On Transition Delay with Plasma Actuators: PIV Diagnostics, Reduced Order Modeling and Adaptive Control

With oil prices regularly topping one hundred dollars per barrel it becomes ever more important to reduce the fuel consumption of airplanes. Besides economical motives, the environmental impact of airplanes also forms a driving factor for reducing fuel consumption. Drag reduction forms an important component in the complete package of fuel reduction measures. On average 50% of total drag can be attributed to skin friction drag, and on average a turbulent boundary layer results in a wall shear stress that is ten times higher than that of a laminar boundary layer [1]. These numbers show the potential of drag reduction by postponing the laminar to turbulent transition.Aerospace Engineerin