Instability wave control in turbulent jet by plasma actuators

Instability waves in the shear layer of turbulent jets are known to be a significant source of jet noise, which makes their suppression important for the aviation industry. In this study we apply plasma actuators in order to control instability waves in the shear layer of a turbulent air jet at atmospheric pressure. Three types of plasma actuators are studied: high-frequency dielectric barrier discharge, slipping surface discharge, and surface barrier corona discharge. Particle image velocimetry measurements of the shear layer demonstrate that the plasma actuators have control authority over instability waves and effectively suppress the instability waves artificially generated in the shear layer. It makes these actuators promising for application in active control systems for jet noise mitigation.