Closed-Loop Performance Control of Dielectric-Barrier-Discharge Plasma Actuators

The counteraction of changing environmental conditions (i.e., changes of pressure level and airflow speed) on the resulting plasma-actuator performance is demonstrated in the present work. The impact of these changing (fluctuating and/or transient) airflow conditions on the performance of dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuators is suppressed using a novel closed-loop performance-control procedure. The goal of controlling a preset plasma-actuator performance online and in situ is achieved and successfully demonstrated. This novel approach represents the first step toward optimal-discharge-based flow control because, beyond the common purpose of favorably manipulating the airflow, any advanced dielectric-barrier-discharge-based flow-control system will necessarily require an appropriate closed-loop performance control of the discharge device.