Stokes-layer formation under absence of moving parts A novel oscillatory plasma actuator design for turbulent drag reduction

A novel plasma actuator concept is proposed to mimic the effect of spanwise wall oscillations without mechanically moving parts, where four groups of electrodes and three independently operated high-voltage power supplies maintain a pulsatile dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) array. Time-resolved planar velocity fields are obtained with high-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) in proximity of the discharge zones for quiescent ambient conditions. Resulting flow topologies and wall-normal velocity profiles indicate the Stokes-layer-like flow formation, which is elevated above the wall due to the no-slip condition. The underlying body forces are derived from the PIV data to provide further insight into cause-effect relations between pulsatile discharge and oscillatory flow. The momentum transfer domain is found to be only interrupted with the width of the exposed electrode, which is an important step toward homogeneous virtual wall oscillations. A comparison with earlier studies by Gatti et al. [Experimental assessment of spanwise-oscillating dielectric electroactive surfaces for turbulent drag reduction in an air channel flow, Exp. Fluids 56, 110 (2015)] leads to the hypothesis that DBD-based turbulent drag reduction might be a competing alternative to conventional active and passive shear-layer formation strategies, where the adjustability of both oscillation frequency and velocity amplitude might cover a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Published under license by AIP Publishing.