Modeling radio communication blackout and blackout mitigation in hypersonic vehicles

Abstract

A procedure for the modeling and analysis of radio communication blackout of hypersonic vehicles is presented. The weakly ionized plasma generated around the surface of a hypersonic reentry vehicle is simulated using full Navier-Stokes equations in multi-species single fluid form. A seven species air chemistry model is used to compute the individual species densities in air including ionization - plasma densities are compared with experiment. The electromagnetic wave's interaction with the plasma layer is modeled using multi-fluid equations for fluid transport and full Maxwell's equations for the electromagnetic fields. The multi-fluid solver is verified for a whistler wave propagating through a slab. First principles radio communication blackout over a hypersonic vehicle is demonstrated along with a simple blackout mitigation scheme using a magnetic window.