Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Patrick Browning

Committee Co-Chair

Alicia Dalton-Tingler

Committee Member

Alicia Dalton-Tingler

Committee Member

Wade Huebsch

Committee Member

Gary Morris

Committee Member

Nithi Sivaneri

Committee Member

Weichao Tu

Abstract

The continued high global demand for passenger and freight air traffic along with increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles operating in broader Reynolds number regimes has resulted in researchers examining alternative technologies, which would result in safer, more reliable, and superior performing aircraft. Aerodynamic flow control may be one of the most promising approaches to solving this problem, having already proven its ability to enable higher flow efficiency while simultaneously improving overall control of flow behavior such as laminar-to-turbulent transition. Recent research in aerodynamic flow control has seen a pronounced growth in the areas of biomimicry and plasma flow control actuators.

Plasma actuators offer an inexpensive and energy efficient method of flow control. In addition, plasma actuator technology has the potential to be applied to a host of other aircraft performance parameters including applications in radar cross section mitigation and in situ wing deicing. Biomimetic researchers have studied large scale mechanics and phenomena such as flapping mechanics, and wing morphology, as well as small scale factors such as feather fluttering and microscale feather geometry. The proliferation of interest in these fields laid the foundation and inspiration for the development of a novel aerodynamic flow control and sensing device known as the compliant electrode discharge device, commonly referred to by the inventors as “plasma feathers”.

This study consists of an investigation into the behavior of the compliant electrode device and its aerodynamic characteristics and performance during its flapping mode operation. Three models of varying aspect ratio were constructed, characterized through a modal analysis, and then subsequently tested for behavioral characteristic and aerodynamic performance. The behavioral testing shows that there is clearly defined range of pulsing ratios and duty cycle combinations that will likely result in desired behavior. The aerodynamic performance was investigated via two-dimensional two-component particle image velocimetry. It’s shown in tunnel-on testing that the device can favorably affect a low Reynolds number flow and potentially be used as an active airbrake in higher Reynolds number flows. Testing in quiescent air demonstrated that flows with velocities on the order of the speed of the tip of the compliant electrode can be induced in two momentum jets that are similar to the superposition of a traditional dielectric barrier discharges induced jet (horizontally oriented jet) and a synthetic jet’s induced jet (vertically oriented jet) overlayed upon one another allowing for a broad range of low Reynolds number applications.

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