Three-dimensional numerical simulation of discharge and flow related to airflow control using plasma actuator

JAXA Supercomputer System Annual Report February 2025-January 2026

Report Number: R25EACA16

Subject Category: JSS Inter-University Research

Responsible Representative: Naofumi Ohnishi, Professor, Tohoku University
Contact Information: Naofumi Ohnishi(naohnishi@tohoku.ac.jp)
Members: Rei Maeta, Naofumi Ohnishi, Shintaro Sato

Abstract

Plasma actuator has attracted attention as a fluid control device using dielectric barrier discharge. In the experimental study, it has been pointed out that the discharge has a spanwise distribution of the electrode and has a three-dimensional structure. The three-dimensional structure affects the induced flow distribution of the plasma actuator. In this study, we perform the three-dimensional numerical calculation of discharge and flow for verification of airflow control effect of plasma actuator.

Reference URL

N/A

Reasons and benefits of using JAXA Supercomputer System

In the calculation of the discharge phenomenon, it is necessary to solve Poisson's equation at every time step, and it is solved using a convergence calculation, which calculation cost is high. In addition, since three-dimensional calculations are performed in this research, the required memory capacity is so large, and a supercomputer is necessary.

Achievements of the Year

This year, three-dimensional simulations of the discharge process were conducted as a step toward coupled computations of discharge and fluid phenomena. To investigate the discharge characteristics of dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators (DBDPAs) under high-altitude ultraviolet (UV) irradiation environments, a model was developed in which surface-adsorbed electrons undergo photo-desorption due to UV exposure, and numerical simulations of the discharge process were performed using a plasma fluid model. To clarify the effects of UV irradiation on the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force responsible for inducing airflow, the target of the simulations was the periodic discharge process generated under the application of a positive ramp voltage in atmospheric-pressure air. The results showed that the spanwise scale of the streamer discharge structure changes with the inclusion of photo-desorption (Fig. 1). Although a general decreasing trend in the EHD force was observed under UV irradiation, an increase in the EHD force was identified when the photo-desorption flux was sufficiently large to suppress the transition of the discharge mode to the streamer regime (Fig. 2). These findings provide qualitative insights into the influence of UV irradiation on the EHD force of DBDPAs, and future work should include quantitative comparisons with experimental results. Furthermore, by extending the present model to incorporate low-pressure conditions, it is expected that the induced flow characteristics of DBDPAs in high-altitude environments can be systematically investigated.

Fig.1: Spatial distribution of positive ion number density in the vicinity of the surface during streamer discharge propagation (voltage rise rate: dV/dt=1000V/us).

Fig.2: Time-averaged EHD force under different photo-desorption flux conditions.

Publications

- Oral Presentations

Rei Maeta, Shintaro Sato, and Naofumi Ohnishi, "Effect of Ultraviolet Irradiation on Streamer Formation in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator," the 35th International Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS).

Usage of JSS

Computational Information

Process Parallelization Methods: MPI
Thread Parallelization Methods: N/A
Number of Processes: 36 - 720
Elapsed Time per Case: 9 Hour(s)

JSS3 Resources Used

Fraction of Usage in Total Resources*1(%): 0.42

Details

Please refer to System Configuration of JSS3 for the system configuration and major specifications of JSS3.

Computational Resources
System Name	CPU Resources Used (Core x Hours)	Fraction of Usage*2(%)
TOKI-SORA	1382432.00	0.06
TOKI-ST	3315227.05	3.43
TOKI-GP	0.00	0.00
TOKI-XM	0.00	0.00
TOKI-LM	0.00	0.00
TOKI-TST	0.00	0.00
TOKI-TGP	0.00	0.00
TOKI-TLM	0.00	0.00

File System Resources
File System Name	Storage Assigned (GiB)	Fraction of Usage*2(%)
/home	0.00	0.00
/data and /data2	1000.00	0.01
/ssd	0.00	0.00

Archiver Resources
Archiver Name	Storage Used (TiB)	Fraction of Usage*2(%)
J-SPACE	3.47	0.01

*1: Fraction of Usage in Total Resources: Weighted average of three resource types (Computing, File System, and Archiver).

*2: Fraction of Usage：Percentage of usage relative to each resource used in one year.

ISV Software Licenses Used

ISV Software Licenses Resources
	ISV Software Licenses Used (Hours)	Fraction of Usage*2(%)
ISV Software Licenses (Total)	0.00	0.00

*2: Fraction of Usage：Percentage of usage relative to each resource used in one year.