Modeling of Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer Induced by Dielectric Barrier Plasma Actuator

Glow discharge at atmospheric pressure using a dielectric barrier discharge can induce fluid flow, and can be used for active control of aerodynamics and heat transfer. In the present work, a modeling framework is presented to study the evolution and interaction of such athermal nonequilibrium plasma discharges in conjunction with low Mach number fluid dynamics and heat transfer. The model is self-consistent, coupling the first-principles-based discharge dynamics with the fluid dynamics and heat transfer equations. Under atmospheric pressure, the discharge can be simulated using a plasma–fluid instead of a kinetic model. The plasma and fluid species are treated as a two-fluid system coupled through force and pressure interactions, over decades of length and time scales. The multiple-scale processes such as convection, diffusion, and reaction/ionization mechanisms make the transport equations of the plasma dynamics stiff. To handle the stiffness, a finite-volume operator-split algorithm capable of conserving space charge is employed. A body force treatment is devised to link the plasma dynamics and thermo-fluid dynamics. The potential of the actuator for flow control and thermal management is illustrated using case studies.