Plasma Actuators for Cycloidal Rotor Thrust Vectoring Enhancement in Airships

Abstract

Airships are a method of transportation with reduced fuel consumption and great potential for different applications. However, these aerial vehicles still present considerable control and maneuverability problems. To overcome these issues, in the current work, we propose the use of plasma-enhanced cycloidal rotor thrusters to increase the controllability and maneuverability of airships. Numerical simulations are carried out to demonstrate the potential of plasma actuators to enhance the efficiency and thrust vectoring capabilities of cycloidal rotors. The fluid dynamics of the flow effects created via the operation of the cycloidal rotor is analyzed with and without plasma actuation. In addition, smart combined plasma actuation is proposed to further optimize the plasma-coupled cycloidal rotor device. The results demonstrated that by using this novel approach, the lift coefficient was increased by about 27%. To summarize, the obtained results for a rotational speed of 100 rpm are compared with results for 200 rpm, and it is demonstrated that for lower rotational speeds, the plasma effect is increased and more significant. This allows us to conclude that airships are an ideal application for plasma-enhanced cycloidal rotors, because since the lift is mostly generated via aerostatic principles, the plasma-enhanced thruster can be operated at lower rotational speeds and effectively increase the controllability and maneuverability of the aerial vehicle.