Experimental Study On The Impact Of DBD Plasma Actuator Geometry And Electrical Input On Thrust Generation
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Date
2022-07-25
Authors
Rosli, Muhammad Farid Amirul
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuator has established itself as a
well-known device for flow control in aerodynamics. Because of its special qualities,
the DBD plasma actuator has been employed in a large variety of studies. As an
example, the DBD plasma actuator is a promising device with no moving components
that ionises flow streams quickly, is flexible, and has an astonishingly low mass. DBD
plasma actuators have been employed for many flow control applications, including
flow control on airfoils, flow control around cylinders or bluff bodies, and enhancing
aerodynamic performance, particularly in the automotive industry. A primary goal of
this study is to introduce and experimentally investigated the DBD plasma actuator as
an active flow control device since this device is well known for its capability for
delaying flow separation by inducing thrust. This research focused on the evaluation of
the impact of DBD plasma actuator geometry and electrical input on thrust generation
, both for each design variable and their interactions. The effects of applied voltage,
dielectric thickness and dielectric gap are each examined . The experimental model
used in this research involves the use of the self-made actuators and for the
measurement of the thrust was conducted by using direct thrust measurement consisting
of a high precision electronic force balance. In this context, the thrust generated by the
actuator is used as the performance measure for this research. It was discovered that the
thickness of the dielectric material influenced the thrust produced by every recorded
actuator. Even when provided with a high applied voltage, actuators made with a thick
dielectric layer comprised of 6 layers of Kapton have difficulties creating plasma
production. In addition, electrode gap was also seeming to be the primary contributor
to zero thrust readings, especially in thick dielectric thickness. The actuator designed
with a 1mm electrode gap or 6 layers of dielectric thickness results in a low thrust value,
and in some instances, a thrust value reading of zero. This demonstrates that a negative
interaction exists between the thick dielectric layer and the widened electrode gap. This
implies that the actuator was successfully operated for thrust production on the thin
dielectric layer with zero electrode gap, regardless of the applied voltage value.