A study of vortex shedding induced by dielectric barrier injection

Previous works have proved that a dielectric barrier injection (DBI) device could be used as an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) actuator. Such a device was used to generate a wall jet with an average velocity of 0.14 m/s. In this study, the liquid flow induced in the surface vicinity by a DBI actuator is measured by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The phase analysis of the flow velocity shows that the DBI actuator mainly acts as a vortex generator. The work presented in this paper underline the relation between the vortex structures and the polarity of the injecting electrode.