IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE, cilt.45, sa.11, ss.2913-2921, 2017 (SCI-Expanded)
In this paper, linear and spanwise-segmented plasma actuator implementations as well as base airfoil with no plasma cases are presented. These approaches are used to control the flow around a NACA0015 airfoil. The experiments were conducted in a wind tunnel at Reynolds number of 3.6x10(4). The plasma actuators mounted on the leading edge of the airfoil at chord position of 0.1 (x/C). The electrical parameters used for the plasma generating device are set to constant values of 6-kV(pp) applied voltage and 3.5-kHz excitation frequency. It is observed that the use of spanwise-segmented plasma actuators converts the 2-D flow structure around the airfoil into 3-D forcing flow structure. The change of the wake region width of the airfoil is visualized by using the smoke-wire method. The flow visualization is performed at attack angles of 0 degrees, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, and 15 degrees. In addition, necessary measurements are also made to determine drag and lift forces. A comparative study on the drag and lift forces for the NACA0015 airfoil is performed. As a part of the conclusions, linear and spanwise-segmented plasma actuator implementations as well as base airfoil with no plasma cases are compared and related results on flow control are presented.