Flow separation control on swept wing with nanosecond pulse driven DBD plasma actuators

A 15° swept wing with dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator is designed.Experimental study of flow separation control with nanosecond pulsed plasma actuation is performed at flow velocity up to 40 m/s. The effects of the actuation frequency and voltage on the aerodynamic performance of the swept wing are evaluated by the balanced force and pressure measurements in the wind tunnel. At last, the performances on separation flow control of the three types of actuators with plane and saw-toothed exposed electrodes are compared. The optimal actuation frequency for the flow separation control on the swept wing is detected, namely the reduced frequency is 0.775, which is different from 2-D airfoil separation control. There exists a threshold voltage for the low swept wing flow control. Before the threshold voltage, as the actuation voltage increases, the control effects become better. The maximum lift is increased by 23.1% with the drag decreased by 22.4% at 14°, compared with the base line. However, the best effects are obtained on actuator with plane exposed electrode in the low-speed experiment and the abilities of saw-toothed actuators are expected to be verified under high-speed conditions.     

毫秒脉冲等离子体激励改善飞翼的气动性能实验

在来流速度为30m/s时,进行了毫秒脉冲介质阻挡放电等离子体激励改善飞翼气动性能的风洞实验.等离子体激励器布置在飞翼前缘,峰峰值电压为9.5kV时,放电的脉冲能量在0.1mJ/cm量级.通过六分量测力天平测力研究了脉冲激励频率和占空比对升/阻力系数、升阻比和俯仰力矩系数的作用效果.结果表明:等离子体激励可以有效改善飞翼大攻角气动特性;在最佳无量纲脉冲激励频率F+≈1时,临界失速迎角由14°提高到17°,最大升力系数提高10%;占空比对流动控制效果影响较大,减小占空比可以降低能耗,实验中最佳占空比为5%;俯仰力矩系数的变化表明施加等离子体激励改善了飞翼纵向静稳定性.      

Turbulent boundary layer separation control using plasma actuator at Reynolds number 2000000

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of symmetrical plasma actuators on turbulent boundary layer separation control at high Reynolds number. Compared with the traditional control method of plasma actuator, the whole test model was made of aluminum and acted as a covered electrode of the symmetrical plasma actuator. The experimental study of plasma actuators' effect on surrounding air, a canonical zero-pressure gradient turbulent boundary, was carried out using particle image velocimetry(PIV) and laser Doppler velocimetry(LDV) in the 0.75 m × 0.75 m low speed wind tunnel to reveal the symmetrical plasma actuator characterization in an external flow. A half model of wing-body configuration was experimentally investigated in the  3.2 m low speed wind tunnel with a six-component strain gauge balance and PIV. The results show that the turbulent boundary layer separation of wing can be obviously suppressed and the maximum lift coefficient is improved at high Reynolds number with the symmetrical plasma actuator. It turns out that the maximum lift coefficient increased by approximately 8.98% and the stall angle of attack was delayed by approximately 2° at Reynolds number2 ×10~6. The effective mechanism for the turbulent separation control by the symmetrical plasma actuators is to induce the vortex near the wing surface which could create the relatively largescale disturbance and promote momentum mixing between low speed flow and main flow regions.     

超临界机翼介质阻挡放电等离子体流动控制

为了进一步提高等离子体激励器可控雷诺数,采用测力以及粒子图像测速(PIV)等研究方法,从二维机翼到三维半模,从低雷诺数到高雷诺数,开展了对称布局式介质阻挡放电(DBD)等离子体激励器控制超临界机翼气动特性的试验研究,分析了控制机理,实现了等离子体"虚拟舵面"的功能。结果表明:在雷诺数为2×10⁶的情况下,对称布局式等离子体气动激励能较好地抑制超临界机翼绕流流场分离,使失速迎角推迟2°,最大升力系数提高8.98%。     

低速三角翼纳秒脉冲等离子体激励实验

在30m/s来流速度下,进行了纳秒脉冲介质阻挡放电等离子体气动激励改善47°后掠角钝前缘三角翼气动特性的测力实验.为寻求优化的激励位置,实验研究了5种不同激励位置的流动控制效果.实验结果表明:激励位置对流动控制效果有决定性影响,位于三角翼前缘的等离子体气动激励能有效改善三角翼的气动特性,推迟失速,而上翼面不同展向位置的等离子体气动激励的流动控制效果十分微弱;激励频率是流动控制效果的重要影响因子,激励电压峰峰值为13kV时,激励频率为200Hz下的流动控制效果最好,在迎角30°时可使升力系数由1.31增大到1.44,增大9.6%,升阻比提高3.3%.     

Aerodynamic investigation of twist angle variation based on wing smarting for a flying wing

In this paper, the effects of twist angle variation on aerodynamic coefficients and flow field on the wing with wing smarting approach are studied using numerical simulation. The simulation was performed using incompressible Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations based on the two-equation k-ω Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulent model for flow speed 30 m/s and a Reynolds number of 69000. Investigations have been carried out for several twist angles and at a specific range of angles of attack. The twist applied is the type of geometric twist (wash-out), which is linearly distributed along the span. The test case is a lambda-shaped tailless aircraft with a wing fracture on the trailing edge, and a sweep angle 56°. The results show that with increasing twist angle, the aerodynamic efficiency improves over a wide range of angles of attack, but at 0° angle of attack it will decrease significantly. By increasing the angle of attack, the effect of twist on the flow field and aerodynamic coefficients will gradually decrease; hence, at a certain amount of angle of attack, the effect of twist will stop, that angle is called the neutral brink angle. Longitudinal stability analysis shows that by growing the twist angle, the conditions required for longitudinal stability are satisfied, and the pitch-up phenomenon will be delayed.     

三角翼DBD等离子体流动控制研究进展

现代战机采用较多的三角翼,在大迎角绕流时存在前缘涡破裂等气动问题。作为新型主动流动控制技术,等离子体激励频带宽、响应快、结构简单、便于闭环控制,在解决三角翼气动问题上具有潜力。回顾了介质阻挡放电（DBD）等离子体气动激励的基本原理,及其用于三角翼前缘涡控制的研究进展。从来流条件、几何构型、激励参数等方面分析了DBD等离子体激励对流动控制效果的影响规律;结合不同激励频率下流场演化特性,分析了流动控制机理。最后,从理论研究和工程应用的角度,对三角翼前缘涡控制的发展进行总结展望。     

Adaptive flow control of low-Reynolds number aerodynamics using dielectric barrier discharge actuator

Aerodynamic performance of low-Reynolds number flyers, for a chord-based Reynolds number of 10⁵ or below, is sensitive to wind gusts and flow separation. Active flow control offers insight into fluid physics as well as possible improvements in vehicle performance. While facilitating flow control by introducing feedback control and fluidic devices, major challenges of achieving a target aerodynamic performance under unsteady flow conditions lie on the high-dimensional nonlinear dynamics of the flow system. Therefore, a successful flow control framework requires a viable as well as accessible control scheme and understanding of underlying flow dynamics as key information of the flow system. On the other hand, promising devices have been developed recently to facilitate flow control in this flow regime. The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) actuator is such an example; it does not have moving parts and provides fast impact on the flow field locally. In this paper, recent feedback flow control studies, especially those focusing on unsteady low-Reynolds number aerodynamics, are reviewed. As an example of an effective flow control framework, it is demonstrated that aerodynamic lift of a high angle-of-attack wing under fluctuating free-stream conditions can be stabilized using the DBD actuator and an adaptive algorithm based on general input–output models. System nonlinearities and control challenges are discussed by assessing control performance and the variation of the system parameters under various flow and actuation conditions. Other fundamental issues from the flow dynamics view point, such as the lift stabilization mechanism and the influence on drag fluctuation are also explored. Both potentiality and limitation of the linear modeling approach are discussed. In addition, guidelines on system identification and the controller and actuator setups are suggested.     

Geometrical and electrical optimization of NS-SDBD streamwise plasma heat knife for aircraft anti-icing

Ice accretion on aircraft encountering supercooled water droplets in clouds poses great risks to flight performance and safety. With the aim of optimizing the newly developed streamwise plasma heat knife method for anti-icing, a parametric investigation is carried out in this work. The influence of the detailed voltage profile on the heating effects of a Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge driven by Nanosecond Pulses (NS-SDBD) is investigated, and a comparison of the anti-icing performance among different configurations of streamwise plasma heat knife is made. The results show that columnar high-temperature regions produced by a multi-streamer discharge appear at small pulse rise time, but become diffuse as the pulse rise time increases. An optimal pulse rise time exists to provide a wide range and high value of temperature, which is found to be 150 ns for the setup in the present study. The influence of the pulse fall time is much weaker than that of the rise time. The range and value of the temperature decrease with increasing pulse fall time. A greater pulse width is found to improve the heating effect by increasing the discharge power. When a spanwise electrode is placed connecting the streamwise electrodes of the streamwise plasma heat knife at the airfoil leading edge, the anti-icing performance becomes poorer, whereas good performance is achieved when the spanwise electrode is at the edge of the streamwise electrodes. Based on this, a three-level configuration of the plasma heat knife is proposed, and its anti-icing performance is found to be much better than that of the original configuration.     

Three-axis coupled flight control law design for flying wing aircraft using eigenstructure assignment method

Due to elimination of horizontal and vertical tails, flying wing aircraft has poor longitudinal and directional dynamic characteristics. In addition, flying wing aircraft uses drag rudders for yaw control, which tends to generate strong three-axis control coupling. To overcome these problems, a flight control law design method that couples the longitudinal axis with the lateraldirectional axes is proposed. First, the three-axis coupled control augmentation structure is specified. In the structur...     

Recent developments in thermal characteristics of surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators driven by sinusoidal high-voltage power

Flow control using surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge(DBD) plasma actuators driven by a sinusoidal alternating-current power supply has gained significant attention from the aeronautic industry. The induced flow field of the plasma actuator, with the starting vortex in the wall jet,plays an important role in flow control. However, the energy consumed for producing the induced flow field is only a small fraction of the total energy utilized by the plasma actuator, and most of the total energy i...     

Flow field generated by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator in quiescent air at initiation stage

A single Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuator driven by Alternating Current (AC) power, capable of inducing a starting vortex and a wall jet in quiescent air, is suited for low-Reynolds-number flow control. However, the starting vortex and the wall jet are usually observed after the plasma actuator has been operated for dozens of and hundreds of cycles of the voltage, respectively. The detail of the induced flow field at the initiation stage of the plasma actuator has rarely been addressed. At the initiation stage, a thin jet that provides the impetus for the entrainment of the induced flow at the beginning of the plasma actuation is first observed by using a high-accuracy phase-lock Schlieren technique and a high-speed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system. This is the initial form of the momentum transfer from the plasma to the fluid. Then, an arched type jet is created by the plasma actuator. In addition, the whole development process of the induced flow field from the starting point of the thin jet to the quasi-steady stage of wall jet is presented for providing a comprehensive understanding of the plasma actuator and proposing a relevant enhancement of the numerical simulation model.     

Leading-edge flow separation control over an airfoil using a symmetrical dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

In order to promote an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of leading-edge flow separation control over an airfoil using a symmetrical Dielectric Barrier Discharge(DBD) plasma actuator excited by a steady-mode excitation, an experimental investigation of an SC(2)-0714 supercritical airfoil with a symmetrical DBD plasma actuator was performed in a closed chamber and a low-speed wind tunnel. The plasma actuator was mounted at the leading edge of the airfoil.Time-resolved Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV) results of the near-wall region in quiescent air suggested that the symmetrical DBD plasma actuator could induce some coherent structures in the separated shear layer, and these structures were linked to a dominant frequency of f0= 39 Hz when the peak-to-peak voltage of the plasma actuator was 9.8 kV. In addition, an analysis of flow structures without and with plasma actuation around the upper side of the airfoil at an angle of attack of18° for a wind speed of 3 m/s(Reynolds number Re = 20000) indicated that the dynamic process of leading-edge flow separation control over an airfoil could be divided into three stages. Initially, this plasma actuator could reinforce the shedding vortices in the separated shear layer. Then, these vortical structures could deflect the separated flow towards the wall by promoting the mixing between the outside flow with a high kinetic energy and the flow near the surface. After that, the plasma actuator induced a series of rolling vortices in the vicinity of the suction side of the airfoil, and these vortical structures could transfer momentum from the leading edge of the airfoil to the separated region, resulting in a reattachment of the separated flow around the airfoil.     

等离子体气动激励抑制机翼失速分离的实验

进行了等离子体气动激励抑制机翼失速分离的风洞实验,研究了等离子体气动激励频率、电压、占空比和激励位置等对流动控制效果的影响.研究表明:在来流速度35m/s时,等离子体气动激励可以有效地抑制机翼大攻角下吸力面的流动分离,将机翼临界失速迎角由17°提高到19°;施加激励后,机翼最大升力系数提高了9.45%,阻力系数减小20.9%;激励频率在200Hz时,控制效果最好,对应的量纲一激励频率为1;迎角越大,流动分离越严重,需要更大的激励电压才能够有效抑制流动分离;最佳激励位置在流动分离起始点的前缘;在流动控制效果相当时,减小占空比可以降低能耗.      

Transonic wing stall of a blended flying wing common research model based on DDES method

Numerical simulation of wing stall of a blended flying wing configuration at transonic speed was conducted using both delayed detached eddy simulation(DDES) and unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS) equations methods based on the shear stress transport(SST) turbulence model for a free-stream Mach number 0.9 and a Reynolds number 9.6 × 10~6. A joint time step/grid density study is performed based on power spectrum density(PSD) analysis of the frequency content of forces or moments, and medium mesh and the normalized time scale0.010 were suggested for this simulation. The simulation results show that the DDES methods perform more precisely than the URANS method and the aerodynamic coefficient results from DDES method compare very well with the experiment data. The angle of attack of nonlinear vortex lift and abrupt wing stall of DDES results compare well with the experimental data. The flow structure of the DDES computation shows that the wing stall is caused mainly by the leeward vortex breakdown which occurred at x/x_(cr)= 0.6 at angle of attack of 14°. The DDES methods show advantage in the simulation problem with separation flow. The computed result shows that a shock/vortex interaction is responsible for the wing stall caused by the vortex breakdown. The balance of the vortex strength and axial flow, and the shock strength, is examined to provide an explanation of the sensitivity of the breakdown location. Wing body thickness has a great influence on shock and shock/vortex interactions, which can make a significant difference to the vortex breakdown behavior and stall characteristic of the blended flying wing configuration.     

NS-DBD激励控制非细长三角翼前缘涡仿真研究

通过在三角翼前缘施加纳秒脉冲介质阻挡放电（NS-DBD）激励唯象学模型,进行了47°后掠角钝前缘三角翼流动控制的仿真。分析了不同迎角下升力和阻力系数的变化、流场结构的变化、以及激励诱导旋涡的演化过程。研究表明:施加无量纲激励频率F+=1.44的NS-DBD激励后,可明显提高三角翼失速前后的升力系数;同时阻力系数也有所增加,变化趋势与实验结果一致。激励在前缘分离剪切层处诱导产生流向涡,改变了前缘剪切层结构,使其向内卷吸;激励后时均流场形成了明显的负压峰值,前缘涡附着线外移,吸力面回流区减小。      

Experimental characteristics of a two-electrode plasma synthetic jet actuator array in serial

Plasma Synthetic Jet (PSJ) actuators have shown wide and promising application prospects in high-speed flow control, due to their advantages including high exhaust speed, wide frequency band, rapid response, and non-moving components. Although previous studies on PSJ actuators are abundant, most of them have focused on the performance of a single actuator. However, in practice, an actuator array is very necessary for large-scale aerodynamic actuation on account of the small affected area of a single PSJ. In this paper, the characteristics of a two-electrode plasma synthetic jet actuator array in serial are investigated experimentally. Compared to a parallel actuator array, the serial actuator array requires simpler power supply design and is much easier to realize. High-speed photography of the discharge evolution, voltage-current measurement, and shadowgraphy visualization are used in the investigation. Experimental results show that, for the serial actuator array, weak discharges happen firstly between energized and suspending electrodes, and then a strong pulse arc discharge is triggered. The breakdown voltage in serial is irrelevant to such factors as the number of actuators, the maximum or minimum gap in serial, the connection sequence, etc. It is mainly determined by the sum of gaps. For serial actuators with the same anode-to-cathode spacing, the energy deposition is the same, and the jet is synchronous and similar. Because of the entrainment and merging of adjacent jet vortices, the jet front speed of an aligned synchronous jet array increases as the orifice distance decreases. To achieve the highest jet front velocity, the orifice of the actuator has an optimal diameter.     

马蹄形等离子体激励器强化气膜冷却效率机理

为揭示马蹄形等离子体激励器产生的等离子体气动激励提高气膜冷却效率的机理,选取常规圆形气膜孔冷却结构进行了数值模拟比较.结果表明:马蹄形等离子体激励器产生的等离子体气动激励效果可以使射流具有展向扩张能力,肾形涡对的大小及强度得到显著改变,同时受等离子体气动激励产生的下拉诱导和水平加速效果影响,射流贴壁性及覆盖区域大大提高,冷却效率得到强化;相对于圆形气膜孔冷却效果,马蹄形介质阻挡放电气膜冷却结构在吹风比为0.5,1.0和1.5时,冷却效率值相差最大处分别提高了165%,148%和500%.      

Flight safety oriented ice shape modulation using distributed plasma actuator units

Ice accretion on the wings seriously threatens the flight safety of an aircraft. From the perspectives of ensuring flight safety and saving power consumption, the ice shape modulation method using distributed plasma is proposed. Distributed plasma actuator units are designed to modulate the spanwise continuous ice at the leading edge into periodically segmented ice pieces, forming a wavy leading edge. Both airfoil and scaled aircraft model, with continuous and modulated ice, are experimentally investigated and simulated. Compared with the continuous ice, ice shape modulation can significantly improve the aerodynamic performance, flight control characteristics and flight safety. This method can save about half electric power, which is very beneficial for application.     

纳秒脉冲等离子体激励控制小后掠三角翼低速绕流试验

为探索纳秒脉冲介质阻挡放电(NS DBD)对小后掠尖前缘三角翼的流动控制效果和作用机理,进行NS DBD用于改善其气动特性的测力试验和流动显示试验。当来流速度分别为30m/s和45m/s时,测力试验结果表明位于机翼前缘的NS DBD能很好地改善三角翼大迎角气动特性,其中来流速度为45m/s时最大升力系数提高了18.3%;研究了脉冲激励频率对流动控制效果的影响规律,最佳的无量纲激励频率F+≈1~2。在来流速度为20m/s时,采用粒子图像测速仪(PIV)研究了不同迎角下激励前后机翼背风面流场,表明NS DBD可改善上翼面旋涡结构,使分离涡附体并得到加强。基于试验结果,认为NS DBD进行三角翼前缘涡控制的机理是激励诱导分离剪切层周期性产生附体的分离涡,从而维持了上翼面大迎角时的涡升力。