Ground experimental study of the electron density of plasma sheath reduced by pulsed discharge

Abstract A plasma sheath will be generated around the hypersonic vehicle during reentry, where a large number of electrons will significantly affect the propagation of EM waves, resulting in the phenomenon of communication blackout. This paper proposes a method of reducing the electron density of reentry vehicle plasma sheath by pulsed discharge. Experiments were conducted in a high-speed plasma wind tunnel to study the effects and scope of pulsed discharge on the plasma sheath electron density using an ultrahigh-speed camera and microwave diagnostic system. The experimental results show that the application of pulsed discharge resulted in the formation of a light intensity attenuation region measuring 14 × 19 × 4 cm around the discharge area, with an attenuation degree ranging from 30% to 58%. The microwave diagnostic results indicate that after the actuator discharge, the electron density of the plasma sheath within a 4 cm height above the vehicle wall is significantly reduced compared to before the actuator discharge, with a maximum reduction of approximately 86%. These results demonstrate that this method has significant effects on reducing plasma sheath electron density. Furthermore, the low power consumption, load, and space requirements suggest that it has potential for practical applications.