Simulation of Plasma Actuator Effects on Air Flow Bubble Separation

In this paper DBD plasma actuator is simulated numerically and its effect on the air flow field and separation bubble domain is studied. The selected geometry to form a separation bubble is a rectangular cylinder with rounded leading edge. Present study deals with Reynolds numbers of order of 104 to 105. Flow separation exists in the leading edge of the object which is considered as a noticeable phenomenon in this flow field, that is called separation bubble. The ratio of leading edge radius to the object thickness (R/D) is one of the dimensionless parameters. For different values of R/D, the effect of plasma actuator on separation bubble domain, and re-attachment point of flow have been studied. The results show that for the geometry with sharp edge, the effect of plasma actuator is ignorable, while for the geometry with rounded edge, the plasma actuator has a noticeable effect. This effect enhances with the increase in R/D. The ratio of induced velocity to the free stream velocity is another dimensionless parameter which has an observable effect on the separation bubble domain.