Compact high voltage low power ionizing power supply

At high velocities, drag is the dominating factor in fuel consumption by a vehicle moving through air. Strategic design chief at Volvo's Monitoring & Concept Center, Doug Frasher describes the drag coefficient as having decreased miles per gallon (mpg) by 1 mpg for every 0.1 increase in drag coefficient. Plasma actuators serve as an attractive solution to this problem, as they can control the flow of air around the body they are applied to, while maintaining a relatively light-weight, quick response time and require no moving parts in their construction. Limited knowledge is available in the application of these plasma actuators on smaller scale modes of transport. In these instances the plasma actuators must be able to sustain a glow discharge plasma in an environment inherent to car, functioning at an ambient pressure of one atmosphere as well as having a compact and light enough build. The devices should not substantially impede the functioning of the vehicle's performance and should be of actual benefit to the vehicle. Further, the plasma actuator's power consumption must be efficient. As batteries are the primary way in which vehicles receive electric power, the compact high voltage low power ionizing power supply should be designed to fulfil these requirements. In the undertaking of the project, the design decisions made for the power supply closely follow existing knowledge on John R. Roth's patented "one atmosphere uniform glow discharge plasma ( OAUGDP)", as well as the works of Jean-Louis Naudin and Thomas C. Corke et al. in their efforts to explain and optimize the details of Roth's work. Here their techniques will be assessed and evaluated through simulation and experimentation. If they are deemed favourable in fulfilling the requirements of the compact high voltage ionizing power supply, they will be incorporated into the design (CHVLPIPS). The CHVLPIPS, though far from complete, is proceeding well. What has been achieved is the generation of plasma using a battery that at a visual standpoint is comparable to works published in regards to plasma actuators. The CHVLPIPS' form factor and weight is far less cumbersome than the laboratory power supplies generally used. What has been contributed as a result of this undertaking are the first few steps towards a potential streamlined use of plasma actuators.