Analysis of aerodynamic and stealth characteristics of aircraft under the action of microwave plasma

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of plasma on the aerodynamic and stealth characteristics of hypersonic aircraft. Utilizing the finite volume method, the governing equations of the fluid mechanics were discretized, and the seven-element air chemical reaction model was employed for computations. A technique involving the alteration of the chemical reaction source term rate was employed to replicate the actual plasma concentration distortion phenomena induced by microwaves around hypersonic vehicles, enabling an analysis of the influence of plasma density distortion on the aerodynamic characteristics of these vehicles. In addition, the method of Piecewise Linear JE Recursive Convolution Finite-difference Time-domain (PLJERC-FDTD) is used to calculate the radar scattering cross-section of the target within both the initial and distorted flow fields. This allowed an examination of the variation in the aircraft’s stealth characteristics when exposed to distortion in an ionized environment.