ON THE INTERACTIONS OF A SOLID BODY WITH A FLOWING COLLISIONLESS PLASMA,
Abstract
An analysis is made for the nonlinear interaction between the gas dynamical and the electrostatic phenomena in the movement of a charged body in a rarefied plasma where the electrical field surrounding the body affects the trajectories of the charged particles. The analysis assumes collisionless plasma flow, a perfectly absorbing body surface, a negatively charged body, and electron temperature higher than ion temperature. For disturbance in a quasi-neutral region, both the ion and electron flow fields are irrotational, and under some conditions the two fields can be mathematically uncoupled. The governing equation for the uncoupled ion flow velocity potential is shown to be identical to that of an isothermal, irrotational compressible flow in ordinary gas dynamics. For disturbance in a sheath layer, Bohm's sheath criterion is recovered. The matching of the quasi-neutral solution to the sheath solution is presented. Illustrative examples are given for a wedge and a cone in supersonic flow and a sphere in low-speed flow.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0608545
Entities
People
- M. Greenblatt
- S. H. Lam
Organizations
- Princeton University