SparkJet Actuators for Controlling Flows

SparkJet actuators are under investigation as means of controlling flows — especially supersonic and hypersonic flows. In one important class of potential applications, SparkJet actuators would be used to effect rapid and flexible steering of advanced aerospace vehicles. Effective manipulation of flow fields in aerospace systems could afford significant benefits, including increases in performance, maneuverability, payload, and range, as well as reductions in overall costs. These macro-scale benefits would be achieved through the use of SparkJet actuators to alter such phenomena as laminar-to-turbulent transition, turbulence, and flow separation on a micro scale.