Preliminary Experiments of Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuators using Dry and Humid Air

Experiments are performed using dry and humid air to ascertain the effect of humidity on the performance of a plasma actuator in flight conditions. These actuators are becoming popular in controlling flow about low to moderate speed aerospace vehicles. These experiments are performed at a new Test Facility of the Computational Plasma Dynamics Laboratory (CPDL) in Kettering University. A blow-down open loop wind tunnel with 1-foot by 1 foot test section is used for a range of flow speeds. Our aim is to complement the ongoing numerical modeling effort at CPDL with test data for validation purposes. Preliminary measurements are made from the pressure profile of the base-geometry/DBD actuator in each test condition. Initial calculations of the theoretical Blasius skin-friction are made. The coefficients of those values are reported. Recommendations for use of the plasma actuator based on our initial findings are also presented