Control of a turbulent flow separated at mid-chord along an airfoil with DBD plasma actuators

The goal of the present experimental study is to investigate the ability of surface DBD plasma actuators to delay flow separation along the suction side of a NACA0015 airfoil. Three single surface DBD actuators that can operate separately are mounted on the suction side of the profile, at 18%, 27% and 37% of the chord length. The boundary layer is transitioned by a tripper to be sure that the flow control is not due to the laminar-to-turbulent transition. The angle of attack is equal to 11.5° and the free-stream velocity to U₀ = 40 m/s, resulting in a chord-based Reynolds number of Re_c = 1.33 × 10⁶. The flow is studied with a high-resolution PIV system. In such conditions, the baseline flow separation occurs at 50% of chord. Then, the different single DBD have been switched on separately, in order to investigate the actuator location effect. One highlights that the DBD located at x_c/c = 18% is more effective than the two others ones, with a separation delay up to 64% of chord. When the three DBDs operate simultaneously, the separation point moves progressively toward the trailing edge when the high voltage is increased, up to 76% of chord at 20 kV. Finally, the effect of the actuation frequency on the control authority has been investigated, by varying the value of the operating frequency and by burst-modulation. For frequencies equal to 50 Hz and 500 Hz (reduced frequency F⁺ = 0.31 and 3.1), the separation has been delayed at 76 and 80% of chord, respectively.