Cross-Flow Instability Control through Base-Flow Modification using AC-DBD Plasma Actuators: An Experimental Investigation

Following recent proof of swept wing laminar-to-turbulent boundary layer transition delay through base-flow modification using AC-DBD plasma actuators, an experimental investigation is performed to study the responsible physical mechanism. An experiment is conducted on a 45° swept wing in the anechoic wind tunnel at the Delft University of...

Plasma Synthetic Jet Actuator: From characterisation to separation flow control

This project proposes a series of experiments that involve plasma synthetic jet actuators. The first experiment will perform a jet characterisation experiment that will research the effect of orifice geometry on the overall performance of the actuator. The second experiment will built upon the first experiment and will use a plasma synthetic jet...

Model-Based Control of Tollmien-Schlichting Waves using DBD Plasma Actuators: An Experimental Study

One of the main goals of laminar flow control is to reduce skin-friction drag by delaying the onset of laminar to turbulent transition. Over unswept wings, the leading cause of this is the growth of flow instabilities called Tollmien-Schlichting(TS) waves. This thesis aims to test the feasibility and performance of a designed Linear Quadratic...

Plasma Actuators in Space-Based Systems

Plasma actuators are fully electronic devices without any moving mechanical parts. Hence they have increased reliability and lower complexity when compared to conventional actuators used for same purposes. Mobile components also contribute to increased vibrations, noise, loss of energy and they require lubrication. Non-thermal plasma actuators...

Physics of dielectric-barrier discharge: A numerical study

A robust and flexible numerical framework was developed for modelling of dielectric-barrier discharge applicable to plasma actuated flow control. In OpenFOAM, a solver was built which solves convection-diffusion equations for ionized species coupled to Gauss’ law for electrostatics and includes a chemical model to account for the various...

Efficiency and de-icing capability of nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

In this work a study was performed on the electrical, fluid-mechanical and net efficiency of nanosecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (ns-DBD) plasma actuators. The plasma actuator efficiency was tested for dielectric barriers with a thickness between 0.5 and 1.5mm and made out of four different materials: Kapton, Lexan, PTFE and silicone...

Determination of the body force generated by a plasma actuator through numerical optimization

In order to extract the body force field that is generated by a plasma actuator from velocity data, most researchers disregard the influence of the pressure gradient to obtain a spatial and temporal description of the body force field. There is however some discussion whether this assumption is valid or not. The current research tries to compute...

Investigating the Influence of DBD Plasma Actuators on Skin Friction: Application to Integral Boundary Layer Formulation

The main driver of developments in the wind energy sector is not the absolute maximization of energy capture, but the reduction of the Cost of Energy (CoE). More and more research is carried out to investigate control of the air flow to reduce fatigue loads, structural requirements, and apply novel control strategies to ultimately reduce this...

Experimental study on the energy deposition of an ns-DBD plasma actuator and its effect on a laminar boundary layer

An experimental study aimed at the influence of different barrier materials on the energy deposition of nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (ns-DBD) plasma actuator was carried out. Additionally, the direct effect of the discharge of an ns-DBD plasma actuator on a low velocity laminar boundary layer was investigated. Three barrier...

On the Interaction of NS-DBD Plasma Actuation with Flat Plate Boundary Layers

Flow control is a never ending strive to achieve the desired flow conditions for an application. As requirements become more demanding, new techniques of flow control are investigated and developed. With effective flow control it is possible to reduce fuel consumption of air and ground vehicles as well as increase efficiency of wind energy...