The paper presents the results of a research activity that aims to investigate the control effect of fast rising pulse Dielectric Barrier Discharge actuators (DBD) in high speed flow conditions. At this aim, several experimental tests have been performed on a 2D wind tunnel model in subsonic and transonic conditions to collect information concerning effects of DBD actuators on the main aerodynamic aerofoil performance. The Mach number was varied between 0.4 and 0.85 at angles of attack ranging between -2° and 8° and Reynolds numbers between Re=1.7•10 6 and Re=2.5•10 6 . The aerofoil geometry selected for these tests was the supercritical BAC3-11 profile with 11% of maximum thickness. During the experiments, quantitative measurements have been made through steady and instantaneous pressure sensors. In particular, 45 pressure taps and 10 high frequency pressure transducers were installed on the surface of the model. The experimental data were used to develop and validate numerical tools, able to predict the plasma behaviour in presence of convective fields and, therefore, to support the design and setting of more effectiveness DBD actuator. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver developed at CIRA has been used for numerical simulations. A theoretical model for dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) via bodyforce and power density terms has been implemented in order to support the experimental test campaign.
Nomenclature
DBD= Dielectric Barrier Discharge FRP = Fast Rising Voltage Pulse