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Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Optimization of surface dielectric barrier discharge ion sources for electroaerodynamic propulsion

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Surface dielectric barrier discharges (SDBDs) are a type of asymmetric dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) that can be used to generate ions and produce aerodynamic forces in air. They have been studied for aerodynamic flow control and proposed for small aircraft propulsion as both direct sources of thrust and as ion sources for "decoupled" electroaerodynamic (EAD) propulsion, in which decoupling ionization from ion-acceleration provides performance and control advantages. SDBDs can also be integrated into aircraft surfaces without introducing additional drag. A challenge for these aerospace applications is minimizing the power draw (or maximizing the efficiency) of these actuators. Optimizing SDBD actuators requires a robust model for SDBD electrical power draw as a function of geometric, material, and electrical properties.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master
Department dc:contributor.department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Grantor dc:publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Year dc:date.issued
2020

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Wilde, Nicholas David.
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Steven R. H. Barrett.

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.
Language dc:language.iso
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/127106
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/127106

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
MIT
Base URL
dspace.mit.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Wilde, Nicholas David.. Optimization of surface dielectric barrier discharge ion sources for electroaerodynamic propulsion. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/127106