Aerodynamic and Thermal Effects of Plasma Actuators on Anti-icing over an Airfoil

Abstract

An anti-icing application of AC-SDBD plasma actuator has been explored through experiments. The purpose of this study is to study both the thermal and aerodynamic effects on plasma anti-icing. Two types of multi-SDBD actuators were designed with different induced flow directions. One type (Type-1) is designed to generate an induced flow with direction same to the incoming flow, while the other (Type-2) is used to generate an induced flow with an opposite direction to the incoming flow. The anti-icing tests were carried out in an icing-wind-tunnel. The ice accretion and corresponding surface temperature have been recorded using a high-speed digital camera and infrared imaging system respectively. The results show that the Type-1 actuator can ensure that the leading edge of the airfoil remained smooth and did not have the ice accretion, while the Type-2 actuator had ice accumulation on the leading edge, but it can effectively postpone the ice location on the upper surface of the airfoil. Such results show that the anti-icing effects are directly related to both the thermal and aerodynamic effects of the DBD plasma actuator.