Filamentary Surface Plasma Discharge Flow Length and Time Scales

TL;DR

This study characterizes the flow induced by a single filament of nanosecond surface dielectric barrier discharge, developing a model to predict flow length and time scales for improved flow control applications.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of a single filament's flow dynamics in ns-SDBDs, including a simplified vortex-based model.

Findings

Flow field features a hot gas kernel and vortex ring.

Density deficit follows a power-law decay over time.

Flow length and time scales relate to vortex ring radius and circulation.

Abstract

Nanosecond Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (ns-SDBDs) are a class of plasma actuators that utilize a high-voltage pulse of nanosecond duration between two surface-mounted electrodes to create an electrical breakdown of air, along with rapid heating. These actuators usually produce multiple filaments when operated at high pulse frequencies, and the rapid heating leads to the formation of shock waves and complex flow fields. In this work we replicate a single filament of the ns-SDBDs and characterize the induced flow using velocity measurements from particle image velocimetry and density measurements from background-oriented schlieren. The discharge is produced by a high voltage electrical pulse between two copper electrodes on an acrylic base. A hot gas kernel characterizes the flow field formed close to the electrodes that expands and cools over time and a vortex ring that propagates away from the surface while entraining cold ambient fluid. The gas density deficit inside the kernel displays a power-law decay over time. Based on the observations, we develop a simplified theoretical model based on vortex-driven cooling and perform a scaling analysis to obtain the induced flow length and time scales. The results show that the cooling process's time scales correspond to a circulation-based time scale of the vortex ring, and the length scale of the kernel corresponds to the vortex ring radius. These findings can guide the choice of optimal filament spacing and pulse frequencies in the design, deployment, and operation of nanosecond surface dielectric barrier discharges (ns-SDBDs) for flow control.