Electrohydrodynamic force in dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

Surface dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) have been proposed as actuators for flow control. In this paper we discuss the basic mechanisms responsible for the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force exerted by the discharge on the gas molecules. A two-dimensional fluid model of the DBD is used to describe the plasma dynamics, to understand the basic physics associated with the EHD force and to give some quantitative estimation of the force under simplified conditions. The results show that for ramp or sinusoidal voltage waveforms, the discharge consists of large amplitude short current pulses during which a filamentary plasma spreads along the surface, separated in time by long duration, low current discharge phases of a Townsend or corona type. The contribution of the low current phases to the total force exerted by the discharge on the gas is dominant because their duration is much longer than that of the current pulses and because the force takes place in a much larger volume. A description of the different discharge regimes and a parametric study of the EHD force as a function of voltage rise time and dielectric thickness is presented.