Experiments of the flow field structure control around a circular cylinder based on plasma actuation

To validate the effectiveness of atmospheric plasma based flow control technique on the peripheral flow control under low Reynolds numbers, a peripheral flow control experiment system is developed, and corresponding peripheral flow control experiments are conducted. The experimental results show that at the Reynolds numbers of 1.35 × 10⁴ and 1.90 × 10⁴, the flow separation around the circular cylinder can be suppressed effectively, the separated flow field can also be improved greatly owing to the flow disturbances induced by the plasma actuator, and the plasma actuation is effective both in reinforcing and minimizing the vortex induced by flow separation. The test results manifest that atmospheric plasma based flow control is effective in the flow control of blunt bodies at low Reynolds numbers.