A simple approach to modeling the plasma layer similar to that appearing in the vicinity of a hypersonic vehicle is demonstrated in a laboratory experiment. This approach is based on the use of a hypersonic jet from a cathodic arc plasma. Another critical element of this laboratory experiment is a blunt body made from a fairly thin foil of refractory material. In experiments, this blunt body is heated by the plasma jet to a temperature sufficiently high to ensure evaporation of surface deposits produced by the metallic plasma jet. This process mimics reflection of gas flow from the hypersonic vehicle in a real flight. Two-dimensional distributions of the hypersonic plasma flow around the blunt body were measured using electrostatic Langmuir probes. Measured plasma density was typically , which is close to the values measured for real hypersonic flight. The demonstrated laboratory experiment can be used to validate numerical codes for simulating hypersonic flight and to conduct ground-based tests for efficiency validation of various radio communication blackout mitigation techniques.
Laboratory Modeling of the Plasma Layer at Hypersonic Flight
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets ; 51 , 3 ; 838-846
2014-04-09
9 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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