Geometry Effects of SDBD Actuator on Atmospheric-Pressure Discharge Plasma Airflow Acceleration

Abstract

Surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD), used as the plasma actuator for airflow control at atmospheric pressure, has been widely concerned over the past decades. In this work, four different electrode configurations, i.e., copper mesh, thin wire, blade, and aluminum foil, are chosen as exposed electrodes for the SDBD plasma actuator. The different effects of the four structures on the airflow acceleration behavior are experimentally investigated through the discharge current, surface potential distribution, ionic wind velocity, and mean thrust production. The result shows that the actuator with the copper mesh exposed electrode can generate the maximal induced force, while the actuator with the aluminum foil exposed electrode can generate the minimal induced force. This difference, as analyzed, is mainly due to the distinct discharge characteristics, i.e., different discharge asymmetry and surface potential, caused by the specifically designed exposed electrode configurations. This paper illustrates that the actuator with low surface potential has preferable mechanical performance.Index Terms-Aluminum foil-aluminum foil surface dielectric barrier discharge (ASDBD), blade-aluminum foil SDBD (BSDBD), copper mesh-aluminum foil SDBD (CSDBD), discharge current, electrical power consumption, ionic wind velocity, metal wire-aluminum foil SDBD (WSDBD), SDBD plasma actuators, surface potential, thrust force.

Surface DBD in moist air for nitrogen fixation: a comparative study of pulsed versus amplitude-modulated AC powered discharge

“…In the positive cycle current exhibits filamentary behavior, characterized by short but strong spikes in current, while in the negative half-cycle current is weaker and without any spikes, which indicates more diffuse discharge. This behavior has been observed in SDBDs [41][42][43] and is given by the asymmetrical configuration of electrodes where one electrode is uncovered and thus in direct electrical contact with the plasma. During the positive half-cycle electrons are absorbed by the uncovered and thus conductive surface of the electrode, while in the negative half-cycle are nearly deposited on the dielectric surface.…”

Ozone Generation by Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge

“…The construction of the SDBD generators used in this study is typical of those used in the literature for EHD generation [41][42][43][44]. It is composed of two electrodes placed asymmetrically on the opposite sides of a ceramic plate (1 mm thick) which acts as a dielectric barrier (Figure 1A).…”

Flow reversal in millimetric annular DBD plasma actuator

“…By their nature AC-DBD discharges are cyclical and largely antagonistic [27,28]. Therefore, to fully understand how this forcing topology is generated, the time variation of the forcing over an AC cycle must be known, as shown in figure 11.…”