Munetake Nishihara

Plasma assisted ignition and high-speed flow control: non-thermal and thermal effects

The paper reviews recent progress in two rapidly developing engineering applications of plasmas, plasma assisted combustion and plasma assisted high-speed flow control. Experimental and kinetic modeling results demonstrate the key role of non-thermal plasma chemistry in hydrocarbon ignition by uniform, repetitively pulsed, nanosecond pulse duration, low-temperature plasmas. Ignition delay time in premixed ethylene‐air flows excited by the plasma has been measured in a wide range of pulse repetition rates and equivalence ratios and compared with kinetic modeling calculations, showing good agreement. Comparing ignition delay time predicted by the model for plasma assisted ignition and for ignition by equilibrium heating demonstrated that chain reactions of radicals generated by the plasma reduce ignition time by up to two orders of magnitude and ignition temperature by up to 300K. These results provide additional evidence of the non-thermal nature of low-temperature plasma assisted ignition. Experiments and flow modeling show that the dominant mechanism of high-speed plasma flow control is thermal, due to heating of the flow by the plasma. Development and characterization of pulsed dc and pulsed RF localized arc filament plasma actuator arrays for control of high-speed atmospheric pressure jet flows are discussed. Actuator power is quite low, ∼10W at 10% duty cycle. Plasma emission spectra show that a greater fraction of the pulsed RF discharge power goes to heat the flow (up to 2500 ◦ C), while a significant fraction of the pulsed dc discharge power is spent on electrode and wall heating, resulting in their erosion. Rapid localized heating of the flow by the pulsed arc filaments, at a rate of ∼1000K/10 µs, results in the formation of strong compression/shock waves, detected by schlieren imaging. Effect of flow forcing by repetitively pulsed RF actuators is demonstrated in a M = 1.3 axisymmetric jet. These two case studies provide illustrative examples of isolating non-thermal (non-equilibrium plasma chemistry) and thermal (Joule heating) effects in plasmas and adapting them to develop efficient large-volume plasma igniters and high-speed flow actuators. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

Mach 5 bow shock control by a nanosecond pulse surface dielectric barrier discharge

Bow shock perturbations in a Mach 5 air flow, produced by low-temperature, nanosecond pulse, and surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), are detected by phase-locked schlieren imaging. A diffuse nanosecond pulse discharge is generated in a DBD plasma actuator on a surface of a cylinder model placed in air flow in a small scale blow-down supersonic wind tunnel. Discharge energy coupled to the actuator is 7.3–7.8 mJ/pulse. Plasma temperature inferred from nitrogen emission spectra is a few tens of degrees higher than flow stagnation temperature, T = 340 ± 30 K. Phase-locked Schlieren images are used to detect compression waves generated by individual nanosecond discharge pulses near the actuator surface. The compression wave propagates upstream toward the baseline bow shock standing in front of the cylinder model. Interaction of the compression wave and the bow shock causes its displacement in the upstream direction, increasing shock stand-off distance by up to 25%. The compression wave speed behind the...

Energy coupling to the plasma in repetitive nanosecond pulse discharges

A new analytic quasi-one-dimensional model of energy coupling to nanosecond pulse discharge plasmas in plane-to-plane geometry has been developed. The use of a one-dimensional approach is based on images of repetitively pulsed nanosecond discharge plasmas in dry air demonstrating that the plasma remains diffuse and uniform on a nanosecond time scale over a wide range of pressures. The model provides analytic expressions for the time-dependent electric field and electron density in the plasma, electric field in the sheath, sheath boundary location, and coupled pulse energy. The analytic model predictions are in very good agreement with numerical calculations. The model demonstrates that (i) the energy coupled to the plasma during an individual nanosecond discharge pulse is controlled primarily by the capacitance of the dielectric layers and by the breakdown voltage and (ii) the pulse energy coupled to the plasma during a burst of nanosecond pulses decreases as a function of the pulse number in the burst. T...

Low-temperature supersonic boundary layer control using repetitively pulsed magnetohydrodynamic forcing

The paper presents results of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) supersonic boundary layer control experiments using repetitively pulsed, short-pulse duration, high-voltage discharges in M=3 flows of nitrogen and air in the presence of a magnetic field of B=1.5T. We also have conducted boundary layer flow visualization experiments using laser sheet scattering. Flow visualization results show that as the Reynolds number increases, the boundary layer flow becomes much more chaotic, with the spatial scale of temperature fluctuations decreasing. Combined with density fluctuation spectra measurements using laser differential interferometry (LDI) diagnostics, this behavior suggests that boundary layer transition occurs at stagnation pressures of P0∼200–250Torr. A crossed discharge (pulser+dc sustainer) in M=3 flows of air and nitrogen produced a stable, diffuse, and uniform plasma, with the time-average dc current up to 1.0A in nitrogen and up to 0.8A in air. The electrical conductivity and the Hall parameter in these f...

Repetitively Pulsed Nonequilibrium Plasmas for Magnetohydrodynamic Flow Control and Plasma-Assisted Combustion

This paper demonstrates significant potential of the use of high-voltage, nanosecond pulse duration, high pulse repetition rate discharges for aerospace applications. The present results demonstrate key advantages of these discharges: 1) stability at high pressures, high flow Mach numbers, and high-energy loadings by the sustainer discharge, 2) high-energy fractions going to ionization and molecular dissociation, and 3) targeted energy addition capability provided by independent control of the reduced electric field of the direct current sustainer discharge. These unique capabilities make possible the generation of stable, volume-filling, low-temperature plasmas and their use for high-speed flow control, nonthermal flow ignition, and gasdynamic lasers. In particular, the crossed pulsersustainerdischargewasusedformagnetohydrodynamic flowcontrolincoldM � 3 flows,providing firstevidenceof cold supersonic flow deceleration by Lorentz force. The pulsed discharge (without sustainer) was used to produce plasma chemical fuel oxidation, ignition, and flameholding in premixed hydrocarbon–air flows, in a wide range of equivalence ratios and flow velocities and at low plasma temperatures, 150–300 � C. Finally, the pulser-sustainer discharge was used to generate singlet oxygen in an electric discharge excited oxygen–iodine laser. Laser gain and output power are measured in the M � 3 supersonic cavity.

Low-temperature M=3 flow deceleration by Lorentz force

This paper presents results of cold magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow deceleration experiments using repetitively pulsed, short pulse duration, high voltage discharge to produce ionization in M=3 nitrogen and air flows in the presence of transverse direct current electric field and transverse magnetic field. MHD effect on the flow is detected from the flow static pressure measurements. Retarding Lorentz force applied to the flow produces a static pressure increase of up to 17%–20%, while accelerating force of the same magnitude results in static pressure increase of up to 5%–7%. The measured static pressure changes are compared with modeling calculations using quasi-one-dimensional MHD flow equations. Comparison of the experimental results with the modeling calculations shows that the retarding Lorentz force increases the static pressure rise produced by Joule heating of the flow, while the accelerating Lorentz force reduces the pressure rise. The effect is produced for two possible combinations of the magne...

Numerical simulation of nanosecond-pulse electrical discharges

Recent experiments with a nanosecond-pulse, dielectric barrier discharge at the stagnation point of a Mach 5 cylinder flow have demonstrated the formation of weak shock waves near the electrode edge, which propagate upstream and perturb the bow shock. This is a promising means of flow control, and understanding the detailed physics of the conversion of electrical energy into gas motion will aid in the design of efficient actuators based on the concept. In this work, a simplified configuration with planar symmetry was chosen as a vehicle to develop a physics-based model of nanosecond-pulse discharges, including realistic air kinetics, electron energy transport, and compressible bulk gas flow. A reduced plasma kinetic model (23 species and 50 processes) was developed to capture the dominant species and reactions for energy storage and thermalization in the discharge. The kinetic model included electronically and vibrationally excited species, and several species of ions and ground state neutrals. The governing equations included the Poisson equation for the electric potential, diffusion equations for each neutral species, conservation equations for each charged species, and mass-averaged conservation equations for the bulk gas flow. The results of calculations with this model highlighted the path of energy transfer in the discharge. At breakdown, the input electrical energy was transformed over a time scale on the order of 1?ns into chemical energy of ions, dissociation products, and vibrationally and electronically excited particles. About 30% of this energy was subsequently thermalized over a time scale of 10??s. Since the thermalization time scale was faster than the acoustic time scale, the heat release led to the formation of weak shock waves originating near the sheath edge, consistent with experimental observations. The computed translational temperature rise (40?K) and nitrogen vibrational temperature rise (370?K) were of the same order of magnitude as experimental measurements (50?K and 500?K, respectively), and the approach appears promising for future multi-dimensional calculations. The effectiveness of flow control actuators based on nanosecond-pulse, dielectric barrier discharges is seen to depend crucially on the rapid thermalization of input energy, in particular the rate of quenching of excited electronic states and the rate of electron?ion recombination.

High Lift Airfoil Leading Edge Separation Control with Nanosecond Pulse Driven DBD Plasma Actuators

The efficacy of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas driven by repetitive nanosecond (NS) pulses for flow separation control is investigated experimentally on an airfoil leading edge up to Re=1x10 (62 m/s). The NS pulse driven DBD plasma actuator (NSDBD hereafter) transfers very little momentum to the neutral air, but generates compression waves similar to localized arc filament plasma actuators. Experimental results indicate that NS-DBD plasma performs as an active trip at pre-stall angles of attack and provides high amplitude perturbations that manipulate flow instabilities and generate coherent spanwise vortices at post-stall angles. These coherent structures entrain freestream momentum thereby reattaching the normally separated flow to the suction surface of the airfoil. Such devices which are believed to function through thermal effects could result in a significant improvement over AC-DBD plasmas that rely on momentum addition which limits their performance at high speeds.

Low-Temperature Supersonic Boundary Layer Control Using Repetitively Pulsed MHD Forcing

The paper presents results of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) supersonic boundary layer control experiments using repetitively pulsed, short pulse duration, high voltage discharges in M=3 flows of nitrogen and air in the presence of a magnetic field of B=1.5 T. We also have conducted boundary layer flow visualization experiments using laser sheet scattering. Flow visualization shows that side wall boundary layers in the supersonic test section are considerably thicker near the center plane of the flow. The results also show that as the Reynolds number increases from Rex=2.7·10 5 to 8.1·10 5 , the boundary layer flow becomes much more chaotic, with the spatial scale of temperature fluctuations decreasing. Combined with density fluctuation spectra measurements using Laser Differential Interferometry (LDI) diagnostics, this behavior suggests that boundary layer transition occurs at stagnation pressures of P0~200-250 torr. Operation of a crossed discharge (pulser + DC sustainer) in M=3 flows of air and nitrogen demonstrated that such a discharge produces a stable, diffuse, and uniform plasma. The time-average DC current achieved in such discharges is up to 1.0 A in nitrogen (conductivity of σ=0.073 mho/m) and up to 0.8 A in air (σ=0.072 mho/m). The electrical conductivity and the Hall parameter in nitrogen and air flows are inferred from the current voltage characteristics of the sustainer discharge. LDI measurements detected MHD effect on the ionized boundary layer density fluctuations at these conditions. Retarding Lorentz force applied to M=3 nitrogen, air, and N2-He flows produces an increase of the density fluctuation intensity by up to 2 dB (about 25%), compared to the accelerating force of the same magnitude. The effect is demonstrated for two possible combinations of the magnetic field and current directions producing the same Lorentz force direction (both for accelerating and retarding force). Comparison with the LDI spectra measured with no MHD force applied showed that the effect on the density fluctuations is produced only by the retarding Lorentz force, while the Joule heat effect appears insignificant.

Nanosecond pulse surface discharges for high-speed flow control

The paper provides an overview of recent progress in the use of surface dielectric barrier discharges sustained by repetitive, high-voltage, nanosecond duration pulses for high-speed flow control. Experimental studies of diffuse and filamentary surface nanosecond pulse discharges in quiescent air demonstrate that they generate compression waves, due to rapid localized heating produced in the plasma. Compression waves produced by individual discharge filaments have higher amplitude and higher speed compared with waves produced in a diffuse discharge. Unlike surface dielectric barrier discharges sustained by AC voltage waveforms, nanosecond pulse discharges transfer little momentum to quiescent air, suggesting that localized heating and subsequent compression wave formation is the dominant flow control mechanism. Flow separation control using a nanosecond pulse surface discharge plasma actuator on an airfoil leading edge is studied up to M=0.26, Re=1.15·10 6 (free stream flow velocity 93 m/s), over a wide range of angles of attack. At pre-stall angles of attack, the actuator acts as an active boundary layer trip. At poststall angles of attack, strong flow perturbations generated by the actuator excite shear layer instabilities and generate coherent spanwise vortices. These coherent structures entrain freestream momentum, thereby reattaching the separated flow to the suction surface of the airfoil. Feasibility of supersonic flow control by low-temperature nanosecond pulse plasma actuators is demonstrated in Mach 5 air flow over a cylinder model. Strong perturbations of a bow shock standing in front of the model are produced by compression waves generated in the plasma. Interaction of the compression waves and the bow shock causes its displacement in the upstream direction, increasing shock stand-off distance by up to 25%. The effect of compression waves generated by nanosecond discharge pulses on shock stand-off distance is demonstrated for single-pulse and quasi-continuous actuator operation. A self-similar kinetic model is developed to analyze energy coupling to the plasma in a surface ionization wave discharge produced by a nanosecond voltage pulse. The model predicts key discharge parameters such as ionization wave speed and propagation distance, electric field, electron density, plasma layer thickness, and pulse energy coupled to the plasma, demonstrating good agreement with available experimental data and two-dimensional kinetic modeling calculations. The model allows an analytic solution and lends itself to incorporating into existing compressible flow codes, for in-depth analysis of the nanosecond discharge plasma flow control mechanism.