Surrogate modelling for characterising the performance of a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator offers promising opportunities for flow control because of its fast response and non-moving parts. In this work, surrogate modelling is adopted to better understand the impact of the materials and operational parameters on the actuator performance, and to provide an efficient approach for performance estimation. The DBD model based on 2-species helium chemistry engages three design variables: operating frequency, polarity (positive/negative) time ratio of the applied voltage and the dielectric constant of the insulator. Two objectives are identified: the net force generated and the power requirement. Multiple surrogate models are used, which identify two branches of the Pareto front with opposite net force direction and substantially different parametric sensitivities. Global sensitivity analysis indicates that the voltage frequency and polarity ratio are important in different regions of the design space, while the dielectric constant is always important.