Experimental investigation of a surface DBD plasma actuator at atmospheric pressure in different N2/O2 gas mixtures

This paper presents an investigation of the influence of nitrogen and oxygen on the behavior of a surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) used for active flow control. The SDBD operated in a controlled atmosphere under several N-2/O-2 gas mixture ratios. For each gas mixture, the consumed power was measured as a function of voltage amplitude. Then, for a given applied high voltage, the plasma morphology was recorded and commented and lastly, ionic wind velocity measurements were performed. Results show that the induced ionic wind velocity is mainly due to oxygen negative ions during the negative half-cycle. Nevertheless, the contribution of nitrogen to velocity is not negligible during the positive half-cycle. Moreover, the propagation of negative spark filaments during the negative half-cycle is linked to the proportion of O-2 in the gas mixture. Increasing this proportion beyond 20% leads to a shift in the saturation effect to lower voltages and to a decrease in the maximum ionic wind velocity value.