AIAA JOURNAL

Cancellation of Tollmien–Schlichting Waves in Direct Vicinity

of a Plasma Actuator

Bernhard Simon,∗ Daniel Markus,† and Cameron Tropea‡

Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64347 Griesheim, Germany
and
Sven Grundmann§
Universität Rostock, 18059 Rostock, Germany
DOI: 10.2514/1.J056265
The active cancellation of Tollmien–Schlichting waves is a promising and energy-efficient laminar flow control
technology with the goal of drag reduction by delaying laminar–turbulent transition. This paper analyzes, for the first
time, the control mechanism in the direct vicinity of the actuator using particle image velocimetry. Artificial
Tollmien–Schlichting waves are generated at a frequency of f TS
250 Hz in a two-dimensional zero-pressure-
gradient flat-plate boundary layer (U∞
15 m∕s). The Tollmien–Schlichting waves travel downstream and are
Downloaded by Cameron Tropea on March 1, 2018 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.J056265

attenuated with an unsteady dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuator force. Phase-locked particle image
velocimetry measurements at an acquisition rate of f acq
800 Hz in double-frame mode are conducted in the direct
vicinity of the plasma actuator, resolving 16 phase angles of the wave cycle. The use of two cameras allows
measurement of two full wavelengths of the Tollmien–Schlichting waves and a detailed analysis of the cancellation
process. The phase-averaged velocity fields of the artificially generated Tollmien–Schlichting waves are validated
with a linear stability theory. The wavelength, amplification, and shape of the Tollmien–Schlichting wave
disturbances and the counterwaves generated by the plasma actuator are analyzed.

Nomenclature with laminar wing technology. Although passive flow control methods
a, b, c = fit parameters (wing shape) are sufficient for the wing design of gliders that operate at
cω = phase speed, m∕s relatively low Reynolds numbers, maintaining the laminar flow on a
Fx = integral plasma actuator body force, N∕m transport aircraft wing will require active control technologies.
facq = acquisition frame rate of the cameras, Hz Predetermined flow control methods [1] like boundary-layer (BL)
fTS = Tollmien–Schlichting wave frequency, Hz suction influence the mean flow in the BL, which results in a more
H12 = boundary-layer shape factor stable BL state and delayed laminar–turbulent transition.
kx;i = streamwise wave number, 1∕m The scope of this paper is reactive flow control. It is one step further
U∞ = freestream velocity, m∕s and appears promising in terms of energy efficiency because the
V pp = plasma actuator operating voltage amplitude actuator only acts on distinct perturbations in the flow instead of
(peak–peak), V changing the mean flow, which requires considerably higher-
x = streamwise coordinate, m momentum input. Assuming a two-dimensional (2-D) boundary
x0 = streamwise coordinate equal to zero at the plasma layer and low inflow turbulence, the transition to turbulence is
actuator position, m initiated by a receptivity process and the exponential growth of
y = wall-normal coordinate, m instabilities in the laminar boundary layer [2,3]. These instabilities,
Δt = time between two laser pulses, s known as Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) waves, are velocity fluctuations
ΔΦTS = phase resolution in the Tollmien–Schlichting wave that grow in amplitude while travelling downstream. The cancellation
cycle, rad of these TS waves with a dielectric-barrier-discharge (DBD) plasma
δ1 = displacement boundary-layer thickness, m actuator (PA) is the approach examined in the present work.
δ2 = momentum boundary-layer thickness, m Active wave cancellation (AWC) of TS waves in the laminar
δ1 = δ1 at the beginning of the domain, m boundary layer has been conducted in the past with different kinds of
λx = wavelength in streamwise direction, m actuators; however, the precise interaction between the TS waves and the
flowfield induced by the actuator has seldom been examined. Motivated
by early work on AWC [4–6], Grundmann and Tropea [7] used a single
PA to cancel out artificially generated TS waves in a laminar BL. Other
I. Introduction researchers conducted numerical investigations on AWC [8–10].
Experiments on the attenuation of single-frequency 2-D TS waves by
T HE ambitious goals for the fuel efficiency of future transport
aircraft require less friction drag, which can be partially achieved Kurz et al. [11] showed the first application of the PA for AWC in flight.
The concept of amplitude attenuation by superposition is widely spread
Received 1 May 2017; revision received 16 December 2017; accepted for in other disciplines. Active noise cancellation [12] is the most prominent
publication 22 January 2018; published online 26 February 2018. Copyright example and is already available in consumer goods like headphones.
© 2018 by Bernhard Simon. Published by the American Institute of Arrays of actuators and sensors are required to account for the three-
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission. All requests for copying dimensional character of naturally occurring TS waves. Recently, the
and permission to reprint should be submitted to CCC at www.copyright.com; successful application of arrays of actuators in a multichannel system
employ the ISSN 0001-1452 (print) or 1533-385X (online) to initiate your was reported in the literature [13–16]. Numerical simulations of a
request. See also AIAA Rights and Permissions www.aiaa.org/randp. multichannel system with an array of PAs by Fabbiane et al. [17] showed
*Research Assistant, Institute for Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics, a delay of transition of a flat-plate boundary layer.
Flughafenstrasse 19.
†
Master’s Student, Institute for Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics,
Naturally occurring, broadband waves do not allow investigation
Flughafenstrasse 19. of the cancellation process; thus, phase-locked measurements of
‡
Department Head, Institute for Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics, artificially generated single-frequency TS waves with a plane 2-D
Flughafenstrasse 19. Member AIAA. wave front are studied in the present work. Furthermore, nonintrusive
§
Department Head, Lehrstuhl Strömungsmechanik, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 2. optical measurement techniques like particle image velocimetry
Article in Advance / 1
 2 Article in Advance
(PIV) are the only real option to measure the velocity field in the
direct vicinity of the actuator.
Measurements by Widmann et al. [18] demonstrated the possibility
to measure artificially generated single-frequency TS waves by phase-
locked PIV for the first time. The technique was then implemented to
investigate the interaction between TS waves and a PA, operated in
boundary-layer stabilization mode [19]. Inspired by the work of
Widmann et al. [18], Amitay et al. [20] measured the effect of the AWC
downstream of a pointwise moving wall actuator by means of PIV. The
present study yields additional insight into the cancellation process of
the waves with the unsteady PA force directly at the actuator.
Boundary-layer stabilization caused by a steady PA force [21,22] is not
within the scope of this paper.
The paper is structured as follows: Sec. II provides an overview of
the experimental setup, including the flat-plate wind-tunnel model,
the PIV setup, and the experimental procedure. The base flow on the
flat plate and the effect of the steady PA forcing on the base flow are
analyzed in Secs. III and IV, respectively. The phase-averaged
velocity fields of the artificially generated TS waves are investigated
in Secs. V and VI, whereas the counterwaves, generated by the PA,
are analyzed in Sec. VII. Finally, the cancellation process is discussed
Downloaded by Cameron Tropea on March 1, 2018 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.J056265
in Sec. VIII, and conclusions are given in Sec. IX.
II. Experimental Setup and Experimental Procedure
The experiments are conducted in an open-circuit Eiffel-type wind
tunnel at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, which provides a
450 × 450 mm closed test section. The tunnel sucks the air from outside
through the test section in order to avoid disturbances caused by the
rotor. An average turbulence intensity of Tu  0.1% is measured with a
hot-wire sensor (bandpass filtered: 10 Hz < f < 10 kHz) at the end of
the 1:24 contraction nozzle at a wind-tunnel speed of U∞  12 m∕s.
A 1.6-m-long flat plate, equipped with n 1:6 elliptical leading edge
and an adjustable trailing-edge flap, is mounted horizontally at
the half-height of the test section. Figure 1 shows a sketch of the flat
plate; sensor and actuator positions are marked with symbols.
A disturbance source d generates pressure fluctuations at xd 
225 mm that develop into two-dimensional artificially generated TS
waves while travelling downstream. A surface hot-wire sensor e
measures the velocity fluctuations at xe  408 mm, downstream of a
single DBD PA c. A GBS Minipuls 2.1 high-voltage supply drives the
270-mm-wide PA, which is installed flush mounted at xc  363 mm
in a spanwise groove. By modulating the amplitude of the PA’s
operating voltage, an unsteady body force is generated to cancel out
the artificially generated TS waves by superposition. More detailed
information on the wind tunnel, the disturbance source, the DBD PA,
sensors, and the base flow adjustment can be found in the work of
Simon et al. [23] and Fabbiane et al. [24].
A. General PIV Setup
The two-dimensional two-velocity component (2D-2C) boun-
dary-layer PIV measurements are conducted with a high-speed PIV
system consisting of a dual-cavity Litron LDY303-PIV laser and two
Phantom v12.1 cameras with a resolution of 1280 × 1280 pixels. The
cameras are juxtaposed in the streamwise direction in order to
increase the measurement area in the streamwise direction.
A 1.5-mm-thick and approximately 80-mm-wide laser sheet is
guided through a window in the upper wall of the test section to the
FOV1 FOV2
U y
d x c e
d(n) c(n)
controller
e(n)
Fig. 1 Sketch of the flat-plate setup. FOV1 is centered at the PA c, FOV2
covers PA and error sensor e. Signals are indicated as en, dn, and
cn in the block diagram (bottom of figure).
/ SIMON ET AL.
flat-plate surface. The laser sheet is aligned in the streamwise direction
and in 150 mm distance from the left test section wall, where a window
enables optical access for the cameras. The cameras and the laser can be
operated at frequencies up to 6242 Hz in the dual-frame mode; however,
the flat-plate surface material in the measurement region consists of
10-mm-thick transparent acrylic glass, which can be easily damaged by
the intense laser light. Therefore, the laser is only operated at 800 Hz in
the dual-frame mode and at an output energy of 9.5 mJ per pulse.
Each camera is mounted on a Scheimpflug adapter, equipped with a
Tamron 180 mm F∕3.5 macro 1:1 lens and operated in the dual-frame
mode. The camera sensor width of 25.4 mm and the macrolens lead to an
image width of ≈30 mm and an average resolution of 45 pixels∕mm.
The images of both cameras are overlapped by ≈5 mm, and the
calculated velocity fields are subsequently crossfaded afterward. This
leads to a total length of the field of view (FOV) of ≈55 mm. During the
experiments, both cameras were moved to two streamwise positions,
whereas FOV1 was centered at the PA position and FOV2 was moved
20 mm downstream, cf. Fig. 1.
Vaporized Di-Ethyl-Hexyl-Sebacat (DEHS) seeding particles with
an average size of 1 μm are introduced into the settling chamber of
the wind tunnel via a vertical perforated tube. Investigations by
Boucinha et al. [25] showed no significant influence of the DEHS
seeding particles on the discharge process.
B. Timing and Synchronization
The PIVequipment is timed with in-house LabVIEW software using
a National Instruments PCI-6602 digital timer card with a base clock of
fb  40 MHz. The phase-locked measurements only allow integer
divisors of fb for the disturbance generation frequency fTS and the
acquisition frequency of the PIV system facq ; otherwise, a phase shift
will occur over time. The time between the frames is set to Δt  16 μs
for a freestream velocity of U∞  15 m∕s. The disturbance frequency
is set to fTS  250 Hz, which lies in the most amplified frequency band
of the stability curve; see Sec. III. In combination with an acquisition
rate of facq  800 Hz, this leads to a resolution of 16 phase angles
acquired over five disturbance cycles with a phase resolution of
ΔΦTS  π∕8 rad; cf. Fig. 2. A total number of 8216 images are
recorded for each measurement, which is limited by the camera
memory. The number of image pairs for each phase is then 256.
A photodiode is placed close to the laser sheet, and the voltage signal
induced by the laser pulses is simultaneously recorded with the
disturbance source driving signal. Postprocessing of both signals allows
one to locate the relative phase angle of the first recorded image pair.
C. Image Preprocessing, Correlation, and Velocity Field Dewarping
The average gray value of all image pairs is subtracted for each
camera, reducing the wall reflections significantly. PIVview2C v3.5
is used for the image correlation. An adaptive correlation with a start
interrogation area (IA) size of 256 × 256 pixels and a final size of
16 × 16 pixels with 50% overlap is used to obtain the velocity fields
of the image pairs for each camera. The PIV velocity vector spacing is
therefore 8∕45 mm. Outliers are detected with a median test. The
seeding density is not constant during the experiments, which causes
images with little seeding. Image pairs with less than 95% valid data
points are removed from the dataset.
The velocity fields are dewarped after image correlation for each
camera separately. A dewarping of the raw images before image
Fig. 2 Timing of the PIV image acquisition. The red dots show the 16
measurement points during five cycles of the disturbance excitation
signal dt.
 Article in Advance
correlation will lead to a wavelike artifact pattern in the correlated
velocity fields, which is caused by the limited accuracy of the
dewarping procedure. The amplitude of this pattern is of the order of the
TS-wave amplitude and is therefore not acceptable. The dewarping is
based on images of a calibration target, which consists of a dot pattern
with a dot diameter of 1.5 mm and 2.375 mm dot spacing. The
calibration target is milled from a white-coated black high-density
polyethylene plate. Compared to printed targets, the edges of the dots
are sharper and the dot spacing is more accurate. After the calibration
pictures are taken, a MATLAB routine automatically detects the centers
of the dots and a third-order polynomial approach is applied for the
coordinate transformation [26]. The dewarped velocity fields are
mapped onto a common grid with twice the resolution of the IAs and
linearly crossfaded in the overlap region of both cameras.
D. Experimental Procedure
The investigations in this paper are based on six measurement
configurations, summarized in Table 1. The measurements,
corresponding to the settings in the table, are conducted in order to
answer the following questions:
1) Is the undisturbed (natural) base flow a 2-D laminar Blasius
Downloaded by Cameron Tropea on March 1, 2018 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.J056265
boundary layer (Sec. III)?
2) How does the steady PA force alter the boundary layer (Sec. IV)?
3) Do the disturbances generated by the disturbance source have
TS-wave character (Sec. V)?
4) How does the steady PA force influence the shape and the
amplification of the incoming TS waves (Sec. VI)?
5) Do the counterwaves generated by the PA have TS-wave
character (Sec. VII)?
6) How do the incoming TS waves interfere with the counterwaves
generated by the PA in AWC mode (Sec. VIII)?
III. Base Flow on the Flat Plate
The phase-locked PIV measurements were conducted on a flat plate
at a freestream velocity of U∞  15 m∕s. This was a low-disturbance
amplification scenario, as shown in the corresponding stability diagram
for a Blasius boundary layer in Fig. 3. All linear stability theory (LST)
computations presented in this paper have been conducted with a code
provided by Reeh [27]. A Blasius BL with a freestream velocity of
U∞  15 m∕s, a kinematic viscosity of ν  14.29 ⋅ 10−6 m2 ∕s and a
spanwise wave number of kz  0 is assumed. The disturbance source
d, placed at xd  225 mm , generates single-frequency 2-D
disturbances with a plane wave front at a frequency of fTS  250 Hz.
The disturbance frequency is in between the neutral stability curve
(kx;i < 0) and is therefore amplified for the considered region
between the disturbance source and the error sensor e, mounted at
xe  408 mm ( ). This low-amplification scenario is chosen in order
to ensure a dominant role of the artificial 2-D waves in the considered
measurement region around the PA c, placed at xc  363 mm ( ).
The base flow measurements presented in the following are only valid
for one specific case because the open-return wind-tunnel design does
not provide constant environmental conditions. The Reynolds number
and stability properties of the boundary layer change slightly from day to
day. Measurements that are compared directly in the following
discussion are recorded within a short timeframe of about 1 h. It is
assumed that the flow parameters are constant during that timeframe.
Table 1 Measurement configurations of the
plasma actuator and disturbance source for the
phase-locked PIV measurements
No. Disturbance source Plasma actuator
1 Off Off
2 Off Steady forcing
3 On, 250 Hz Off
4 On, 250 Hz Steady forcing
5 Off Unsteady forcing, 250 Hz
6 On, 250 Hz Unsteady forcing, 250 Hz
/ SIMON ET AL. 3
600 1.5
500
1
400
300
0.5
200
100
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Fig. 3 Neutral stability curve (black line, kx;i
0) and n-factor
contours for zero-pressure gradient and U∞
15 m. Symbols indicate
positions of actuators and sensors; cf. Fig. 1. The dashed line indicates the
TS frequency f TS
250 Hz.
Fig. 4 Mean flowfield of FOV2 ; the PA is located at x 0
0 mm. The
wall-normal coordinate is normalized with the displacement thickness at
the beginning of the domain δ1 at x 0
−5 mm.
The mean flowfield, obtained by image correlation of both
cameras, is shown in Fig. 4. A new streamwise coordinate x 0 is
introduced, where x 0  0 is located at the edge of the upper PA
electrode (xc  363 mm). The wall-normal coordinate y is
normalized with the displacement thickness at the beginning of the
domain δ1 , at x 0  −5 mm. As described in Sec. II, the velocity
fields are first computed for each camera individually, dewarped, and
then interpolated onto a common grid. The velocity field of two
different FOVs have been measured. In FOV1 , the PA is centered and
the incoming TS waves upstream of the PA can be investigated. FOV2
resolves the velocity field mainly downstream of the PA, including
the error sensor position at x 0  45 mm; cf. Fig. 1. In the following,
both FOVs are presented, depending on the phenomena discussed.
The velocity profile in Fig. 5a, extracted from Fig. 4 at
x 0  24.9 mm, shows excellent agreement with the zero-pressure
gradient Blasius boundary layer. More significant is the comparison
of the BL parameters δ1 x 0 , δ2 x 0 , and H 12 x 0   δ1 x 0 ∕δ2 x 0  in
Fig. 5b. The displacement thickness δ1 and the momentum thickness
δ2 are almost constant for the entire velocity field, and the measured
shape factor H 12 is very close to the Blasius solution (H 12  2.59). The
upper electrode of the PA extends from x 0  −5 mm to x 0  0 mm
and has a thickness of 35 μm. It passively influences the boundary-
layer development due to its presence, but reflections at the copper
electrode also induce noise into the PIV measurements. This is
reflected in the noisy data of the BL parameters for x 0 < 2 mm, but
the data further downstream of the actuator confirm the laminar
Blasius BL. The Blasius character of the undisturbed flow is the basis
for further investigations on artificially generated TS waves and
comparison with linear stability theory in Sec. V.
IV. Effect of Steady Plasma Actuator Forcing on the
Base Flow
The PA generates an unsteady volume force on the timescale of the
PA driving frequency (fPA ≈ 10 kHz) [28], but the characteristic
frequencies of the BL are more than an order of magnitude lower.
Hence, the volume force can be considered steady. Because the PA
generates a downstream directed force, a steady force offset is always
present in AWC mode. The steady force offset has a stabilizing effect
on the laminar BL, as previously shown [21,29]. However, in this
study, the active wave cancellation is the investigated mechanism.
 4 Article in Advance / SIMON ET AL.

a) Measured velocity profile b) Measured boundary-layer parameters δ 1, δ2, H12, and

at x = 24.9 mm (every second H12 = 2.59 (Blasius solution)
data point is shown for clarity)
Fig. 5 Measured BL profile and parameters, and corresponding Blasius solution FOV2 .

Therefore, the mean amplitude of the driving high-voltage signal is displacement thickness δ1 is almost constant, whereas δ2 increases
Downloaded by Cameron Tropea on March 1, 2018 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.J056265

set to V pp  7 kV, which is equivalent to an integral steady force
offset of Fx ≈ 1 mN∕m. Past studies on BL stabilization [21,29] have
been conducted with Fx > 10 mN∕m, and the expected stabilizing
effect on the BL is therefore comparably weak in the present case.
Figure 6 shows the effect of the steady PA force on the base flow.
The BL parameters δ1 , δ2 , and H 12 are presented for FOV2, which
mainly shows the development of the BL downstream of the PA. The
slightly downstream of the PA and results in a lower H12 as compared
to Fig. 5b. The relatively low steady force offset leads to a more
stable BL and an attenuation of the TS-wave amplitude, as will be
confirmed later in Sec. VI. These findings agree well with previous
studies by Grundmann and Tropea [30] and Duchmann et al. [31],
who also showed decreased values of H 12 downstream of the PA for a
steady PA force.

V. Artificially Generated Tollmien–Schlichting Waves

Fig. 6 Measured boundary-layer parameters δ1 , δ2 , and H12 with
steady PA forcing and H12
2.59 (Blasius solution); FOV2 .
In the following, the Tollmien–Schlichting character of dis-
turbances generated artificially by the disturbance source is verified.
The disturbance source enables 2-D and three-dimensional (3-D)
disturbance scenarios but, for this experiment, a plane 2-D wave
front is generated because 2D-2C PIV measurements are conducted
with a single PA. The disturbance source is capable of introducing
single-frequency pressure fluctuations into the BL that cause velocity
fluctuations, which travel downstream. In the following, these
artificially generated disturbances are investigated by PIV and
checked whether they have TS-wave character.
The phase-averaged measurements of the streamwise component
u 0 of the artificial TS wave with a frequency of 250 Hz is presented in
Fig. 7a for one (relative) phase angle at U∞  15 m∕s. Two full
wavelengths are covered by the PIV setup with two cameras. The
wavelike pattern inside the boundary layer with an increasing

a) Phase-averaged velocity field

b) Experimental data, extracted from the velocity field (a) at y/δ 1* = 0.67 and
data fit according to equation (1)
Fig. 7 Phase-averaged velocity field and data fit of TS waves with f TS
250 Hz at U∞
15 m∕s for FOV2 at one (relative) phase angle.
 Article in Advance
amplitude in streamwise direction can be observed well. In addition,
the counteroscillating part of the wave above the BL with a phase shift
of 180 deg is visible. An extract of the data at y∕δ1  0.67 is shown in
Fig. 7b:


2π 0 0
u 0 x 0   a sin x  b e−kx;i x  c (1)
λx
Equation (1) describes the spatial growth of the wave. The fitting
parameters are the wavelength λx , the spatial growth rate kx;i , the
initial amplitude a, the phase offset b, and the offset c. The fitted
parameters are λx  21.66 mm and kx;i  −16.2 ⋅ 10−3 l∕m,
respectively, yielding a phase speed of cω  λx fTS  5.415 m∕s.
These measured values match well with the theoretical values
calculated by the LST at this position (cω;LST  5.48 m∕s).
Besides the spatial development of the TS waves, the shape in the
wall-normal direction is important. Figure 8a shows the normalized
amplitude (absolute value) of a TS-wave profile, extracted from
Fig. 7a at x 0  24.9 mm. The measured and theoretically (LST)
predicted profiles match well for y∕δ1 < 2. Above that, the data are
noisier, as also observed by Widmann et al. [19]. The scatter observed
for these points is not disconcerting; it reflects only the extremely
Downloaded by Cameron Tropea on March 1, 2018 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.J056265
expanded scale on which the very low-velocity fluctuations are
presented; e.g., the peak value on the graph, here normalized to unity,
is only ≈1% of the freestream velocity. In conclusion, the disturbance
source generates pressure fluctuations that develop into velocity
fluctuations with TS-wave character.
Phase averaging is necessary to measure TS waves with PIV because
statistical velocity fluctuations and measurement noise overlay the
^ ≈ 1%U∞ .
artificially generated TS waves with an amplitude of maxu
The number of required image pairs for convergence of the velocity
fields can be estimated with a convergence diagram; cf. Fig. 8b. The
standard deviation of the streamwise velocity for one phase σ u 0 is
averaged over 3 × 3 IAs at a position inside the boundary layer
(x 0  24.9 mm, y∕δ1  0.8). The result is normalized with the local
mean velocity at this point. The normalized standard deviation σ u 0 ∕U
converges for ≈200 image pairs. Compared to the measurements
of Widmann et al. [18] (1700 image pairs) and Amitay et al. [20]
(3000 image pairs), a significantly lower number of image pairs is
required due to the application of a high-speed PIV system. In addition,
the high inflow quality, resulting in a constant TS-wave amplitude over
time, has a major impact on the signal-to-noise ratio.
VI. Effect of Steady Plasma Actuator Forcing on
Tollmien–Schlichting Waves
In this section, the interaction between the incoming artificial TS
waves and steady PA forcing is investigated. The results of Sec. IV
already showed that the PA has an impact on the mean velocity field.
Figure 9a shows the artificial TS waves (fTS  250 Hz) at U∞ 
15 m∕s as a reference case for FOV1. Figure 9b shows the case with
steady PA forcing (V pp  7 kV) for the same relative phase angle. A
slight damping of the amplitude downstream of the PA is visible,
whereas the incoming wave upstream of the PA has a similar
amplitude in both cases. More distinct is the increased wavelength
downstream of the PA. This effect has already been measured by
a) TS-wave profile at x′ = 24.9 mm, b) Convergence of the normalized standard
extracted from Fig. 7a (every second data deviation of u′(x′ = 24.9 mm, y/δ 1 = 0.9)
point is shown for clarity)
Fig. 8 TS-wave profile and convergence diagram at one phase angle.
/ SIMON ET AL. 5
Widmann et al. [19] with PIV and has been predicted by Duchmann
et al. [32] with LST computations. The measurements with different
steady PA force amplitudes by Simon et al. [23] also showed an
increased phase speed cω for an increasing steady PA force, which
corresponded to an increased wavelength.
The qualitative observations can be confirmed with Fig. 9c. It
shows a horizontal extract of the data of the velocity fields in Figs. 9a
and 9b at y∕δ1  0.52. Upstream of the PA, both measured
curves match well; but downstream, the wave is stretched. The
approximation of the spatial wave development with Eq. (1) is also
presented in Fig. 9c. The computed wavelength of the fit is
λx  20.56 mm for the uncontrolled case and λx  24.56 mm for
the controlled case with steady PA forcing. Because the TS wave is
only influenced downstream of the PA, the curve is only fitted to the
wavelength downstream of the PA.
VII. Counterwaves Generated by the Plasma Actuator
In Sec. V, the TS-wave character of the velocity fluctuations
generated by the disturbance source was investigated and
confirmed. The measurements presented in this section investigate
the development of the counterwaves, generated by the PA. The
actuator is operated with a driving signal frequency of fPA 
10 kHz with an amplitude offset of V pp  7 kV. The modulation of
the driving signal with fTS  250 Hz generates an unsteady PA
force. Figure 10 shows the phase-averaged velocity field of u 0 with
unsteady PA forcing for one phase angle. The counterwaves are
generated directly at the actuator, as also shown for additional phase
angles in Fig. A1 (Appendix). The part of the wave pattern with a
negative amplitude appears directly downstream of the PA. The
generated wave looks similar to a TS wave, but the tail of the wave
pattern in Fig. 10 already indicates that the forced generation of
the wave does not directly lead to velocity fluctuations with
TS-wave character. The tail of the wave-pattern has also been
observed by Widmann [33]. He concluded that a higher steady PA
force led to a more pronounced tail.
Analyzing the TS-wave development with FOV2 (Fig. 11a)
provides better insight into the mechanisms of the counterwave
generation process. The waves grow in amplitude while traveling
downstream; also, the wavelength changes.
Figure 11b shows the extracted data from the phase-averaged
velocity field at y∕δ1  0.49. Both cycles are approximated with a fit
of Eq. (1). The initial wavelength of λx  19.52 mm just behind the
actuator increases to λx  22.69 mm, which is slightly higher than in
the uncontrolled case of λx  21.66 mm; cf. Fig. 7b. Only one
wavelength (upstream), or even less (downstream), is available for
the data fit; and the generated wave is not necessarily sinusoidal.
Hence, the calculated wavelength λx is only an indicator rather than a
firm value.
It can be concluded that the PA does not generate TS waves
directly, but the disturbances develop while traveling downstream,
with varying wavelength. The impact of the changing wave
properties for the AWC of TS waves is discussed in the following
section.
 6 Article in Advance / SIMON ET AL.

a) Phase-averaged velocity field, uncontrolled

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b) Phase-averaged velocity field, controlled with steady PA force at Vpp = 7 kV

c) Experimental data, extracted from the velocity field (Fig. 9a) at y/δ 1 = 0.52
and data fit, according to Eq. (1)
Fig. 9 Impact of the steady PA force on the TS waves (f TS
250 Hz) at U∞
15 m∕s, acquired for FOV1 at one (relative) phase angle.

Fig. 10 Phase-averaged velocity field of u 0 at U∞
15 m∕s at one (relative) phase angle ΦTS
0, acquired for FOV1 . The PA force is modulated at
f TS
250 Hz and generates counterwaves.

VIII. Active Cancellation of Tollmien–Schlichting
Waves
The preceding sections dealt with the characterization of the base
flow, the incoming waves, and the velocity fluctuations generated by
the PA itself. In the following, the disturbance source and the PA are
operated simultaneously to investigate the active wave cancellation
and the interaction of the two waves. In contrast to the broadband
cancellation of the TS waves presented in the following sections, no
real-time controller is necessary to compute the optimal counterwaves.
Therefore, the amplitude and phase of the PA modulation are adjusted
manually to minimize the amplitude at the error sensor, mounted at
x 0  45 mm. Both the PA control signal and the disturbance source
signal are on the same time base, and no phase lag occurs over time.
Great care is taken to insure a rather constant amplitude of the
artificially generated TS waves. Nonetheless, the amplitude varies
slightly over time. A feedforward fxLMS controller [23] will lead to a
better performance in terms of error-sensor signal reduction, but a
continuous adaption of the phase and amplitude by the controller can
lead to changes in the phase speed of the waves downstream of the
PA; hence, manual settings are chosen.
Figure 12 shows the phase-averaged PIV measurements of the
velocity fluctuations u 0 for three cases: uncontrolled TS waves, steady
PA forcing, and AWC. Figure 12c indicates that the incoming TS waves
interfere with the counterwaves generated by the PA. Nevertheless, the
cancellation process does not occur directly at the actuator but further
downstream. Only a part of the wave is attenuated because the
generated counterwave does not exactly match the incoming TS wave.
The counteroscillating part of the wave above the BL is damped, and the
wavelike structure is not visible anymore. A more detailed explanation
about the cancellation process can be obtained by observing the
velocity fields measured downstream of the PA in FOV2 .
The phase-averaged velocity fields presented in Fig. 13 allow the
AWC between the PA (x 0  0 mm) and the error sensor
(x 0  45 mm) to be investigated. The contour plot in Fig. 13c shows
successful attenuation of the TS waves, but the amplitude starts to
further decrease one wavelength downstream of the PA.
 Article in Advance / SIMON ET AL. 7

a) Phase-averaged velocity field of u′

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b) Data, extracted from Fig. 11a at y/δ 1 = 0.49

Fig. 11 Counterwaves generated by the PA at f TS
250 Hz and U∞
15 m∕s; FOV2 .

a) Uncontrolled TS waves

b) TS waves, controlled by steady PA forcing

c) Active wave cancellation

Fig. 12 Control of artificially generated TS waves (f TS
250 Hz). Phase-averaged velocity fields at U∞
15 m∕s for FOV1 .

The distorted structure of the TS waves downstream of the PA does disturbances in the BL. Figure 14 shows UTS for the three cases
not allow an evaluation of the control success by extracting data at a presented in Fig. 13. The steady forcing causes a stabilization of the
horizontal line. The integral TS-wave amplitude BL and avoids an exponential growth of the disturbances in the
Z considered FOV2 . If the PA is operated in AWC mode, UTS decreases
1 ∞ 0 for 0 mm < x 0 < 20 mm and stays at a rather constant level
UTS x  ju x; yj dy (2)
δ1 y0 downstream. This finding confirms the hypothesis that the complete
cancellation of the TS waves does not occur directly at the PA but
integrates the velocity fluctuations in the wall-normal direction at one some distance downstream. The PA generates counterwaves that do
phase angle and is a robust measure for the development of the not match the wavelength of the incoming wave at first, but the
 8 Article in Advance
a) Uncontrolled TS waves
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b) TS waves, controlled by steady PA forcing
c) Active wave cancellation
Fig. 13 Control of artificially generated TS waves (f TS
250 Hz). Phase-averaged velocity fields at U∞
15 m∕s for FOV2 .
Fig. 14 Integral TS-wave amplitude UTS for one phase angle, extracted from the velocity fields presented in Fig. 13.
cancellation happens one wavelength downstream. It should be noted
that the amplitude and phase of the counterwaves have been
optimized based on the error sensor that is placed at x 0  45 mm,
which is two wavelengths downstream of the PA.
IX. Conclusions
Phase-locked PIV measurements were conducted to obtain
detailed insight into the active cancellation of TS waves by
superposition. The measured velocity fields showed the interaction
between the TS waves and the PA force in AWC operation mode for
the first time. In addition, the artificially generated disturbances had
TS-wave character and matched the prediction from the LST well.
The high-speed PIV measurement system and a good signal quality
resulted in fast convergence of the phase-averaged velocity fields. In
comparison with previous experiments, the number of required
image pairs was reduced by up to 80% due to the application of a
high-speed PIV system and a high flow quality.
An important finding is that the modulated PA force
(fTS  250 Hz) does not immediately generate counterwaves with
TS-wave character. The counterwaves travel downstream and change
their shape and wavelength. This is also the reason why the wave
/ SIMON ET AL.
cancellation of the incoming TS waves does not occur directly at the
actuator but approximately one wavelength downstream. The
TS-wave amplitude is successfully attenuated directly upstream of
the error sensor, which is used to optimize phase and amplitude of the
counterwave. These results suggest that the shape of the velocity
waves generated by the actuator may not be as important for the
counterwave generation as previously assumed.
Naturally occurring TS-wave transition is dominated by three-
dimensional wave packages. The interaction between the waves and
counterwaves in a multidimensional array of sensors and actuators is
much more complex than the case presented in this work.
Nonetheless, the findings show that an exact counterwave shape is
less important, and more research on smart control algorithms and
new actuators should be conducted in future. The very low fluid
dynamic efficiency of the DBD PA has to be improved significantly
in order to make this flow control technique applicable for practical
lows typically occurring at significantly higher Reynolds numbers.
The latest results by Fabbiane et al. [17] showed tremendous potential
for AWC as a flow control technique in general. Smart control
techniques that work robust under realistic conditions are also a wide
field of research that will push the technology further.
 Article in Advance
Appendix: Additional PIV Results
Downloaded by Cameron Tropea on March 1, 2018 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.J056265
Fig. A1 Phase-averaged velocity field of u 0 at U e
15 m∕s at different (relative) phase angles of ΦTS
1∕8π, ΦTS
2∕8π, and ΦTS
3∕8π (top
to bottom). The PA force is modulated at f TS
250 Hz and generates counterwaves.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the German Research Foundation
(DFG) under grant no. GR3524/4-1.
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E. Whalen
Associate Editor