Experimental Parametric Study on Flow Separation Control Mechanisms around NACA0015 Airfoil Using a Plasma Actuator with Burst Actuation over Reynolds Numbers of 105–106

Abstract

Dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators (DBD-PAs) have the potential to improve the performance of fluid machineries such as aircrafts and wind turbines by preventing flow separation. In this study, to identify the multiple flow control mechanisms in high Reynolds number flow, parametric experiments for an actuation parameter F+ with a wide range of Re values (105–106) for NACA0015 airfoil was conducted. We conducted wind tunnel tests by applying a DBD-PA to the flow field around a wing model at the leading edge. Lift characteristics, turbulent kinetic energy in the flow field, shear layer height, and the separation point of the boundary layer were evaluated based on pressure distributions on the wing surface and velocity of the flow field, with the effect of DBD-PA on the post-stall flow around the wing and the mechanism behind the increase in the lift coefficient CL analyzed based on these evaluation results. The following phenomena contributed to the increase in CL: (1) increase in turbulent kinetic energy; (2) increase in circulation; and (3) acceleration of the flow near the leading edge. Thus, this study effectively investigated the dependence of the increase in lift on F+ and the lift-increasing mechanism for a wide range of Re values.