Supersonic Flow about a Body Exposed to Electric and Magnetic Fields

The feasibility of using nonmechanical (electrogasdynamic, EGD, and magnetohydrodynamic, MHD) methods to control shock-wave configurations emerging in supersonic flows is investigated. In the EGD method, the flow is heated by a gas discharge; in the MHD one, the flow is influenced by a Lorentz force arising in a gas discharge upon applying a magnetic field. The influence of the gas discharge and MHD interaction on the position of a detached shock wave appearing in a supersonic xenon flow about a semi-cylindrical body is studied. A discharge is initiated in the immediate vicinity of the leading edge of the body, and the variation of the shock wave position with the intensity of the discharge (discharge current density) is traced when the influence of the EGD action increases and/or an external magnetic field is applied (the influence of the MHD action increases). Preliminary data for a supersonic air flow about a body are presented.