Control of transient growth induced boundary layer transition using plasma actuators

This study investigates an actuation scheme that can be readily implemented and integrated as part of a feedback control system in the laboratory for the purpose of negating the effect of the transient growth instability in order to delay boundary layer transition. The actuators investigated here consist of a spanwise array of symmetric plasma actuators, which are capable of generating spanwise periodic counter-rotating vortices. Two different actuator geometries are investigated, resulting in a reduction of the total disturbance energy by 46% and 68%. It is demonstrated that the control authority of an actuator can be significantly improved by optimizing the geometry of the array.