Recommendation of Experimental Setup and use of Standardized Electrohydrodynamic Dimensionless Parameters for Optimization of a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Flow Control Device 2014-01-2101

The high demand for traditional air traffic as well as increased use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has resulted in researchers examining alternative technologies which would result in safer, more reliable, and better performing aircraft. Active methods of aerodynamic flow control may be the most promising approach to this problem. Research in the area of aerodynamic control is transitioning from traditional mechanical flow control devices to, among other methods, plasma actuators. Plasma actuators offer an inexpensive and energy efficient method of flow control. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD), one of the most widely studied forms of plasma actuation, employs an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) device which uses dominant electric fields for actuation. Unlike traditional flow control methods, a DBD device operates without moving components or mass injection methods. Publications discussing the optimization of DBD flow control versus a single variable such as gap width, voltage, dielectric constant, etc., have been widely published, and instigated a 2003 paper published by the IEEE-DEIS-EHD Technical Committee titled “Recommended International Standard for Dimensionless Parameters Used in Electrohydrodynamics.” The paper listed a comprehensive set of standardized dimensionless numbers derived from the EHD conservation equations and recommended the use of these standardized parameters be used in experimental work investigating EHD systems.[1] The following paper will recommend which of the parameters require further examination for the DBD device, as well as propose experimental methods for achieving an optimized plasma actuator, with special emphasis on low altitude, low speed applications commonly encountered by the majority of fielded UAS.