating that contribute to the flow control. Thus, it is important to investigate the electrohydrodynamic and thermal effects on the air flow. To this end, the flow velocity field, density field, and surface temperature distribution induced by an alternating current dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator were experimentally examined, adopting particle image velocimetry, the background oriented schlieren technique, and an infrared camera. These experiments were conducted for plate- and wire-exposed electrode plasma actuators to investigate the effect of the shape of the exposed electrode. It was confirmed that the topology of the discharge is different between the two types of plasma actuators. This results in a difference in the spatial distributions of the velocity and density fields between the two actuators. In particular, we clarified that there is an obvious difference in the peak position of the density and temperature distribution between the two actuators. We also confirmed that the difference in the spatial distribution of the vertical velocity makes the above difference.

Automated summary

Investigating the flow field, density field, and surface temperature distribution induced by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator is crucial for flow control. This study experimentally examined the effects of electrohydrodynamic and thermal factors on the air flow, and found that the topology of discharge and spatial distributions of velocity and density fields differ between plate- and wire-exposed electrode plasma actuators. In particular, there is an obvious difference in the peak position of density and temperature distribution between the two actuators, which is caused by the difference in the spatial distribution of vertical velocity.