Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are a relatively novel type of actuators for active flow control. They offer several benefits, such as fast reaction times due to the absence of mechanical parts. On the other hand there are several difficulties which must be overcome before they reach a stage of maturity suitable for application on aircraft.
In the present study the design, construction and commissioning of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for flow control experiments with plasma actuators under realistic flight conditions is presented. The UAV has a wingspan of 2.38 m and a flight mass of approximately 10 kg. It is equipped with a flight control system to autonomously conduct the experiments and record measurement data. The fault-free operation of all systems, despite electromagnetic emissions from the high-voltage system of the actuators, and the suitability of the UAV as a flight-test platform have been demonstrated.
Two sections of the modular wing are used for flow control, different airfoil and actuator configurations can thus be interchanged. The attainable Reynolds numbers are in the range of 300, 000 to 600, 000. Validation of the entire system with several configurations has been performed in the wind tunnel prior to free-flight experiments
