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An experimental investigation of deep dynamic stall control using plasma actuators

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Abstract

The effect of active control by a nanosecond pulsed dielectric-barrier discharge plasma actuator was studied on a NACA 0012 airfoil, with a 7-inch chord (with 13-inch endplates) and a 14-inch span, for a sinusoidal motion profile from α = 0° to 20° at Rec = 300,000 and k = 0.075. Characterization of the baseline flow highlighted the dominant influence of the dynamic stall vortex (DSV) and the subsequent separation, during the downstroke, on the aerodynamic forces. PIV results confirmed that actuation over a wide range of frequencies generates structures of various size and spacing through the manipulation of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. The results showed that the dominant DSV, present in the baseline case, was replaced by the structures induced by actuation. The effects of control on the flow field were used to explain the changes in aerodynamic loading, providing insight into the underlying physics of the observed control authority. Peak aerodynamic loads (lift, drag, and moment) were all reduced by control. Control also augmented the lift during the downstroke (separated flow), reduced lift hysteresis (responsible for vibratory loading), and increased the cycle-averaged lift-to-drag ratio.

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Abbreviations

b :

Airfoil span

c :

Airfoil chord

C L :

Sectional lift coefficient \(\left(\frac{2L}{\rho {u}_{\infty }^{2}cb}\right)\)

C M :

Sectional moment coefficient \(\left(\frac{2M}{\rho {u}_{\infty }^{2}{c}^{2}b}\right)\)

C D :

Sectional drag coefficient \(\left(\frac{2D}{\rho {u}_{\infty }^{2}cb}\right)\)

D :

Drag force

f e :

Excitation frequency

f osc :

Frequency of the airfoil pitch oscillation

h/c :

Vertical distance from the pitching axis to the tunnel floor/ceiling (h) normalized by the airfoil chord

k :

Airfoil motion reduced frequency \(\left(\frac{\pi cf{}_{osc}}{{u}_{\infty }}\right)\)

L :

Lift force

L/D :

Cycle-averaged lift to drag ratio

M :

Moment about x/c = 0.25

Re c :

Reynolds number based on airfoil chord \(\left(\frac{\rho {u}_{\infty }c}{\mu }\right)\)

St e :

Normalized excitation frequency \(\left(\frac{{f}_{e}c}{{u}_{\infty }}\right)\)

u ∞ :

Freestream velocity

x/c :

Chordwise coordinate, origin at the airfoil leading edge, normalized by the airfoil chord

α :

Airfoil angle of attack

α max :

Maximum (during oscillation) airfoil angle of attack

α min :

Minimum (during oscillation) airfoil angle of attack

∆C L :

Difference between upstroke and downstroke lift coefficient at a given α (lift hysteresis)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity

Ξcycle :

Cycle-averaged aerodynamic damping coefficient \(\left(-\frac{4}{\pi {\left({\alpha }_{max}-{\alpha }_{min}\right)}^{2}}\oint {C}_{m}d\alpha \right)\)

ρ :

Density

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Acknowledgements

The Fulbright-MinCiencias fellowship from Colombia, supporting David Castañeda, and the NASA/Ohio Space Grant Consortium fellowship, supporting Nicole Whiting, are greatly appreciated. Partial support from the Air Force Research Laboratory (with Dr. Miguel Visbal) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia

    David Castañeda

  2. Honda Development and Manufacturing of America LLC, Raymond, OH, USA

    Nicole Whiting

  3. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Nathan Webb & Mo Samimy

Authors
  1. David Castañeda
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  2. Nicole Whiting
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  3. Nathan Webb
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  4. Mo Samimy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nathan Webb.

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Castañeda, D., Whiting, N., Webb, N. et al. An experimental investigation of deep dynamic stall control using plasma actuators. Exp Fluids 63, 69 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-022-03421-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-022-03421-w

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