After a brief recapitulation of diverse physical processes which can be used in electromechanical energy conversion, the present article proposes a survey of the modern stakes of electrodynamics in the range of centimetric or decimetric dimensioned actuators. The potential of the new technologies considered is evaluated through different examples of novel actuators which aim at meeting the increase of the performances or the expansion of required functionalities in the face of varied types of applications. An experimental study concerning friction drag reduction for a supersonic aircraft is briefly dealt with at the end of the article. The aim is the control of turbulent streaks with spanwise traveling wave. A piezoelectric demonstrator was designed for wind tunnel testing at different configurations of frequency and wave-length.
展开▼
