Design and Characterization of a Novel Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator for Flow Control Application

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator is a promising flow control device for enhancing the performance of various energy systems. A DBD plasma actuator is initiated by the application of high frequency O (kHz) and high AC voltage O (kV). In this paper, a new design of DBD actuator with variable dielectric thickness has been proposed and compared with the standard actuator on the basis of body force, induced velocity and length of DBD plasma wall jet. The dynamics of flow generated by the actuator was visualized and starting vortex [1] development was captured by a Z-type schlieren technique.