Analysis of ballistic range plasma shock measurements

Felderman, E. J.; Limbaugh, C. C.; Scott, W. W.; Pruitt, D.; Drakes, J. A.

doi:10.2514/6.2000-2568

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Some techniques to alleviate communications blackout were developed [5]. Due to the expensive costs and poor repeatability of the reentry flight experiment, laboratory simulations of hypersonic plasma flows [10], for example, using ballistic range [11] or plasma wind tunnel [12], were developed that the field properties of plasma flow as well as their EM scattering characteristics can be determined [13]. So far, most of the efforts were devoted to the analysis of transmission, reflection, and attenuation of EM waves in the plasma sheath in order to alleviate the interruption of plasma on ground-vehicle communication and to find out an alternative approach to bridge the linkage during the blackout time [14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the simulation parameters were not chosen strictly and a simplified physical model was applied that limited its application in practical cases. Based on the hypersonic flow field data obtained in the repeatable laboratory simulations using ballistic range [11] or plasma wind tunnel [12], more practical physical models of hypersonic flow field can be established using the CFD technique [17]. By adopting a CFD tool to derive the distributions of electron density and atmospheric temperature around the targets, backscattering RCS of a hypersonic perfect electrical conductor (PEC) cone with a plasma sheath were investigated by Qian et al [22,23] using the volume-surface integral equation method incorporated with the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Backward Scattering Characteristics of a Reentry Vehicle Enveloped by a Hypersonic Flow Field

Sun

Wang

Han

et al. 2018

International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

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The hypersonic flow field around a reentry vehicle has a significant influence on the ground-vehicle communication as well as on the detection and recognition of the reentry vehicle. Backward scattering characteristics of a reentry vehicle enveloped by a hypersonic flow field are analyzed using a high-order auxiliary differential equation finite difference time-domain (ADE-FDTD) method in this paper. Flow field parameters, including electron density, neutral particle density, and temperature, are obtained by solving the Navier-Stokes (NS) equations numerically. According to the flow field parameters, distributions of the plasma frequency and the collision frequency are then derived. Based on a validity of the physical model and the high-order ADE-FDTD method, backward radar cross sections (RCSs) of a perfect electrical conductor (PEC) sphere enveloped by a hypersonic flow field under different Mach numbers, heights, and incident angles of the electromagnetic (EM) wave are then investigated. Numerical results show that the incident angle of the EM wave exerts noticeable effects on the backward RCS, which is due to an inhomogeneous distribution of the plasma. The flight height and Mach number have significant influences on the distribution of the plasma that they play an important role in the variation of the RCSs. The results presented in this paper provide useful reference data for practical tests in ballistic range or in the high-frequency plasma wind tunnels, where a sphere target is usually used due to its simple shape.

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