Suppression of transonic buffet with plasma vortex generators

Abstract

In the present paper, we report on the results of an experimental study of the possibility to control the transonic buffet on a rectangular wing using plasma vortex generators. The influence of the developed device on the flow consists in creating a longitudinal vortex in the boundary layer as a result of asymmetric energy supply at the surface of a small vertical wedge. The experiments were performed using a wing model with a supercritical airfoil in the range of free-stream Mach numbers 0.73 to 0.78 and Reynolds numbers Re = (2.64-2.8)·10⁶. The experimental data obtained using the method of high-speed schlieren visualization and pressure distribution measurements in the wake of the model show that the technique allows one to control both the average flow characteristics and the characteristics of shock-wave oscillations.