Experimental Investigation of Different Plasma Vortex Generator Configurations for Compressible Flow Control

In the current research, four different configurations of plasma streamwise vortex generators (PSVGs) for compressible flow control have been experimentally investigated to analyze their capabilities in controlling compressible flow (M=0.428) at the different excitation voltages and frequencies. The impacts of electrical parameters on the performance and efficiency of plasma actuators have been studied. Power spectrum analysis of pressure fluctuations in the boundary layer has been employed to determine the unsteady forcing frequencies of PSVGs. The presence of a dominant frequency in power spectrum diagrams is a strong indication of flow separation in the region from which the pressure signal has been extracted. As such, it was observed that the separation bubble was created in front of the comb-type PSVG when it starts its operation; however, using the T-type configuration diminished the separation bubble. T-type and mesh-type PSVGs, in similar experimental conditions, were observed to be more efficient than the comb-type and saw-type geometries in controlling compressible flow.