UAV flight test of plasma slats and ailerons with microsecond dielectric barrier discharge

Abstract

Plasma flow control (PFC) is a promising active flow control method with its unique advantages including the absence of moving components, fast response, easy implementation, and stable operation. The effectiveness of plasma flow control by microsecond dielectric barrier discharge (µs-DBD), and by nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge (NS-DBD) are compared through the wind tunnel tests, showing a similar performance between µs-DBD and NS-DBD. Furthermore, the µs-DBD is implemented on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is a scaled model of a newly developed amphibious plane. The wingspan of the model is 2.87m, and the airspeed is no less than 30m/s. The flight data, static pressure data, and Tufts images are recorded and analyzed in detail. Results of the flight test show that the µs-DBD works well on board without affecting the normal operation of the UAV model. When the actuators are turned on, the stall angle and maximum lift coefficient can be improved by 1.3 • and 10.4%, and the static pressure at the leading edge of the wing can be reduced effectively in a proper range of angle of attack, which shows the ability of µs-DBD to act as plasma slats. The rolling moment produced by left-side µs-DBD actuation is greater than that produced by the maximum deflection of ailerons, which indicates the potential of µs-DBD to act as plasma ailerons. The results verify the feasibility and efficacy of µs-DBD plasma flow control in a real flight and lay the foundation for the full-sized airplane application.

Active Flow Control Based on Plasma Synthetic Jet for Flapless Aircraft

“…Meanwhile, as the height increases, the efficiency of the rudder surface drops sharply. The combined control technology using aerodynamic/direct force is almost an inevitable choice for aircraft with high maneuverability [10]. The PSJA is usually mounted at the leading edge or anywhere to improve the aerodynamics around the aircraft.…”

Flow control performance evaluation of a tri-electrode sliding discharge plasma actuator

“…During the plasma discharge the charged particles are subjected to the electric field generated by the asymmetric electrodes and collide with the neutral particles for momentum transfer, forming a directional jet from the exposed electrode to the buried electrode along the actuator surface. [4] DBD has many applications in active flow control, mainly lift increase and drag reduction, [5][6][7][8][9] noise reduction, [10,11] lateral force control [12,13] and suppression of flow separation. [14][15][16][17][18] The cited studies have demonstrated the flow control performance of DBD actuators.…”

“…Such plasma actuation is called extended DBD (EX-DBD). [13] Although a TED has the advantages of a more significant induced body force, controllable jet direction and wider plasma discharge extent than a DBD, the addition of a DC power supply will also inevitably cause an increase in power consumption. Therefore the comprehensive performance of plasma actuators still needs to be further explored.…”

Flow separation control over an airfoil using continuous alternating current plasma actuator

“…[18] Note that the nanosecond plasma actuator has been intensively investigated as it shows great potential to control high-speed flow and is used in a wide range of flow control applications including unmanned air vehicle (UAV). [19,20] Zhang et al reported that the AC DBD plasma can generate ultrasound with frequency of approximately 100 kHz. [21] Actually, given the complexity of physics of flow separation as well as plasma discharge, some phenomena peculiar to AC-DBD-based flow control has not been reported in the literature and additional insights into the AC plasma actuation are desired.…”