Plasma flow control is an active flow control technology that based on the plasma aerodynamic actuation. It can be used to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics of aircraft and propulsion systems. To study the phenomena occurring in plasma aerodynamic actuation and the mechanism of plasma flow control, the induced flow velocity of the plasma aerodynamic actuator is experimentally investigated under a variety of parameter conditions. The results indicate that plasma aerodynamic actuation accelerates the near surface air at velocities of a few meters per second, and there is an angle about 5° between the mainstream and the actuator wall and a spiral vortex is formed when the induced flow is moving along the wall. Besides, with the fixed frequency, the induced flow velocity increases linearly with the applied voltage, but it is insensitive to the frequency when the applied voltage is fixed. And the configuration is an effective factor for the performance of the plasma aerodynamic actuator.
