The use of plasma actuators for bluff body broadband noise control

Experiments were conducted using plasma actuators to control broadband noise generated by a bluff body flow. The motivation behind the study was to explore the potential of plasma actuators to reduce landing gear noise during approach phase of an aircraft. The control effectiveness of both dielectric barrier discharge and sliding discharge plasma actuators were tested in laboratory environment, using a representative bluff body consisting of a circular cylinder and an oblique strut. Noise measurements were taken in an anechoic chamber using a phased microphone array and far-field microphones. Results showed that the upstream directed plasma forcing, located at ±90 deg on the upstream cylinder with respect to the approaching flow, could effectively attenuate the broadband noise radiated from the wake flow interaction with the downstream strut. With the same AC electrical power consumption, the sliding discharge with additional DC voltage was found to be more effective due to its elongated plasma distribution and higher induced flow momentum. Measurements using particle image velocimetry suggested that the flow speed impinging on the downstream strut was reduced by the upstream plasma forcing, contributing to the reduced noise.