NUMERICAL STUDY OF CONTROL OF FLOW SEPARATION OVER A RAMP WITH NANOSECOND PLASMA ACTUATOR

The nanosecond plasma discharge actuator driven by high voltage pulse with typical rise and decay time of several to tens of nanoseconds is emerging as a promising active flow control means in recent years and is being studied intensively. The characterization study reveals that the discharge induced shock wave propagates through ambient air and introduces highly transient perturbation to the flow. On the other hand, the residual heat remaining in the discharge volume may trigger the instability of external flow. In this study, this type of actuator is used to suppress flow separation over a ramp model. Numerical simulation is carried out to investigate the interaction of the discharge induced disturbance with the external flow. It is found that the flow separation region over the ramp can be reduced significantly. Our work may provide some insights into the understanding of the control mechanism of nanosecond pulse actuator.