Magnetohydrodynamic control of supersonic flow past bodies: Possibilities and undesirable effects

Abstract

Basic problems of super-and hypersonic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) associated with the determination of the integral characteristics of bodies and vehicles inside which there are systems generating a uniform magnetic field are considered. Three classes of flows, namely, flow in a hypersonic multimode fixed-geometry air-intake; internal and external flow in a model of a hypersonic vehicle containing an air-intake with an MHD generator, a combustion chamber, and a supersonic nozzle; and hypersonic flow past a blunt cone are studied using numerical simulation and theoretical analysis (on the basis of the complete averaged system of Navier-Stokes equations and the electrodynamic equations). Attention is concentrated on the presence of an additional magnetic force acting on the system generating the magnetic field and, consequently, on the body and initiating an additional drag (in the case of a vehicle -reducing its thrust). Attractive possibilities for MHD flow control, namely, an increase in the degree of flow compression in the air-intake, a reduction in the ignition length in the combustion chamber, and a decrease in the heat flux to the nose of the body, are noted, as well as negative effects associated with the action of the magnetic force on the bodies considered.