Sounding Rocket Roll Control Through DBD Plasma Actuated Boundary Layer Control

Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuators alter the velocity of the air across control surfaces. The induced flow, directed tangential to the surface, inputs momentum to the boundary layer. This analysis examines the feasibility of a simplified boundary condition within computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of a DBD plasma actuator mounted on a rocket fin. The simulations examine the location of the plasma actuator where the pressure differential is largest. Resulting in a plasma actuator location between 40\% and 45\% of the fin chord producing the most force. Secondly with the actuator at 50\% chord a velocity range between 10 and 90 m/s is tested. The highest normal force experienced by the fin due to plasma actuation is approximately 5.5 mN/m at a freestream 70 m/s decreasing as the rocket decelerates. This force and the resulting torque produces an angular velocity of 2.86 RPM of roll on a sounding rocket.