Control of Electron Density Distribution on Hypersonic Vehicles.
Abstract
Non-ablating conical and ogival hypersonic vehicles having sharply pointed noses are assumed so that all electrons are produced by aerodynamic heating of clean air in a turbulent boundary layer. The ion and electron conservation equations are solved exactly at every point in the boundary layer in a non-equilibrium ionization flow. The electron diffusion and the resulting electron distribution are shown to be very sensitive to electric fields applied at the conducting surface of the vehicle. The applied electric field is shown to result in changes of the maximum electron density by more than two orders of magnitude. The detailed calculations of the ion and electron distributions and the applied electric power requirements are presented for a vehicle consisting of a conical nose with a semivertex angle of 10 deg at Mach numbers 10 and 15 at sea level. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1972
- Accession Number
- AD0743183
Entities
People
- Irvin Pollin
Organizations
- Harry Diamond Laboratories