Plasma Actuators in High-Altitude Transition Regimes: Bridging the Gap Between Rarefied and Continuum Flows
One of the most persistent, and often overlooked, challenges in hypersonic vehicle design lies in the transitional flow regimes encountered at high altitudes, typically between 70 and 120 kilometers. In this range, the mean free path of air molecules becomes comparable to the characteristic size of some parts of the vehicle (e.g. curvature radius of […]
Transient Plasma Phenomena in Hypersonic Flight: Rethinking Ionization Time Scales
As hypersonic technologies mature, a recurring theme is the persistent tension between what occurs in equilibrium and steady state and what actually happens in flight-relevant regimes. Among the many examples of this, one that remains underappreciated is the dynamic, time-dependent nature of ionization in high-speed flows. Specifically, how fast can a plasma form, evolve, and […]