Hypersonic MHD Interaction on a Conical Test Body With a Hall Electrical Connection

The MHD interaction around a conical test body in a hypersonic argon flow was experimentally investigated. The aim of the experiment was to produce a database to be used for the validation of numerical codes for the analysis and simulation of the magnetofluid dynamics in hypersonic flows. In these experiments, the flow was obtained in the High-Enthalpy Arc-heated hypersonic wind Tunnel of Alta, Pisa, Italy. Speeds at Mach 6 were reached. In this experiment, the flow and plasma characteristics have been determined. The MHD interaction was obtained in the shock layer of a conical test body placed at the exit of the hypersonic nozzle. The realized electrical configuration allowed the enhancement of the effect of the MHD interaction on the plasma parameters. This was done by utilizing the Hall field to generate the MHD interaction and by short-circuiting the Faraday current inside the plasma of the shock layer. The magnetic-flux density was produced by an array of three magnets located in the test body. Test runs were performed at three different stagnation pressures. Fluid-dynamic, electrical, and optical observations have been done. The experiment showed a large effect of the MHD interaction on the values of the measured quantities. In order to have a test body that is entirely contained in the region where a uniform hypersonic flow has been measured, a test body of smaller size has been constructed and tested. The results obtained in this case confirm the results of the tests with the larger body.