Effects of the working parameters on the flow-field numerical results for a medium-power ICP wind tunnel

Abstract

Numerical simulations of subsonic and supersonic nonequilibrium air inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs) were carried out inside a medium-power 100-kW ICP wind tunnel (ICPWT), which is widely used to study the thermal protection system and the blackout phenomenon of reentry vehicles in the aerospace field. A thermochemical nonequilibrium magneto-hydrodynamic numerical model, which takes into account the coupling of Navier–Stokes equations, electromagnetic-field equations, the four-temperature model, and the 32 chemical reactions of air, was constructed and applied. Basic flow characteristics of the inductive plasma, such as the hot plasma flame beneath the inductive coil, the subsonic-supersonic transition in the conical nozzle, and the vortexes in the torch and in the vacuum chamber, were reproduced successfully. Additionally, the effects of different working parameters (e.g., number of coil turns, mass-flow rate, working pressure, and radius of the discharge tube) of the ICPWT on its flow-field properties were numerically investigated. The numerical results demonstrated that atomic N and O are the most dominant chemical components at the coil center. Five turns of the inductive coil is optimal for this medium-power ICPWT.