Numerical study of ElectroAeroDynamic force and current resulting from ionic wind in emitter/collector systems
Sergiu Coseru, David Fabre, Franck Plouraboué
Abstract
ElectroAeroDynamic (EAD) propulsion has recently shown a growing interest with distinct propulsive capabilities and specific advantages. These experimental observations are, therefore, driving interest for numerical predictions of their propulsive capabilities. Keeping with a drift region description associated with the Kaptzov approximation of the corona discharge region effect, we evaluate the detailed contributions of EAD forces from electro-drift effects computation only. We propose a new regularization procedure for the numerical formulation of the electro-drift problem, allowing the convergence of the resulting iterative procedure (here a Newton method) over very large domains, using iteratively adapted meshes in high gradient regions. Our predictions show a good comparison with many experimental configurations, for both the current/intensity and the propulsive force. In some cases, we identify the air drag and the Kaptzov approximation to explain discrepancies with experimental measurements. Finally, we confirm optimal configurations for staggered emitter and collector arrays, consistent with the previously reported experimental results.