Controlling Corner Stall Separation With Plasma Actuators in a Compressor Cascade

This paper presents a numerical and experimental assessment of a plasma actuation concept for controlling corner stall separation in a highly loaded compressor cascade. CFD simulations were first carried out to assess actuator effectiveness and determine the best actuation parameters. Subsequently, experiments were performed to demonstrate the concept and confirmed the CFD tool validity at a Reynolds number of 1.5 × 10⁵. Finally, the validated CFD tool was used to simulate the concept at higher velocities, beyond the experimental capability of existing plasma actuators. These results were used to obtain a preliminary scaling law that would allow approximation of the plasma actuation requirements at realistic operating conditions. Several configurations were examined, but the most effective setup was found to be when plasma actuators were mounted upstream of the separation point on both the suction surface and the endwall. Most of the improvement in total pressure loss stemmed from the suction surface actuator. Comparison with experimental data showed that the CFD simulations could capture the flow features and the effect of plasma actuation reasonably well. Simulations at higher flow velocities indicated that the required plasma actuator strength scales approximately with the square of the Reynolds number.