Control of the aero-engine nacelle intake flow separation caused by crosswind condition using plasma actuation

To develop active flow control technique which can suppress the nacelle intake flow separations caused by crosswind effectively, microsecond plasma actuation is used to control the flow separations of a typical nacelle intake model. Both experimental and numerical investigations have been implemented to uncover the corresponding flow control effects. The plasma actuation is installed near the inception point of the nacelle intake flow separations. According to the experimental and numerical results, the nacelle intake flow separations caused by crosswind are suppressed by the plasma actuation. The frequency of the plasma actuation as well as the scale of the flow separation are influential to the flow control effects. The compressive wave induced by the plasma actuation will act on the separated flow as well as the interface between the flow separation zone and the mainstream zone. This is the mechanism behind the suppression of nacelle intake flow separations using microsecond plasma actuation.