Closed-Loop Control of Ionic Wind Speed Generated by Nanosecond Pulsed Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Ionic wind has attracted increasing interest in promising applications of heat transfer, flow control of aircraft, solid-state propulsion, and plasma-assisted combustion. To enhance the stability of the ionic wind speed and the ability to withstand external disturbance, we developed a closed-loop control system of the ionic wind speed. The system mainly includes an air differential pressure sensor, microcontrollers, a homemade nanosecond pulsed power supply, and a surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD), which generates the ionic wind. When the applied voltage increases from 10.3 to 16.1 kV at a pulse frequency of 10 kHz, the ionic wind speed increases from 0 to 2.92 m/s with an average power consumption of less than 2.5 W. On the other hand, at a fixed voltage of 15.3 kV, the ionic wind speed increases almost linearly from 0.56 to 2.61 m/s with the increase of the pulse frequency from 2 to 10 kHz. Two feedback-loop control strategies based on the relationship among the pulse voltage, pulse frequency, and the ionic wind speed are designed based on the proportion-integral control of the repetition frequency and voltage amplitude. The comparison between the open-loop system and the closed-loop system of the ionic wind speed shows that the closed-loop system works with excellent stability and a solid ability to withstand external disturbance.