Radioisotope power systems utilising americium-241 as a source of heat have been under development in Europe as part of a European Space Agency funded programme since 2009. The aim is to develop all of the building blocks that would enable Europe to

Understanding the hypersonic flow around faceted shapes is important in the context of the fragmentation and demise of satellites undergoing uncontrolled atmospheric entry. To better understand the physics of such flows, as well as the satellite demise process, we perform an experimental study of the Mach 5 flow around a cuboid geometry in the University of Manchester High SuperSonic Tunnel. Heat fluxes are measured using infrared thermography and a 3D inverse heat conduction solution, and flow features are imaged using schlieren photography. Measurements are taken at a range of Reynolds numbers from 40.0 × 10 3 to 549 × 10 3. The schlieren results suggest the presence of a separation bubble at the windward edge of the cube at high Reynolds numbers. High heat fluxes are observed near corners and edges, which are caused by boundary-layer thinning. Additionally, on the side (off-stagnation) faces of the cube, we observe wedge-shaped regions of high heat flux emanating from the windward corners of the cube. We attribute these to vortical structures being generated by the strong expansion around the cube's corners. We also observe that the stagnation point of the cube is off-centre of the windward face, which we propose is due to sting flex under aerodynamic loading. Finally, we propose a simple method of calculating the stagnation point heat flux to a cube, as well as relations which can be used to predict hypersonic heat fluxes to cuboid geometries such as satellites during atmospheric re-entry.

The statistical properties of the dissipation process constrain the analysis of large scale numerical simulations of three dimensional incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, such as those of Biskamp and Müller [Phys. Plasmas 7, 4889 (2000)]. The structure functions of the turbulent flow are expected to display statistical self-similarity, but the relatively low Reynolds numbers attainable by direct numerical simulation, combined with the finite size of the system, make this difficult to measure directly. However, it is known that extended self-similarity, which constrains the ratio of scaling exponents of structure functions of different orders, is well satisfied. This implies the extension of physical scaling arguments beyond the inertial range into the dissipation range. The present work focuses on the scaling properties of the dissipation process itself. This provides an important consistency check in that we find that the ratio of dissipation structure function exponents is that predicted by the She and Leveque [Phys. Rev. Lett 72, 336 (1994)] theory proposed by Biskamp and Müller. This supplies further evidence that the cascade mechanism in three dimensional MHD turbulence is non-linear random eddy scrambling, with the level of intermittency determined by dissipation through the formation of current sheets.

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Previous observations that suggest a substantial role for nondiffusive energy transport in tokamaks subjected to off-axis electron cyclotron heating ͑ECH͒ are compared to the output from a sandpile model. The observations considered include local and global aspects of temperature profile evolution in the DIII-D ͓for example, C. C. Petty and T. C. Luce, Nucl. Fusion 34, 121 ͑1994͔͒ and RTP ͑Rijnhuizen Tokamak Project͒ ͓for example, M.

Understanding the phenomenology captured in direct numerical simulation ͑DNS͒ of magnetohydrodynamic ͑MHD͒ turbulence rests upon models and assumptions concerning the scaling of field variables and dissipation. Here compressible MHD turbulence is simulated in two spatial dimensions by solving the isothermal equations of resistive MHD on a periodic square grid. In these simulations it is found that the energy spectrum decreases more slowly with k, and the viscous cutoff length is larger, than would be expected from the 1941 phenomenology of Kolmogorov ͑K41͒. Both these effects suggest that the cascade time is modified by the presence of Alfvén waves as in the phenomenology of Iroshnikov and Kraichnan ͑IK͒. Motivated by this, these scaling exponents are compared with those of the IK-based model of Politano and Pouquet ͓Phys. Rev. E 52, 636 ͑1995͔͒, which is an extension of the model of She and Leveque ͓Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 336 ͑1994͔͒. However, the scaling exponents from these simulations are not consistent with the model of Politano and Pouquet, so that neither IK nor K41 models would appear to describe the simulations. The spatial intermittency of turbulent activity in such simulations is central to the observed phenomenology and relates to the geometry of structures that dissipate most intensely via the scaling of the local rate of dissipation. The framework of She and Leveque implies a scaling relation that links the scaling of the local rate of dissipation to the scaling exponents of the pure Elsässer field variables ͑z ± = v ± B / ͱ o ͒. This scaling relation is conditioned by the distinct phenomenology of K41 and IK. These distinct scaling relations are directly tested using these simulations and it is found that neither holds. This deviation suggests that additional measures of the character of the dissipation may be required to fully capture the turbulent scaling, for example, pointing towards a refinement of the phenomenological models. It may also explain why previous attempts to predict the scaling exponents of the pure Elsässer fields in two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence by extending the theory of She and Leveque have proved unsuccessful.

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