Coaxial DBD actuator design for control of a hydrogen diffusion flame

A coaxial dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) actuator was designed to alter a hydrogen Diffusion flame. The actuator geometry allows for large flow rates of fuel without the concern of arcing to surrounding structures or between the two electrodes. As the dielectric, quartz offers a high temperature tolerance allowing for continual plasma and flame operation on the surface without significant long term damage while featuring a low enough thermal conductivity to prevent the condensation of water vapor on the actuator surface. Fundamental aspects of DBD plasmas were observed including the non-thermal self-limiting nature of the discharges. Streamer generation was found to vary with the presence of hydrogen, while the discharge power of the actuator varies significantly with the dielectric temperature. The fully coupled hydrogen flame DBD actuator demonstrates the ability to collapse a Diffusion flame from a height of 6 cm to under 1 cm. The flame ickers at 10 Hz with low plasma potentials up until the flame becomes unstable and col- lapses, forming a large toroidal vortex outside the flame as shown with schlieren imaging and particle velocities from PIV.