Flow characteristic investigation of localized arc filament plasma assisted turbulent jet and Bunsen flame

Abstract

Localized arc filament plasma actuators (LAFPAs) have shown the capability to alter the entrainment of freestream air into a jet. This paper presents an investigation into the effects of LAFPAs on the air jet and methane/air premixed Bunsen flames at different Reynolds numbers. The flow disturbance covering the laminar to turbulent transient conditions was generated by a high voltage plasma discharge system of LAFPAs. The high speed Z-type Schlieren technique was applied to visualize the instantaneous flow and flame structures, and an optical flow algorithm was used to estimate the velocity distribution and further analyze the turbulent effect induced by the plasma. The results illustrate that, in the presence of LAFPA operation, the turbulence jet was accelerated and the jet mixing enhanced. Meanwhile, with the help of LAFPAs, the global consumption burning velocity increased significantly by the area enhancement via plasma–flame interaction. The flame front response to the flow disturbance consists of more surface stretch and flame separation. Furthermore, turbulence spectra analysis of the images reveals a considerable increase in turbulent fluctuations in both cold flow and reacting flow.