An experimental study of plasma aerodynamic actuation on a round jet in cross flow

The present paper is performed on the effect of plasma aerodynamic actuation on a round jet in cross flow field with a low Reynolds number by using smoke visualization. The actuator is constituted by an electrode pair separated by a dielectric Al2O3 sheet. Several AC supply conditions are utilized. The experimental result shows a closing-in tendency of the jet flow toward the wall after being induced by plasma aerodynamic actuation, and such tendency is increasingly intensified as the actuation voltage increases. Numerical simulation is also performed. The simulation results show that an induced vortex pair is generated by plasma aerodynamic actuation near the wall flow field. The rotation direction of the induced vortex pair reverses against the counter-rotating vortex pair generated by a round jet in a cross flow without plasma aerodynamic actuation. Then the strength and structural size of the counter-rotating vortex pair are significantly reduced, resulting in the intensified near-wall effect of the jet flow. Three electrode-typed actuators (straight, 150°-elliptic arc and 180°-elliptic arc with the same streamwise extent) are placed at the exit of round jet to research the influence of electrode structure on jet in cross flow. The result shows that the longer the arc electrode surrounding the hole, the stronger the induced jet that flow near the wall is.