Experimental Investigation of using Plasma Actuators as Virtual Gurney Flap

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate how plasma actuators could be used to discharge a perpendicular dielectric barrier as a virtual Gurney flap. This study utilized wind tunnel experiments on a flat plate airfoil. Each experiment is conducted at two different free flow velocities of ten and twenty meters per second. To study and extract the aerodynamic phenomena generated by plasma actuators and to compare them to the Gurney phenomena of a physical flap, velocity profiles in the model sequence were measured using a hot wire flow meter in two different longitudinal positions relative to the model. All experiments were conducted from five distinct vantage points, ۰, ۲, ۴, ۶, and ۸, and plasma actuators were activated in two distinct settings to extract concepts under a variety of conditions. Wind tunnel experiments indicate that downward sequence transfer occurs when plasma actuators are used. Additionally, there are two distinct types of vortex shedding on the model's back: one that resembles Karman vortex shedding and another that occurs below the model. The observation of velocity profiles demonstrates that the deformation of the sequence caused by the use of plasma actuators is very similar to that caused by an airfoil sequence equipped with a physical Gurney flap.

Keywords:

Flow control , plasma actuators , Wind tunnel , virtual Gurney flap , hot wire flow meter