IR measurements for quantification of laminar boundary layer stabilization with DBD plasma actuators

Abstract

In-flight experiments for laminar boundary layer stabilization are conducted on a laminar flow wing glove, mounted on a manned motor glider. A single DBD plasma actuator is operated on the pressure side of the glove to delay natural laminar-turbulent transition while an infra red (IR) camera is mounted below the wing allowing a measurement of the spatial development of the transition. Besides the quantification of the flow control result, this article shows postprocessing strategies for perspective camera calibration with curved surfaces, image dewarping and for inhomogeneous surface heating.