Control of the vortex flow around a cone with a spark discharge

A subsonic flow around a cone mounted at an angle of attack is considered. A separated flow is formed on the cone with formation of a pair of large-scale streamwise vortices arranged symmetrically or asymmetrically, depending on flow parameters. The possibility of controlling the vortex flow by means of an electric discharge is studied in experiments. It is demonstrated that the use of an electric discharge makes it possible both to transform an asymmetric flow to symmetric and to generate directed asymmetry. Controlling the flow asymmetry, in turn, allows the side force direction to be controlled.