Influence of Hall Effect on Electrodynamic Flow Control for Weakly Ionized Flow

Abstract

In the electrodynamic flow control, a weakly-ionized plasma flow behind the strong shock wave is expected to be controlled by the applied magnetic field around a reentry vehicle. Recently it was reported that the flow control is affected not only by the magnetic field intensity but also the magnetic field configuration such as the magnetic field inclination. This report was based on the numerical MHD simulation which neglects the Hall effect. In the real flight condition, however, the Hall effect can not be neglected and may affect the performance of the electrodynamic flow control. In this study, the numerical MHD simulation including the Hall effect was performed to investigate the influence of the Hall effect. It was found that the magnitude of aerodynamic force is affected by the Hall effect. As the Hall parameter is increased, the aerodynamic force (axial force and normal force) is reduced. Simultaneously, a new component of the aerodynamic force normal to both the normal and axial force appears with the Hall effect in the case of the inclined magnetic polar direction against a body axis. The dominant mechanism of these modification was found to be the modification of the electric current field and the Lorentz force field around the vehicle.