Electrohydrodynamic force and scaling laws in surface dielectric barrier discharges

The electrohydrodynamic force generated by surface dielectric barrier discharges is analyzed with a fluid mode under conditions where the electrode above the dielectric surface is the anode.. The calculated current is composed of successive large pulses associated with filamentary discharges spreading along the dielectric surface, separated by low current periods where the discharge is in a transient "coronalike" regime. The contribution of the corona discharges to the overall force is by far dominant. An important result is that the extension of the region above the surface where the electrohydrodynamic force is significant depends on the product of the dielectric layer capacitance and the rate of voltage increase (spatial extension is larger when this parameter is smaller), but that the total, integrated force is not very sensitive to these parameters. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.