Supersonic vehicle control by microwave driven plasma discharges
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Control of supersonic vehicles by means of heat addition is possible using off body heat addition by microwave breakdown in air. The resulting changes in temperature and shock structure alter the pressure distribution around a body downstream of the heat addition region. In the present work, a controlled microwave driven discharge in a small scale Mach 3 wind tunnel is studied to investigate its potential use as a means of vehicle control. The location of the discharge is controlled by the microwave power, the geometry of the wind tunnel, and a low power electron beam injected into the wind tunnel. The electron beam was found to reduce the microwave power required for breakdown, and to provide a means of modulating the plasma in time. 2002 Princeton University.