Electroaerodynamics and the effect of an electric discharge on cone/cylinder drag at Mach 5

Abstract

The effect of plasma generator propulsive efficiency on aircraft fuel requirement is calculated by analysis of a turbojet engine cycle in which the plasma generator electrical power is extracted from the turbine. Using this, it is shown that a previous experimental result appears to indicate substantial and efficient drag reduction with corona from the nose of a low drag body. Electroaerodynamics is revisited, past work is reviewed and a new analytical model for electron distribution near a shock wave in weakly ionised gas is formulated based on plasma sheath theory.

Computational Study of Shock Mitigation and Drag Reduction by Pulsed Energy Lines

“…32−34 "Filaments" have also been discussed in the literature in the form of filamenting arcs in microwave/hf discharges by Leonov et al 10 and by Cain and Boyd. 11 The geometry we model in this paper is distinct, however, in that the methods investigated in the past were not capable of creating a long, narrow, and straight path of heated gas, which can be scaled up to large dimensions (e.g., heated paths hundreds of meters long). Past laser-heating methods have primarily depended on focusing their energy to a point ahead of the shock wave.…”

Electrical and kinetic model of an atmospheric rf device for plasma aerodynamics applications

“…Plasma actuators create a plasma above a blunt body that modify the laminar-turbulent transition inside the boundary layer [5,6], even at a high angle of attack [2,7] they induce or reduce the fluid separation, and thus reducing drag [1] and increasing lift [8,9,10]. They also allow sonic boom minimization schemes [11,12], avoiding unwanted vibrations or noise [13,14], sterilizing or decontaminating surfaces and even frost removal [15] on any airfoil, jet engine or wind turbine, through pure electromagnetic control. Its promising potential extend to flow control at hypersonic speeds [16,17] (while still using a jet-reaction aircraft propeller).…”

MHD hypersonic flow control for aerospace applications

“…Ionization is then obtained through many means, including applying high voltage discharges, high frequency electromagnetic waves, or lasers. 3,4,5 Moreover, the modification of gas-dynamic through microwave radiation heats up the plasma and modifies the local value of the sound velocity, which attenuates the recompression behind a soft shock wave. But none of these methods really acts on the flow to truly impose one way or another to it.…”