PIV analysis of the homogeneity of energy deposition during development of a plasma actuator channel

Nonstationary velocity fields that arise during the development of flows behind shock (blast) waves initiated by pulsed surface sliding discharge in air at a pressure of (2–4) $\times$ 10$^4$ Pa have been experimentally studied by the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. Plasma sheets (nanosecond discharges slipping over a dielectric surface) were initiated on walls of a rectangular chamber. Spatial analysis of the shape of shock-wave fronts and the distribution of flow velocities behind these waves showed that the pulsed energy deposition is homogeneous along discharge channels of a plasma sheet, while the integral visible plasma glow intensity decreases in the direction of channel propagation.