Diffusion-Drift Model of the Surface Glow Discharge in Supersonic Gas Flow

Abstract

The two-dimensional electrogasdynamic problem of anomalous glow discharge on the surface of a sharp plate in supersonic flow of a perfect gas is solved using the system of Navier–Stokes equations to describe thermogasdynamic processes in the boundary layer and the two-temperature two-fluid diffusion-drift model of gas-discharge plasma to determine the electrodynamic structure of the discharge. The near-electrode regions of space charge and the external electrical circuit consisting of a power source and an ohmic resistance are taken into account. The influence of the magnetic field which is transverse to gas flow and has the induction of up to 0.03 T on the structure of boundary layer and glow discharge is studied. The electrogasdynamic structure of anomalous near-surface discharges is studied numerically over a wide range of gas flow velocities (M = 5–20), the free-stream pressures (p = 0.6–5 Torr), the electrode voltages, and the electric currents through the discharges. The electrodynamic structure of the gas-plasma flow near the electrodes and the effect of the glow discharge on the pressure and temperature distributions along the surface of the plate are also studied.