Influence of the Atmospheric Plasma Sheath on the RCS of a Hypersonic Reentry Vehicle

During the atmospheric reentry of a hypersonic vehicle, generation of plasma occurs as a result of its velocity (above Mach 5), yielding complex physics phenomena. Consequently, the object's Radar Cross Section (RCS) strongly varies, depending on the plasma parameters. This paper presents an approach to simulate the RCS behavior of a hypersonic reentry object, by seamlessly integrating a fluid dynamics code implementing Navier-Stokes equations with nonequilibrium chemistry, and an electromagnetic code resolving Maxwell equations by combining a Finite Elements Method and a Boundary Elements Method. As a first validation, the method is applied to a PEC sphere. Further results are provided for the NASA space probe RAM C-II.