Influence of air pressure on the performance of plasma synthetic jet actuator

Plasma synthetic jet actuator (PSJA) has a wide application prospect in the high-speed flow control field for its high jet velocity. In this paper, the influence of the air pressure on the performance of a two-electrode PSJA is investigated by the schlieren method in a large range from 7 kPa to 100 kPa. The energy consumed by the PSJA is roughly the same for all the pressure levels. Traces of the precursor shock wave velocity and the jet front velocity vary a lot for different pressures. The precursor shock wave velocity first decreases gradually and then remains at 345 m/s as the air pressure increases. The peak jet front velocity always appears at the first appearance of a jet, and it decreases gradually with the increase of the air pressure. A maximum precursor shock wave velocity of 520 m/s and a maximum jet front velocity of 440 m/s are observed at the pressure of 7 kPa. The averaged jet velocity in one period ranges from 44 m/s to 54 m/s for all air pressures, and it drops with the rising of the air pressure. High velocities of the precursor shock wave and the jet front indicate that this type of PSJA can still be used to influence the high-speed flow field at 7 kPa.