Experimental Investigation of “Why an AC Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator is Preferred to DC Corona Wind Actuator in Boundary Layer Flow Control?”

In this paper, characteristics of the flow induced in the boundary layer by an AC-Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuator are compared against those of a DC-corona wind actuator. This is achieved by visualization of the induced flow using smoke injection and measuring the horizontal induced velocity. Our measurements show that the maximum induced velocity of an AC-DBD actuator is about one order of magnitude larger than that of a DC-corona actuator. For an AC-DBD actuator, the induced velocity is maximized on the plate surface while for a DC-corona actuator the induced velocity peaks at about 20mm above the surface. Using flow visualization, we demonstrate that the induced velocity of an AC-DBD actuator is parallel to the surface, while the induced velocity of a DC-corona actuator has components perpendicular to surface.