Mitigation of Shock wave boundary layer interaction using surface arc plasma energy actuators: A computational study

Abstract

The control of shock wave boundary layer interaction (SWBLI) by means of surface arc plasma actuator (SAPA) is the focus of current work. The primary objective is to explore the potential of short-duration pulse energy deposition in mitigating the separation zone that develops ahead of a cylindrical blunt body placed in a supersonic Mach 2.5 field. The research delves into the fundamental physics of BW generation and propagation, both in quasi-static fields and supersonic flows. Additionally, it elucidates how BWs interact with the separated shear layer, ultimately reducing the size of the separation zone. The numerical framework implemented for the replication of real time surface arc plasma energy addition is validated against the literature reported experimental and analytical data. Additional parametric studies demonstrating the effect of plasma actuation duration, energy magnitude/pulse and number of SAPAs are presented. Notably, the findings reveal that an array of SAPAs with five energy pulse locations can minimize the separation size to just 56% of the base flow, with one time actuation of SAPAs by depositing $240mJ$ of energy.