Plasma Control of Transonic Shock Wave/Boundary Layer Interaction

Abstract

The study is relevant to plasma flow control applications, namely, delay of buffet onset of transonic airfoils using plasma discharges. At transonic speeds the region of supersonic flow arises on the suction side of the airfoil ended by the strong shock wave. This leads to appearance of additional wave drag of the wing decreasing the aircraft performance in transonic regime. Moreover the interaction of the shock wave with boundary layer produces flow separation and induces flow instabilities. The flow oscillations called “transonic buffet” limit flight Mach number and wing loads reducing the flight efficiency. The wave drag and arising of the flow instability are strongly connected. Therefore, development of the flow control techniques capable of decreasing the wing wave drag and suppressing/delaying buffet oscillations is highly desirable for increasing flight efficiency of civil aircrafts.