Experimental Investigation of Separation Control on a NACA۰۰۲۴ Airfoil using Stationary and Non-Stationary AC-Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator

An experimental study of stationary and non-stationary dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator is presented to control the flow around a NACA۰۰۲۴ airfoil. First, an induced air velocity of ~۵ m/s is generated on a flat plate in still air using an AC-DBD actuator to find the optimal setup of the actuator (voltage, frequency, electrode width and gap size). Using the same actuator in the optimal position/setup on a NACA۰۰۲۴ airfoil at Reynolds number of ۰.۴۸×۱۰۶, we are able to increase the stall angle of the airfoil to ۱۸º, compared to ۱۶º in no-actuator state. Furthermore, during the plasma actuation, the lift is increased by up to ۵%. We show that non-stationary actuation, while yielding a performance similar to stationary actuation, leads to a considerable reduction of ~۵۱% in plasma power consumption.