Numerical simulations of dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators as flow pump

In this study, the fluid flow through a 2D rectangular channel in the presence of plasma actuators is investigated. The main purpose is to compare three semi-empirical methods, including the proposed methods of “Yoon and Han”, “Singh and Roy”, and “Babou et al.”, to calculate the plasma actuator body force in the channel for different configurations of plasma actuators. One to four pairs of plasma actuators are symmetrically placed on the top and bottom plates of the channel to pump the fluid through the channel. Consequently, the proper model for each configuration was chosen by comparing the obtained results with the experimental results. It was determined that the model of Singh and Roy shows the best performance for configurations with one and two pairs of plasma actuators having maximum errors of 7.99 and 14.90%, respectively. While, the model of Babou et al. is the most proper choice for the configurations with three and four pairs of plasma actuators with respective maximum errors of 4.22 and 6.30%. Also, the effects of the design parameters, including applied voltage, frequency, and dielectric thickness, on the flow field were studied for the configuration with three pairs of actuators.