Pressure variation by a magnetohydrodynamic method at the surface of a body placed in a supersonic flow

This study is aimed at investigating the possibility of pressure variation near the surface of a body placed in a supersonic flow as a model of an aerofoil or the nose of an aircraft by organizing a surface gas discharge in a magnetic field transverse to the flow. The flow parameters and pressure are mainly affected by the ponderomotive Lorentz force acting on the gas in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the organized discharge current and leading to the removal or compression of the gas at the surface of the body and, hence, a variation of pressure. Experimental data on the visualization of the flow and on the pressure at the surface of the body are considered for various configurations of the current and intensities of the gas discharge and magnetic field; it is demonstrated that such configurations of the current and magnetic field near the surface of the body under investigation can be organized in such a way that the pressure at the front part as well as the upper and lower surfaces of the body under investigation can be increased or decreased, thus changing the aerodynamic drag and the aerofoil lift. Such a magnetohydrodynamic control over aerodynamic parameters of the aircraft can be used during takeoff and landing as well as during steady-state flight and also during the entrance into dense atmospheric layers. This will considerably reduce the thermal load on the surface of the body in the flow.