Simulation of a Transverse–Longitudinal Discharge in a Supersonic Air Flow in the Hydrodynamic Approximation

Three-dimensional distributions of velocity, temperature and pressure in the supersonic air flow at M = 2, as well as the current density in the discharge initiated in it, are obtained. A direct current gas discharge of 10 A is considered in the hydrodynamic approximation within the channel model. The evolution of a transverse–longitudinal discharge is considered in the time range t up to 20 µs. It is shown that the discharge moves almost at the velocity of the main supersonic air flow disturbing it rather weakly. Based on the characteristic values of the current density and gas temperature of 8000–10 000 K obtained in the calculations, the electron density in the discharge channel is estimated as ne ~ 1016 cm–3. The field strength of E ~ 125 V/cm is estimated and the reduced field strength in the discharge channel E/N is about 30 Td. In the configuration of an aerodynamic model with shortened electrodes, the transition to the discharge phase fixed at their ends is shown.