This thesis is motivated by the application of active flow control on the cabin of trucks, thereby providing a new means of drag reduction. Particularly, the work presented strives to identify how plasma actuators can be used to reduce the drag caused by the detachment of the flow around the A-pillars. This is achieved by conducting numerical simulations, and is part of a larger project that also includes experimental. The effect of plasma actuators is modeled through a body force, which adds very little computational cost and is suitable for implementation in most CFD solvers. The spatial distribution of this force is described by coefficients which have been optimized against experimental data, and the model was shown to be able to accurately reproduce the wall jet created by a single plasma actuator in a no-flow condition. A half cylinder geometry - a simplified geometry for the A-pillar of a truck - was used in a preliminary Large Eddy Simulation (LES) study that showed that the actuator alone, operated continuously, was not sufficient to achieve a significant reduction of the drag. Nevertheless, a significant drag reduction was obtained by simply increasing the strength of the body force to a higher value, showing that this type of actuation remains relevant for the reduction of drag. In the course of finding ways to improve the efficiency of the actuator, dynamic mode decomposition was investigated as a post-processing tool to extract structures in the flow. Such structures are identified by their spatial location and frequency, and might help to understand how the actuator should be used to maximize drag reduction. Thus a parallel code for dynamic mode decomposition was developed in order to facilitate the treatment of the large amounts of data obtained by LES. This code and LES itself were thereafter evaluated in the case of a pulsating channel flow. By using the dynamic mode decomposition it was possible to accurately extract oscillating profiles at the forcing frequency, although harmonics with lower amplitude compared to the turbulence intensity could not be obtained. / Denna avhandling behandlar tillämpningen av aktiv strömningskontroll för lastbilshytter, vilket är en ny metod för minskning av luftmotståndet. Mer i detalj är det övergripande målet att visa på hur plasmaaktuatorer kan användas för att minska luftmotståndet orsakat av avlösningen runt A-stolparna. In denna avhandling studeras detta genom numeriska simuleringar. Arbetet är en del av ett projekt där även experimentella försök görs. Effekten av plasmaaktuatorer modelleras genom en masskraft, vilket inte ger nämnvärd ökning av beräkningstiden och är lämplig för implementering i de flesta CFD-lösare. Den rumsliga fördelningen av kraften bestäms av koefficienter vilka i detta arbete beräknades utifrån experimentella data. Modellen har visat sig kunna återskapa en stråle nära väggen med god noggrannhet av en enskild plasmaaktuator för en halvcylinder utan strömning. Samma geometri - en halvcylinder som här används som förenklad geometri av A-stolpen på en lastbil - användes i en preliminär LES studie som visade att enbart aktuatorn vid kontinuerlig drift inte var tillräckligt för att uppnå en signifikant minskning av luftmotståndet. En signifikant minskning av luftmotståndet erhölls genom att helt enkelt öka styrkan på kraften, vilket visats att denna typ av strömningskontroll är relevant för minskning av luftmotståndet. I syfte att förbättra effektiviteten hos aktuatorn, studerades dynamic mode decomposition, som ett verktyg för efterbehandling för att få fram flödesstrukturer. Dessa strukturer identifieras genom deras rumsupplösning och frekvens och kan hjälpa till att förstå hur aktuatorerna bör användas för att minska luftmotståndet. En parallelliserad kod för dynamic mode decomposition utvecklades för att underlätta efterbehandlingen av de stora datamängder som fås från LES-beräkningarna. Slutligen, utvärderades denna kod och LES-beräkningar på ett strömningsfall med pulserande kanalflöde. Metoden, dynamic mode decomposition, visade sig kunna extrahera de oscillerande flödesprofilerna med hög noggrannhet för den påtvingade frekvensen. Övertoner med lägre amplitud jämfört med turbulensintensiteten kunde dock inte erhållas. / <p>QC 20150312</p>

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The combustor-diffuser system remains one of the most studied sections of the turbomachine. Most of these investigations are due to the fact that quite a bit of flow diffusion is required in this section as the high speed flow exits the compressor and must be slowed down to enter the combustor. Like any diffusion process there is the chance for the development of an unfavorable adverse pressure gradient that can lead to flow separation; a cause of drastic losses within a turbine. There are two diffusion processes in the combustor-diffuser system: The flow first exits the compressor into a pre-diffuser, or compressor discharge diffuser. This diffuser is responsible for a majority of the pressure recovery. The flow then exits the pre-diffuser by a sudden expansion into the dump diffuser. The dump diffuser comprises the majority of the losses, but is necessary to reduce the fluid velocity within acceptable limits for combustion. The topic of active flow control is gaining interest in the industry because such a technique may be able to alleviate some of the requirements of the dump diffuser. If a wider angle pre-diffuser with separation control were used the fluid velocity would be slowed more within that region without significant losses. Experiments were performed on two annular diffusers to characterize the flow separation to create a foundation for future active flow control techniques. Both diffusers had the same fully developed inlet flow condition, however, the expansion of the two diffusers differed such that one diffuser replicated a typical compressor discharge diffuser found in a real machine while the other would create a naturally separated flow along the outer wall. Both diffusers were tested at two Reynolds numbers, 5x104 and 1x105, with and without a vertical wall downstream of the exit to replicate the dump diffuser that re-directs the flow from the pre-diffuser outlet to the combustor. Static pressure measurements were obtained along the OD and ID wall of the diffusers to determine the recovered pressure throughout the diffuser. In addition to these measurements, tufts were used to visualize the flow. A turbulent CFD model was also created to compare against experimental results. In the end, the results were validated against empirical data as well as the CFD model. It was shown that the location of the vertical wall was directly related to the amount of separation as well as the separation characteristics. These findings support previous work and help guide future work for active flow control in a separated annular diffuser both computationally and experimentally.

In boundary-layer flows it is possible to reduce the friction drag by breaking the path from laminar to turbulent state. In low turbulence environments, the laminar-to-turbulent transition is dominated by local flow instabilities – Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves – that exponentially grows while being con- vected by the flow and, eventually, lead to transition. Hence, by attenuating these disturbances via localised forcing in the flow it is possible to delay farther downstream the onset of turbulence and reduce the friction drag. Reactive control techniques are widely investigated to this end. The aim of this work is to compare model-based and adaptive control techniques and show how the adaptivity is crucial to control TS-waves in real applications. The control design consists in (i) choosing sensors and actuators and (ii) designing the system responsible to process on-line the measurement signals in order to compute an appropriate forcing by the actuators. This system, called compen- sator, can be static or adaptive, depending on the possibility of self-adjusting its response to unmodelled flow dynamics. A Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulator is chosen as representative of static controllers. Direct numerical simulations of the flow are performed to provide a model for the compensator design and test its performance. An adaptive Filtered-X Least-Mean-Squares (FXLMS) compensator is also designed for the same flow case and its per- formance is compared to the model-based compensator via simulations and experiments. Although the LQG regulator behaves better at design conditions, it lacks robustness to small flow variations. On the other hand, the FXLMS compensator proved to be able to adapt its response to overcome the varied conditions and perform an adequate control action. It is thus found that an adaptive control technique is more suitable to delay the laminar-to-turbulent transition in situations where an accurate model of the flow is not available. / I det tunna gränsskikt som uppstår en yta, kan friktionen minskas genom att förhindra omslag från ett laminärt till ett turbulent flöde. När turbulensnivån är låg  i omgivningen, domineras till en början omslaget av lokala instabiliteter (Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) v ågor) som växer i en exponentiell takt samtidigt som de propagerar nedströms. Därför, kan man förskjuta omslaget genom att dämpa TS vågors tillväxt i ett gränsskikt och därmed minska friktionen.Med detta mål i sikte, tillämpas och jämförs två reglertekniska metoder, nämligen en adaptiv signalbaserad metod och en statiskt modellbaserad metod. Vi visar att adaptivitet är av avgörande betydelse för att kunna dämpa TS vågor i en verklig miljö. Den reglertekniska konstruktionen består av val av givare och aktuatorer samt att bestämma det system som behandlar mätsignaler (on- line) för beräkning av en lämplig signal till aktuatorer. Detta system, som kallas för en kompensator, kan vara antingen statisk eller adaptiv, beroende på om det har möjlighet till att anpassa sig till omgivningen. En så kallad linjär regulator (LQG), som representerar den statiska kompensator, har tagits fram med hjälp av numeriska simuleringar of strömningsfältet. Denna kompensator jämförs med en adaptiv regulator som kallas för Filtered-X Least-Mean-Squares (FXLMS) både experimentellt och numeriskt. Det visar sig att LQG regulatorn har en bättre prestanda än FXLMS för de parametrar som den var framtagen för, men brister i robusthet. FXLMS å andra sidan, anpassar sig till icke- modellerade störningar och variationer, och kan därmed hålla en god och jämn prestanda.Man kan därmed dra slutsaten att adaptiva regulatorer är mer lämpliga för att förhala omslaget fr ån laminär till turbulent strömning i situationer då en exakt modell av fysiken saknas. / <p>QC 20141020</p>

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The concept of plasma flow control is a relatively new idea based on using atmospheric plasma placed near the edge of an air foil to reduce boundary layer losses. As with any new concept, it is important to be able to quantify theoretical assumptions with known experimental results for validation. Currently there are a variety of experiments being done to better understand plasma flow control, but one particular experiment is through the use of multi-physics modeling of dielectric barrier discharge actuators. The research in this thesis uses optical measurement techniques to validate computational models of flow control actuators being done concurrently at Virginia Tech. The primary focus of this work is to design, build and test plasma actuators in order to determine the plasma characteristics relating to electron temperatures and densities. Using optical measurement techniques such as plasma spectroscopy, measured electron temperatures and densities to compare with theoretical calculations of plasma flow control under a variety of flow conditions. This thesis covers a background of plasma physics, optical measurement techniques, and the designing of the plasma actuator setups used in measuring atmospheric plasmas. / Master of Science

Since the 1970s, when the reaction engines had their noise reduced by the increase in their bypass ratio, airframe became the most prominent aerodynamic noise source during the approach to landing. From the airframe noise sources, the high-lift devices are one of the most significant. The most studied and applied solutions for these noise sources refer to passive flow control, and there are relatively few studies related to active flow control. Active flow control is achieved by adding energy to the flow in order to manipulate it. One way to accomplish this is through the dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators. These devices create an intense electric field between two electrodes separated by a dielectric. This strong electric field ionizes and accelerates the air through collision of charged particles of the plasma with neutral air molecules. Thus, a wall jet is produced without using moving parts. In this research, plasma actuators were installed at the flap side edge, at the cove and at the cusp of the slat. Wind tunnel tests have demonstrated the potential of these devices for high-lift noise reduction, allowing for a decrease up to 0.75 dB in the overall flap noise and up to 3.3 dB in overall slat noise (with a reduction of 12 dB at the higher peak). / Desde a década de 1970, quando os motores a reação tiveram seu ruído reduzido devido ao aumento da razão de derivação, o ruído de célula se tornou o mais proeminente durante a fase de aproximação para pouso. Do ruído de plataforma aeronáutica, destacam-se os ruídos gerados pela interação do escoamento com os dispositivos hipersustentadores. As soluções mais estudadas e aplicadas para estas fontes de ruído se referem a controle passivo do escoamento, havendo relativamente poucos estudos relacionados a controle ativo. Controle ativo do escoamento é obtido adicionando-se energia ao mesmo, e uma forma de realizar isto é através dos atuadores de plasma de descarga de barreira dielétrica. Nestes dispositivos um intenso campo elétrico entre dois eletrodos separados por um dielétrico é gerado, ionizando e acelerando o ar através da colisão de partículas carregadas do plasma com moléculas neutras. Desta forma, um jato de parede é produzido sem o uso de partes móveis. Nesta pesquisa, atuadores de plasma foram instalados na borda lateral do flape, na cova e na cúspide do eslate. Ensaios em túnel de vento demonstraram o potencial destes dispositivos para redução de ruído de hipersustentadores, permitindo a redução de até 0.75 dB no ruído global de flape e de até 3.3 dB no ruído global de eslate (com redução de 12 dB no maior pico).

Cette thèse est effectuée dans le cadre du projet Européen "PlasmAero" dont le but est de développer et d'étudier des actionneurs plasmas, et de démontrer leur capacité à contrôler des écoulements aérodynamiques. L'actionneur plasma à Décharge à Barrière Diélectrique (DBD) de surface est un moyen innovant pour contrôler un écoulement en utilisant le vent électrique induit par la force électrohydrodynamique (EHD) générée au sein du gaz ionisé. Une première partie est dédiée à l'étude des actionneurs plasmas. L'influence de la géométrie de l'électrode active d'une DBD est précisée par des mesures électriques, optiques et mécaniques. Les régimes de la décharge de surface peuvent être totalement modifiés, tout commel'évolution de la force EHD en fonction du temps, calculée ici par bilan intégral. Une géométrie optimisée permet de supprimer le régime de décharge streamer et d'augmenter l'efficacité de l'actionneur de 0,65 à 0,97 mN/W. De plus, des configurations à multi-électrodes (sliding discharge et multi-DBD) sont étudiées et développées. Une multi-DBD à potentiels alternés a permis d'obtenir un vent électrique record de 10,5 m/s.L'étude du contrôle d'un écoulement décollé à mi-corde ou en bord de fuite sur l'extrados d'un profil NACA 0015 fait l'objet de la seconde partie de la thèse. Une DBD standard à deux électrodes, une multi-DBD à six électrodes et une DBD de type "nanoseconde" sont utilisées pour agir sur une séparation à des nombres de Reynolds atteignant 1,3μ106, avec une transition naturelle ou déclenchée. Les résultats démontrent que le contrôle permet de repousser efficacement la séparation, améliorant ainsi les performances aérodynamiques du profil. / This work is conducted in the framework of the European PlasmAero project that aims to demonstrate how plasma actuators can be used to control aircraft aerodynamic. Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) is an innovative solution to control a flow with the electric wind induced by the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force produced by a surface discharge. A first part is dedicated to plasma actuators study. The exposed electrode shape of a DBD actuator is investigated by electrical, optical and mechanical characterization. Discharges properties and EHD force evolution is fully dependent of exposed electrode shape. With an optimized active electrode shape, streamer discharge is cancelled while actuator effectiveness is increased from 0.65 to 0.97 mN/W. Flow field induced by multiple electrode design is also investigated. An innovative multi-DBD design is proposed. Inhibition of mutual interaction between successive DBD actuators and exposed electrode shape optimization conduct to an electric wind velocity of 10.5 m/s. In a second part, the control of boundary layer separation on a NACA 0015 airfoil is investigated. An ac DBD, a multi-DBD and a nanosecond DBD are used to manipulate separation at a Reynolds number Re = 1.3μ106, with tripped and natural boundary layer. Results show that actuators can effectively remove the separation existing without actuation.