Streamwise and spanwise plasma actuators for flow-induced cavity noise control

Abstract

Plasma actuators operating in atmospheric air can induce a body force through collisions between electrically charged particles and neutral air molecules by an externally applied electric field. The fast response and the simple structure make the plasma actuator a promising option in aerospace applications. In this work, experiments were performed with several alternative current excited plasma (streamwise and spanwise) actuators to control flow-induced noise from a cavity. It was found that the streamwise actuator induced three-dimensional variations in the shear layer. The spanwise actuator, however, has little influence on the global flow field. As a result, the streamwise actuator is more effective than the spanwise actuator in cavity noise attenuation