Experimental Investigation of Hypersonic Flow and Plasma Aerodynamic Actuation Interaction

For hypersonic flow, it was found that the most effective plasma actuator is derived from an electromagnetic perturbation. An experimental study was performed between hypersonic flow and plasma aerodynamic actuation interaction in a hypersonic shock tunnel, in which a Mach number of 7 was reached. The plasma discharging characteristic was acquired in static flows. In a hypersonic flow, the flow field can affect the plasma discharging characteristics. DC discharging without magnetic force is unstable, and the discharge channel cannot be maintained. When there is a magnetic field, the energy consumption of the plasma source is approximately three to four times larger than that without a magnetic field, and at the same time plasma discharge can also affect the hypersonic flow field. Through schlieren pictures and pressure measurement, it was found that plasma discharging could induce shockwaves and change the total pressure and wall pressure of the flow field.