Numerical Investigation of a Pitching NACA 0012 Wing with Plasma-Based Flow Control Using Prediction–Correction Direct-Forcing Immersed Boundary Method

Abstract

Dynamic stall is a nonlinear fluid phenomenon. It is caused by the vortex generation and motion of the leading edge of the wing. When the angle of attack (AOA) changes rapidly, it causes the vortex to delay and shed. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators have been demonstrated for active flow control, which can delay stall and increase the lift–drag ratio. In this study, the prediction–correction direct-forcing immersed boundary (DFIB) method was used to simulate the interaction between fluid and the NACA 0012 flapping wing. This method is capable of simulating complex fluid–structure interaction problems without additional mesh regeneration. Meanwhile, the Smagorinsky model was used in the large eddy simulation to simulate turbulence on the NACA 0012 wing. In this study, the first part verified that the lift and drag data through the fixed wing at a Reynolds number of 105 were consistent with published experimental data. The second part verified that the velocity profile of the DBD plasma actuator on the flat plate was consistent with published numerical results. Finally, the feasibility of linear and serrated DBD plasma actuators for applying flow through a wing with different AOAs was verified. In addition, we investigated whether a DBD plasma actuator installed 10% of the chord length from the leading edge could effectively improve the lift–drag ratio across the stroke. The serrated DBD plasma actuator significantly delayed the separation point on the upper surface of the wing and generated a suitable leading-edge vortex (LEV) scale at the beginning of the downstroke. The results showed that the Saw 30° DBD plasma actuator configuration can improve the lift–drag ratio by more than 20% over the linear DBD plasma actuator. When configuring the Saw 30° DBD plasma actuator on the wing, it was found that proper LEV scale and vorticity magnitude can improve the lift–drag ratio.