PECyT - Plasma Enhanced Cycloidal Thruster

In the following paper we introduce PECyT system for enhancing the aerodynamic efficiency of cycloidal rotors. For that purpose the incorporation of Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasma actuators for active flow control on a pitching airfoil, under deep-stall conditions, will be assessed using a numerical tool. Two different arrangements of DBD actuators will be analysed, namely single- and multi-DBDs configurations. For the single- DBD plasma actuator the effect of different modes of actuation on the lift coefficient will also be studied. We will show that the multi-DBD actuator, in a steady-actuation mode, could delay stall and allows for a faster reattachment of the flow. However during the downstroke phase of the pitching cycle the unsteady operation of a single-DBD gives us the best results in terms of lift coefficient.