Dielectric barrier surface discharges (DBD) have the
potential to act as flush mounted flow control devices for separation
control and other aeronautic applications. A pulse-sustained plasma with the
ions driven by a DC bias voltage is proposed for optimum performance. While
characterizing these devices, it was found that their performance is
severely limited by surface charge build-up. That charge builds up rapidly
and remains for as long as hours. Work in this paper shows that the surface
charge can be mitigated by using a reversing DC bias potential or by using a
constant DC bias potential with a partially covered electrode.