Simulation of the Effects of Force and Heat Produced by a Plasma Actuator on Neutral Flow Evolution

Particle and fluid simulations are carried out of a plasma actuator discharge. Particle-in-Cell Direct-Simulation-Monte-Carlo (PIC-DSMC) simulations of a pure oxygen discharge are conducted to characterize the force and heating characteristics a typical discharge. The results show that the plasma imparts a force which points upstream during the first half of the bias cycle and points downstream during the second half of the cycle. The upstream force, however, is as much as 20 times smaller than the downstream force. The results from the particle simulations are, then, inserted into a Navier-Stokes fluid code to explore the effects on the neutral flow. Fluid simulations confirm that the force produced in the particle simulations create a flow similar to a wall jet in the vicinity of the plasma actuator. The results of heat addition show that it can not account for the force levels observed in experiments, but can account for density reductions.