Evaluation of the Gas-Discharge Plasma Characteristics in the Absence and Presence of a Magnetic Field in a High-Speed Flow Based on Experimental Data and Predictive Modeling

The main objective of this study is to obtain the average parameters of gas-discharge plasma when controlling the steady position of the bow shock wave (BSW) using the combined action of a gas discharge initiated by a current from an external source and a magnetic field near the frontal surface of the model. The studies were carried out using both experimental and numerical methods in xenon and air. A comparison of the numerical and experimental dependences of the relative distance of the steady BSW from the model on the discharge power showed good agreement. Based on the conducted flow modeling, taking into account the dependence of the adiabatic index on the degree of ionization and the degree of nonequilibrium, and using the theory of Burm et al., gas-discharge plasma characteristics were obtained, such as the degree of ionization and the degree of nonequilibrium, the electron density and the electron temperature in the absence and presence of a magnetic field. By this way an integrated experimental–computational system was formed in which the measured characteristics of the discharge and BSW, as well as the numerically obtained averaged plasma parameters in the impact zone, are combined with the theory of Burm et al. to clarify the thermodynamic state of the medium and determine the corresponding characteristics of the gas-discharge plasma. The obtained results can be used for assessing the characteristics of plasma gas dynamic and magnetohydrodynamic phenomena in high-speed flows; for example, in the development of control systems that take into account the influence of plasma parameters and the electric and magnetic fields.