Power consumption, discharge capacitance and light emission as measures for thrust production of dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

TLDR

A new procedure for time‑resolved capacitance measurement of plasma actuators is introduced, providing insight into their behavior and fundamental information for improving energy efficiency. The method is demonstrated by correlating consumed electrical energy, plasma region size, and operating voltage, and by analyzing capacitance, light emission, plasma size, force production, and power consumption. The study shows that plasma presence significantly increases actuator capacitance, detuning previously impedance‑matched systems when operating voltage varies.

Abstract

A new procedure of determining the time resolved capacitance of a plasma actuator during operation is introduced, representing a simple diagnostic tool that provides insight into the phenomenological behavior of plasma actuators. The procedure is demonstrated by presenting example correlations between consumed electrical energy, size of the plasma region, and the operating voltage. It is shown that the capacitance of a plasma actuator is considerably increased by the presence of the plasma; hence a system that has previously been impedance matched can be considerably de-tuned when varying the operating voltage of the actuator. Such information is fundamental for any attempts to increase the energy efficiency of plasma-actuator systems. A combined analysis of the capacitance, light emission, size of the plasma region, force production, and power consumption is presented.