MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC EFFECTS ON SUPERORBITAL RE-ENTRY VEHICLES.
Abstract
The application of a magnetic field to a lifting reentry vehicle wil change the stagnation point heat flux and will increase the drag over the nose. In addition, a vehicle weight increase is usually associated with the addition of the field generating equipment. A computer program was written to analyze these effects. At each point in the re-entry trajectory, the program calculates the optimum magnetic field which will minimize the heat flux. The heat flux to the stagnation point is computed using either the optimum magnetic field or a field of one Weber/sq m, whichever is smaller. A study was performed on the Sortie vehicle assuming a re-entry velocity of 35,000 ft/sec. The optimum field was always greater than one Weber/sq m. The influence of MHD on the maximum wall temperature was greatest at the minimum re-entry angle (10% decrease). For given conditions there is a critical weight increase for the vehicle at which the maximum wall temperature with MHD and the additional weight is equal to the maximum wall temperature without MHD and at the original weight. Results of this study indicate that MHD effects are in general small, and are significant only on vehicles with (weight)/(lift coefficient)(reference area)<100 lb/sq ft. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0618028
Entities
People
- Roger Clay Lewis
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology