A DC corona discharge on a flat plate to induce air movement

Pierre Magnier (1) , Dunpin Hong (2) , Annie Leroy-Chesneau (1) , Jean-Michel Pouvesle (2) , Jacques Hureau (1)

1 LME - Laboratoire de Mécanique et Énergétique
2 GREMI - Groupe de recherches sur l'énergétique des milieux ionisés

This paper describes a DC surface corona discharge designed to modify the airflow around a flat plate. The electrode configuration consisted of two thin copper layers placed on each side of the plate's attack edge. Discharge optical measurements with a photomultiplier tube indicated that the light emitted by the plasma is pulsating, at a frequency that increases with applied voltage. Moreover, with voltage higher than a threshold value, the electric discharge changes regime with brighter pulses. This discharge also induced an "ionic wind" whose velocity was measured with a pressure sensing probe (up to 1 m/s). Experiments with the Particle Image Velocimetry system in a subsonic wind tunnel showed that this discharge can reduce the separated airflow on the flat plate for a flow of 14 m/s (Reynolds number of 187,000).

Mots clés: Corona Discharge; Electroaerodynamics; Ionic Wind; Plasma Actuator

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Pierre Magnier, Dunpin Hong, Annie Leroy-Chesneau, Jean-Michel Pouvesle, Jacques Hureau. A DC corona discharge on a flat plate to induce air movement. Journal of Electrostatics, 2007, 65 (10-11), pp. 655-659. ⟨10.1016/j.elstat.2007.04.002⟩. ⟨hal-00264829⟩