Development of a Background-Oriented Schlieren (BOS) System for Thermal Characterization of Flow Induced by Plasma Actuators

Abstract

Cold climate regions have great potential for wind power generation. The available wind energy in these regions is about 10% higher than in other regions due to higher wind speeds and increased air density. However, these regions usually have favorable icing conditions that lead to ice accumulation on the wind turbine blades, which in turn increases the weight of the blades and disrupts local airflow, resulting in a reduction in wind turbine performance. Considering this problem, plasma actuators have been proposed as devices for simultaneous flow control and deicing. These devices transfer momentum to the local airflow, improving the aerodynamic performances of the turbine blades while producing significant thermal effects that can be used to prevent ice formation. Considering the potential application of plasma actuators for simultaneous flow control and deicing, it is very important to investigate the thermal effects induced by these devices. However, due to the significant electromagnetic interference generated by the operation of these devices, there is a lack of experimental techniques that can be used to analyze them. In the current work, a background-oriented Schlieren system was developed and is presented as a new experimental technique for the thermal characterization of the plasma-induced flow. For the first time, the induced flow temperatures are characterized for plasma actuators with different dielectric materials and different dielectric thicknesses. The results demonstrate that, due to the plasma discharge, the temperature of the plasma-induced flow increases with the increase of the applied voltage and may achieve temperatures five times higher than the room temperature, which proves the potential of plasma actuators for deicing applications. The results are presented and discussed with respect to the potential application of plasma actuators for simultaneous flow control and deicing of wind turbine blades.