CONTROL OF HIGH SPEED CAVITY FLOW USING PLASMA ACTUATORS

At the Gas Dynamics and Turbulence Laboratory (GDTL), which is located at Ohio State’s Don Scott Airport, one of the major fields of study is cavity flows. Cavity flows and the control of these flows is important for both civilian and military applications. The vibration experienced when the landing gear in an aircraft is deployed is a prime example of cavity flows and the vibrations that need to be controlled and suppressed. Plasma actuators are being developed which are capable of producing high amplitude and high frequency actuation. These actuators are placed along the cavity leading edge and are capable of influencing the separating shear layer. A cavity extension was designed and fabricated to attach to a converging rectangular nozzle operating in a free jet facility. Plasma actuators are installed on the leading edge of the cavity to create pressure perturbations. The cavity extension was tested from Mach 0.25 to 0.70. At higher subsonic velocities, the combination of the separating shear layer and the cavity geometry produces a choke point downstream of the cavity in the flow. Mach 0.55 and 0.60 were chosen as the baseline flow conditions for the cavity extension. Plasma actuators were then used to determine their ability in influencing the flow over the cavity, in particular the resultant pressure fluctuations. The results presented in this thesis will be used to determine the feasibility of exploring further use of plasma actuators in controlling high speed flow over open cavities and its ability to attenuate the amplitude of the pressure fluctuations.Ohio Space Grant ConsortiumNASAUndergraduate Research Gran