Active plasma layer manipulation scheme during hypersonic flight

During hypersonic flight, a vehicle experiences major difficulties in communication and heating, which are known as communication blackout and aerodynamic heating, respectively. Previously, an MHD based system is investigated to solve these difficulties using a Lorentz force which are called an ExB mitigation scheme and MHD heat shield. The capability of an MHD based system is limited by the strength of an applied magnetic field. In order to enhance an MHD effect, it is necessary to increase an electrical conductivity which can be achieved by increasing electron density through plasma source. However, most of thermal plasma sources are not suitable for aerospace applications due to the power consumption. To overcome this technical limitation, thermal ionization methods can be replaced by low-temperature plasma generation system using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). In this study, the feasibility of a non-thermal plasma jet as a plasma source with the combination of an MHD system is investigated in hypersonic flows in terms of heat flux manipulation and signal attenuation.