Experimental Analysis of Closed-Loop Flow Control Around Airfoil Using DBD Plasma Actuator

Author(s):  
Satoshi Shimomura ◽  
Takuto Ogawa ◽  
Satoshi Sekimoto ◽  
Taku Nonomura ◽  
Akira Oyama ◽  
...  

This paper experimentally investigates the effectiveness of a closed-loop flow control method using a DBD plasma actuator for a NACA0015 airfoil, in which the surface pressure fluctuation is fed back to the system; the actuator was driven when the pressure fluctuation exceeds the setup threshold. The Reynolds number based on the chord length is set to 63,000 and the angle of attack is in the range from 12 to 15 degrees. The actuator was installed on the surface at 5% of the chord length from the leading edge. The results show that the closed-loop control worked better than the continuous operation. In the angle of attack of 12 and 14 degrees, the complete attached flow was attained by setting the appropriate threshold value of the pressure fluctuation. On the other hand, in 15 degrees, although the complete attached flow was not attained, the flow separation was partially suppressed.

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodoros Michelis ◽  
Marios Kotsonis

A wind tunnel study is conducted toward hybrid flow control of a full scale transport truck side mirror at ReD=3.2×105. A slim guide vane is employed for redirecting high-momentum flow toward the mirror wake region. Leading edge separation from the guide vane is reduced or eliminated by means of an alternating current -dielectric barrier discharge (AC-DBD) plasma actuator. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are performed at a range of velocities from 15 to 25 m/s and from windward to leeward angles from -5deg to 5deg. Time-averaged velocity fields are obtained at the center of the mirror for three scenarios: (a) reference case lacking any control elements, (b) guide vane only, and (c) combination of the guide vane and the AC-DBD plasma actuator. The comparison of cases demonstrates that at 25 m/s windward conditions (-5deg) the guide vane is capable of recovering 17% momentum with respect to the reference case. No significant change is observed by activating the AC-DBD plasma actuator. In contrast, at leeward conditions (5deg), the guide vane results in a −20% momentum loss that is rectified to a 6% recovery with actuation. The above implies that for a truck with two mirrors, 23% of momentum may be recovered.


2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (7) ◽  
pp. 1058-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Arif Raj Mohamed ◽  
Ugur Guven ◽  
Rajesh Yadav

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to achieve an optimum flow separation control over the airfoil using passive flow control method by introducing bio-inspired nose near the leading edge of the NACA 2412 airfoil. Design/methodology/approach Two distinguished methods have been implemented on the leading edge of the airfoil: forward facing step, which induces multiple accelerations at low angle of attack, and cavity/backward facing step, which creates recirculating region (axial vortices) at high angle of attack. Findings The porpoise airfoil (optimum bio-inspired nose airfoil) delays the flow separation and improves the aerodynamic efficiency by increasing the lift and decreasing the parasitic drag. The maximum increase in aerodynamic efficiency is 22.4 per cent, with an average increase of 8.6 per cent at all angles of attack. Research limitations/implications The computational analysis has been done for NACA 2412 airfoil at low subsonic speed. Practical implications This design improves the aerodynamic performance and increases structural strength of the aircraft wing compared to other conventional high-lift devices and flow-control devices. Originality/value Different bio-inspired nose designs which are inspired by the cetacean species have been analysed for NACA 2412 airfoil, and optimum nose design (porpoise airfoil) has been found.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (813) ◽  
pp. FE0118-FE0118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuaki KOZATO ◽  
Yuta HIROSE ◽  
Satoshi KIKUCHI ◽  
Shigeki IMAO

Aerospace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 396
Author(s):  
Takuto Ogawa ◽  
Kengo Asada ◽  
Satoshi Sekimoto ◽  
Tomoaki Tatsukawa ◽  
Kozo Fujii

A computational study was conducted on flows over an NACA0015 airfoil with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma. The separated flows were controlled by a DBD plasma actuator installed at the 5% chord position from the leading edge, where operated AC voltage was modulated with the duty cycle not given a priori but dynamically changed based on the flow fluctuations over the airfoil surface. A single-point pressure sensor was installed at the 40% chord position of the airfoil surface and the DBD plasma actuator was activated and deactivated based on the strength of the measured pressure fluctuations. The Reynolds number was set to 63,000 and flows at angles of attack of 12 and 16 degrees were considered. The three-dimensional compressible Navier–Stokes equations including the DBD plasma actuator body force were solved using an implicit large-eddy simulation. Good flow control was observed, and the burst frequency proven to be effective in previous fixed burst frequency studies is automatically realized by this approach. The burst frequency is related to the characteristic pressure fluctuation; our approach was improved based on the findings. This improved approach realizes the effective burst frequency with a lower control cost and is robust to changing the angle of attack.


Author(s):  
Hikaru Aono ◽  
Taku Nonomura ◽  
Aiko Yakeno ◽  
Kozo Fujii ◽  
Koichi Okada

The flow over a National Renewable Energy Laboratory S825 airfoil was simulated for a chord Reynolds number of 7.5×105 and an angle of attack of 22.1 deg. These conditions approximately matched a blade element condition of 75% radius of 42-m-diameter wind turbine operating 2.5 rpm under a free-stream of 10 m/s. Computed flow of the uncontrolled case characterized massive separation from near the leading edge due to high angle of attack. With the active flow control by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator, separation was reduced and the lift-to-drag ratio increased from 2.25 to 6.52. Impacts of the plasma actuator on the shear layer near the leading edge were discussed. Direct momentum addition provided by the case setup of plasma actuator considered in current study seemed to be a dominant factor to prevent the separation of shear layer near the leading edge rather than influence of small disturbances induced by the plasma actuator operated in a burst modulation. However, due to the high angle of attack and the thick airfoil, the control authority of the plasma actuator with the setup (i.e. the operating condition and number of plasma actuators installed on the wing surface) considered was insufficient to completely suppress the separation over the NREL S825 airfoil.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 4141-4154
Author(s):  
Abbas Ebrahimi ◽  
Majid Hajipour ◽  
Kamran Ghamkhar

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to control flow separation over a NACA 4415 airfoil by applying unsteady forces to the separated shear layers using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators. This novel flow control method is studied under conditions which the airfoil angle of attack is 18°, and Reynolds number based on chord length is 5.5 × 105.Design/methodology/approachLarge eddy simulation of the turbulent flow is used to capture vortical structures through the airfoil wake. Power spectral density analysis of the baseline flow indicates dominant natural frequencies associated with “shear layer mode” and “wake mode.” The wake mode frequency is used simultaneously to excite separated shear layers at both the upper surface and the trailing edge of the airfoil (dual-position excitation), and it is also used singly to excite the upper surface shear layer (single-position excitation).FindingsBased on the results, actuations manipulate the shear layers instabilities and change the wake patterns considerably. It is revealed that in the single-position excitation case, the vortices shed from the upper surface shear layer are more coherent than the dual-position excitation case. The maximum value of lift coefficient and lift-to-drag ratio is achieved, respectively, by single-position excitation as well as dual-position excitation.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the understanding and progress of DBD plasma actuators for flow control applications. Further, this research could be a beneficial solution for the promising design of advanced low speed flying vehicles.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher O. Porter ◽  
Casey P. Fagley ◽  
John A. Farnsworth ◽  
Jurgen Seidel ◽  
Thomas E. McLaughlin

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (32) ◽  
pp. 1850038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Huaxing Li ◽  
Kwing So Choi ◽  
Longfei Song

The structures of a flow field induced by a plasma actuator were investigated experimentally in quiescent air using high-speed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technology. The motivation behind was to figure out the flow control mechanism of the plasma technique. A symmetrical Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuator was mounted on the suction side of the SC (2)-0714 supercritical airfoil. The results demonstrated that the plasma jet had some coherent structures in the separated shear layer and these structures were linked to a dominant frequency of [Formula: see text] = 39 Hz when the peak-to-peak voltage of plasma actuator was 9.8 kV. The high speed PIV measurement of the induced airflow suggested that the plasma actuator could excite the flow instabilities which lead to production of the roll-up vortex. Analysis of transient results indicated that the roll-up vortices had the process of formation, movement, merging and breakdown. This could promote the entrainment effect of plasma actuator between the outside airflow and boundary layer flow, which is very important for flow control applications.


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