Abstract
In this paper, an experimental evaluation of a burst wave induced plasma actuator(BWPA) as a flow control device adding a periodic disturbance was performed. The periodic operation mode of a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator(DBD-PA) is expected to be a promising way to control the separated flow in low Reynolds Number, in which the share layer has an acceptance frequency for excitation. A transient behavior of velocity induced by BWPA was measured in quiescent air using particle image velocimetry(PIV). The results indicates that the velocity response has approximately an exponential behavior and the time constant of the response is independent of the burst frequency and duty ratio. As an application of BWPA for separation control, a reduction rate of reattachment over a backward facing step flow in low Reynolds Number was examined. It is classified that BWPA is more effective than continuous-wave based PA in the separation control. The velocity amplitude in the modulation is considered to be one of the most important parameters to control the flow. As a result, approximately 40% of the reattachment length reduction was achieved in Re = 500 under the velocity amplitude = 0.4[m/s].
