The reflection of sound waves by glow discharge plasma was studied theoretically. The main thrust of the investigation was to determine the effectiveness of using glow discharge plasma as a tool in flow control applications. Plasma offers a unique possibility of flow control by remotely introducing energy into the gas medium. In can be generated in a target region of the gas using electromagnetic radiation. Recent experiments demonstrated that a plasma "sheet" attenuate a sound wave by up to 10 dB1. In the present work, sound wave reflection from the gas-plasma boundary is analyzed theoretically. Based on Euler's equations, a onedimensional equation for propagation of the sound wave through a gas with temperature gradients is derived, which was found to be identical to the classical Schroedinger's equation for propagation of the quantum particle through a potential barrier. An analytical solution for the sound reflection coefficient is obtained. The values of the reflection coefficients calculated for realistic temperature distributions in the gas-plasma boundary are encouraging and indicate that glow discharge plasma, indeed, may be a viable method for aeroacoustic control. The analytical results for the onedimensional acoustic wave propagation through plasma agree well with numerical results, which are obtained using the unsteady one-dimensional Euler's equations using a second-order accurate finite difference scheme.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication1st Flow Control Conference
StatePublished - 2002
Event1st Flow Control Conference 2002 - St. Louis, MO, United States
Duration: 24 Jun 200226 Jun 2002

Conference

Conference1st Flow Control Conference 2002
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySt. Louis, MO
Period24/06/0226/06/02

    Scopus subject areas

  • Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Control and Systems Engineering

ID: 9653649