Computational Modeling of Spectral Radiance Emitted by Atmospheric Plasma Induced by Hypersonic Flows

Abstract The work herein presents an effort to compute the spectral radiance emitted from plasma induced by the interaction of hypervelocity moving structural/material systems with the atmosphere. The motivation for this effort originates from the need to compute the radiative heat fluxes imparted to hypersonic vehicles in order to enhance their design, control, and maintenance. In response to this need, a computational framework is established to predict the fluid dynamics fields around a hypervelocity vehicle. The framework is one-way coupled with an appropriate plasma physics model that enables the calculation of the plasma fields and plasma species dynamics. The framework is configured first to solve the fluid dynamics partial differential equations representing the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy under steady-state conditions. The computed pressure, velocity, and temperature fields are subsequently utilized to drive the plasma physics partial differential equations describing the mass transport and energetics of all the species present according to the Dunn plasma model. An application of this framework for a spherical body in a wide range of initial velocities is presented to verify the framework’s functionality. Typical distributions of the fluid and plasma dynamics are presented. Finally, the plasma spectral radiance distributions are produced by employing statistical mechanics principles and the high-resolution transmission molecular absorption database.