The Simulation of Plasma Sheath and ISAR Imaging of Hypersonic Target

In recent years, the research on hypersonic flight target has been a hot topic, and it is inevitable to study and discuss the plasma sheath covering the surface of aircraft. The study on the transmission and scattering of electromagnetic waves in plasma sheath is helpful to understand the electromagnetic characteristics of plasma and solve the existing problems in related fields. In this paper, based on the RAM-C experiment of NASA hypersonic vehicle, a simplified model of blunt-cone aircraft is established with reference to the size parameters of its aircraft. In computational fluid dynamics software, the fluid in the outer space of blunt-cone aircraft is numerically calculated by discrete numerical method, and the flow field data of blunt-cone aircraft in the state of 50 km and 10 Mach are obtained. Then, the plasma sheath model covering the target is established by extracting relevant data. The radar cross section data of plasma sheath-coated targets are calculated by physical optics method, and the images of hypersonic target model from different perspectives are obtained by ISAR imaging method, and the electromagnetic scattering characteristics of plasma sheath are analyzed. The experimental results are in line with the theory and have certain reference value.