The Physics of Fluids

A localized arc-filament plasma actuator, which in this application is recessed in a small cavity near the nozzle lip, causes intense local heating. This heating is thought to be the root mechanism of its influence on the flow, but how this principally entropic thermal source couples with the vortical jet shear layer turbulence downstream is unclear. We investigate this using direct numerical simulations, the results of which have illuminated several features of the actuation.