Plasmas for Aeronautics

The potential of plasmas for aerodynamics and combustion has been known for many years, but a dedicated research domain has only started to significantly develop over the past 20 years. Based either on new technological advances, on enhanced numerical capabilities, or on new needs created by the aeronautical industry’s quest for higher performance, the development of plasma actuators has now reached a point where an industrial application is within grasp. This tenth issue of the Aerospace Lab journal will present an overview of the research in this field. Due to the great diversity of the plasmas and of the applications studied in laboratories around the world, this overview is necessarily limited in its scope, but the main research areas will nevertheless be illustrated.