Flow Control on a Transport Truck Side Mirror Using Plasma Actuators

Abstract

A wind tunnel study is conducted toward hybrid flow control of a full scale transport truck side mirror at ReD=3.2أ—105. A slim guide vane is employed for redirecting highmomentum flow toward the mirror wake region. Leading edge separation from the guide vane is reduced or eliminated by means of an alternating current dielectric barrier discharge (ACDBD) plasma actuator. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are performed at a range of velocities from 15 to 25 m/s and from windward to leeward angles from 5deg to 5deg. Timeaveraged velocity fields are obtained at the center of the mirror for three scenarios: (a) reference case lacking any control elements, (b) guide vane only, and (c) combination of the guide vane and the ACDBD plasma actuator. The comparison of cases demonstrates that at 25 m/s windward conditions (5deg) the guide vane is capable of recovering 17% momentum with respect to the reference case. No significant change is observed by activating the ACDBD plasma actuator. In contrast, at leeward conditions (5deg), the guide vane results in a −20% momentum loss that is rectified to a 6% recovery with actuation. The above implies that for a truck with two mirrors, 23% of momentum may be recovered.