Plasma Streamwise Vortex Generators for Flow Separation Control on Trucks: A Proof-of-concept Experiment

An experimental study of the effect of Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasma actuators on the flow separation on the A-pillar of a modern truck under cross-wind conditions has been carried out. The experiments were done in a wind tunnel with a 1:6 scale model of a tractor-trailer combination. The actuators were used as vortex generators positioned on the A-pillar on the leeward side of the tractor and the drag force was measured with a wind-tunnel balance. The results show that the effect at the largest yaw angle (9 degrees) can give a drag reduction of about 20% and that it results in a net power reduction. At lower yaw angles the reduction was smaller. The present results were obtained at a lower Reynolds number and a lower speed than for real driving conditions so it is still not yet confirmed if a similar positive result can be obtained in full scale.