A new flow process model for aerothermal facilities driven by industrial plasma torches

Tools

Esposito, Antonio and Lappa, Marcello; (2026) A new flow process model for aerothermal facilities driven by industrial plasma torches. In: 27th AIAA International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference. AIAA American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Reston, VA. ISBN 9781624107795 (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2026-5042)

[thumbnail of Esposito-Lappa-AIAA-2026-A-new-flow-process-model-for-aerothermal-facilities-driven-by-industrial-plasma-torches]
Preview
 Text. Filename: Esposito-Lappa-AIAA-2026-A-new-flow-process-model-for-aerothermal-facilities-driven-by-industrial-plasma-torches.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript
License: All rights reserved
Download (3MB)| Preview

Abstract

In many aerothermal facilities developed to reproduce atmospheric and planetary reentry conditions, the availability of a flow-process paradigm capable of providing a rapid and accurate characterization of the thermo-fluid-dynamic environment experienced by the test article is of fundamental importance. In particular, for high-enthalpy flows generated from reservoirs at pressures below 0.5 atm, the Frozen Sonic Flow Model (FSFM), in the formulation originally proposed by Pope, has proven especially effective. Nevertheless, a major limitation of the FSFM lies in the simplified representation of the plasma torch, namely the electric arc, which has traditionally been assumed to behave as a single-flow configuration. The present study addresses this issue by introducing a two-flow formulation, thereby enabling the representation of the intrinsic heterogeneities that characterize arc-generated flows. The Pope model is subsequently applied within the mixing chamber to estimate the total enthalpy distribution along the centerline of the resulting mixed stream. Finally, the flow properties at the exit of the supersonic nozzle are determined using isentropic flow relations. Taken together, these modeling stages establish a new comprehensive strategy for the characterization of the entire aerothermal facility, spanning the arc heater, the mixing chamber, and the supersonic nozzle, while providing a more realistic description of the overall thermodynamic and fluid-dynamic processes governing the generation of high-enthalpy flows.

ORCID iDs

Esposito, Antonio and Lappa, Marcello ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0835-3420;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)