Plasma Actuation for the Control of a Supersonic Projectile

摘要

The generation of a plasma discharge on a projectile surface seems to be a way of producing a pressure imbalance in order to deviate a projectile from its initial trajectory.Thus, some experiments on the possibility of steering a supersonic projectile by using a plasma actuator are presented. The plasma discharge is produced by an embedded lowvoltage generator able to supply an electric discharge between electrodes flush with the projectile surface. A first series of experiments achieved under wind-tunnel conditions at a Mach number of 3 allow the detailed study of the perturbation evolution along the projectile surface, that disturbance being produced by the plasma discharge. A second series of experiments in the wind tunnel at the same Mach number demonstrates that a plasma discharge generates the angular deviation of a fin-stabilized projectile: an angle of attack of 2° was reached after the plasma-discharge action which had a 243 J stored energy delivered in 2.4 ms at the cone-cylinder junction of the projectile. Other experiments carried out in a shock-tube facility under low-altitude conditions prove that it is possible to activate a plasma discharge on a projectile flying at a Mach number of 6, which is not trivial at all.