Flow control over a solar tracker using dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

Abstract

The presented work carries out a comparative study about the possibilities and effects that a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator may have on the flow control around a solar tracker, with the aim of reducing the aerodynamic loads it might suffer. A solar tracker model with an attached DBD plasma actuator was put inside a low-speed wind tunnel and the aerodynamic loads were recorded by means of a six-component strain gauge at different angles of attack. First, the aerodynamic loads with no plasma were measured as a reference. Afterwards, different actuators were put o n the leading edge of the tracker model. A sinusoidal input voltage was applied, varying the peak-to-peak value and the frequency. The wind speed was fixed. The obtained results show that the plasma actuator can significantly modify the aerodynamic loads of the tracker, but further investigation is needed.