Aeronautical Sciences Advanced Studies Program. Delivery Order 0002: Plasma Modeling Program

摘要

The Aeronautical Sciences Division, Air Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RBA) completed a program including modeling and experimental work of the effect of plasmas on air flows. Heating, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and electrodynamic (EHD) effects are considered. The direct current plasmas are normal or abnormal glow discharges and the alternating current plasmas are dielectric barrier discharges. Each of these plasma types has actuating effects in different flow regimes. In addition to plasma effects, the phenomenon of pure heating was studied. Path finding numerical simulations of weakly ionized airflows in a hypersonic flow have been successfully accomplished. The research results from this modeling work consist of a basic formulation of the magneto-aerodynamic equations, a plasma model based on the drift-diffusion theory, numerical algorithm development, and computational results. In addition, detailed computer models of the effect of energy deposition on supersonic flow have been developed and utilized. Innovative experimental investigations were carried out in the Mach 5 wind tunnel facility located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and in the CAPEC Lab (Center for Advanced Power and Energy Conversion) at Wright State University that resulted in a number of new findings and a number of diagnostic tools being developed. All these efforts directly supported the research efforts at AFRL/RB in plasma flow control.