Investigation on Supersonic Flow Control Using Nanosecond Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuators

In this paper, the effects of streamwise Nanosecond Dielectric Barrier Discharge (NS-DBD) actuators on Shock Wave/Boundary Layer Interaction (SWBLI) are investigated in a Mach 2.5 supersonic flow. In this regard, the numerical investigation of NS-DBD plasma actuator effects on unsteady supersonic flow passing a 14 degrees shock wave generator is performed using simulation of Navier-Stokes equations for 3D-flow, unsteady, compressible, and k-omega SST turbulent model. In order to evaluate plasma discharge capabilities, the effects of plasma discharge length on the flow behavior are studied by investigating the flow friction factor, the region of separation bubble formation, velocity, and temperature distribution fields in the SWBLI region. The numerical results showed that plasma discharge increased the temperature of the discharge region and boundary layer temperature in the vicinity of flow separation and consequently reduced the Mach number in the plasma discharge region. Plasma excitation to the separation bubbles shifted the separation region to the upstream around 6 mm, increased SWBLI height, and increased the angle of the separation shock wave. Besides, the investigations on the variations of pressure recovery coefficient illustrated that plasma discharge to the separation bubbles had no impressive effect and decreased pressure recovery coefficient. The numerical results showed that although the NS-DBD plasma actuator was not effective in reducing the separation area in SWBLI, they were capable of shifting the separation shock position upstream. This feature can be used to modify the structure of the shock wave in supersonic intakes in off-design conditions.