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Performance improvement and start-up characteristics of a cyclorotor using multiple plasma actuators

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Abstract

In the operation of cycloidal rotors the flow structure deformation, and associated curvature, limits the possibility of achieving an optimum working point. In this study, first, we started by performing a detailed analysis of the start-up characteristics of a cycloidal rotor in order to identify the evolution of kinematic and dynamic characteristics of its operation. Afterwards, we identified the effects of applying multiple plasma boundary layer control, of dielectric barrier discharge type. This application is defined in both sides of the blades, since in cyclorotor movement they change from pressure to suction side over one blade rotation. A control law is defined to regulate the operation of the plasma actuators as the rotor blade move in azimuthal direction. The coupled multiphysics simulation of the cyclorotor and plasma flow is performed by adding to Fluent two user define functions to model the complex cyclorotor movement and the plasma momentum effect. The k-\(\omega \) SST turbulence model is used in the computations. The study is performed for a cyclorotor comprised of six NACA 0016 blade profiles that rotate at 200 rpm. The results demonstrate the advantage of using multiple plasma actuators in order to control the blade flow field. In particular, the configuration with six actuators, three in each side, was the most effective, by improving the thrust by 2.3%, as compared to the base case, and achieving a reduction in power requirements of 0.9%.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Project “EMaDeS –Energy, Materials and Sustainable Development No 01-0145-FEDER-000017, co-financed by the Portugal 2020 Program (PT2020), within the Regional Operational Program of the Center (CENTRO2020) and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was also supported by C-MAST, Center for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technology Research Unit No 151 within ClusterDEM lab at Universidade da Beira Interior. (Portugal).

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  1. Electromechanical Engineering Department, C-MAST – Center for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies, University of Beira Interior, Covilha, Portugal

    Amine Benmoussa & José Carlos Páscoa

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  1. Amine Benmoussa
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  2. José Carlos Páscoa
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Correspondence to Amine Benmoussa.

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Benmoussa, A., Páscoa, J.C. Performance improvement and start-up characteristics of a cyclorotor using multiple plasma actuators. Meccanica 56, 2707–2730 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-021-01413-4

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