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Abstract This study investigates the performance of two types of multi-encapsulated electrode (MEE) plasma actuators, compared to typical dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators, in quiescent air. The objective is to determine whether the multiple encapsulated structure can enhance the performance of the plasma actuator. In the present paper, flow characteristics are investigated by using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and Schlieren visualisation. In addition, the distribution of body force over the gas volume based on the Navier–Stokes equations is calculated from velocity measurements. The obtained results demonstrate that the starting vortex behavior is influenced by electrode arrangement. Specifically, it can be observed that when the first encapsulated electrode is positioned closer to the exposed electrode, then a significantly higher induced velocity can be obtained compared to the baseline condition. In fact, the induced velocity can be increased by up to 1.5 times under this optimize configuration. These results highlight the importance of electrode arrangement in the plasma actuator design. Based on body force estimation, MEE plasma actuators exhibit a significantly higher momentum transfer, particularly in the wall normal direction. The investigation on the mechanical efficiency also reveals that the optimized configuration proposed in the present study can significantly enhance the efficiency. In fact, a four-fold increase in maximum efficiency compared to the typical configuration is observed. These results suggest that the proposed configuration could be considered a promising solution for improving the mechanical efficiency of plasma actuators.
Zhou et al. (Mon,) studied this question.