Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with Plasma Actuators for Separation Control

Abstract

Plasma actuators are well known since many years. A large number of publications show the application of plasma actuators for various flow-control applications. The actuators are applied for the tripping of the laminar-to-turbulent transition of boundary layers, for the active cancellation of Tollmien-Schlichting waves, for the delay of the turbulent-to-laminar transition, for the control of jets and most works concentrate on the separation control of airfoils, wings or turbine blades. All experiments have been performed in wind tunnels and labs, since the high voltage generators usually consist of large and heavy equipment. In the present work the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a high voltage generator and plasma actuators for the control of the flow separation on the wings is presented. The small plane demonstrates the applicability of the plasma-actuator technology for real planes of reduced size and paves the way for full-size flight experiments.