The Effect of Voltage Frequency on Thrust Production of Multi-Electrode Plasma Actuator

Abstract

The impact of the AC voltage frequency and the distance between the exposed electrodes (gap length) on the thrust characteristics of the trielectrode (TED) plasma actuator have been investigated experimentally. The induced body force of the serrated TED plasma actuator is investigated on quiescent air. With the experimental results, the physical factors that affect the growth of thrust is considered by estimating the total momentum of ions from the drift velocity. As a result, we found that the characteristics of the TED plasma actuator can be predicted from two physical parameters, the rate of the AC voltage change and the drift velocity of ions, which are both affected by the gap length and the AC voltage frequency.