Turbulent drag reduction by sector-shaped counter-flow dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

The primary objective in aircraft transportation is to minimize turbulent drag, thereby conserving energy and reducing emissions. We propose a sector-shaped counter-flow dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator, which leverages jet synthesis for drag reduction. A drag control experiment was conducted in a low-speed wind tunnel with a controlled flow velocity of 9.6 m/s (Re = 1.445 × 10⁴). This study investigated the effects of varying pulse frequencies and actuation voltages on the turbulent boundary layer. Using a hot-wire measurement system, we analyzed the pulsating and time-averaged velocity distributions within the boundary layer to evaluate the streamwise turbulent drag reduction. The results show that the local TDR decreases as the pulse frequency increases, reaching a maximum reduction of approximately 20.97% at a pulse frequency of 50 Hz. In addition, as the actuation voltage increases, the friction coefficient decreases, increasing the drag reduction rate. The maximum drag reduction of approximately 33.34% is achieved at an actuation voltage of 10 kV.