Electron Density Depletion in Reentry Plasma Flows Using Pulsed Electric Fields
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866914386009915392 |
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| author | Fuentes, Felipe Martin Rodriguez Parent, Bernard |
| author_facet | Fuentes, Felipe Martin Rodriguez Parent, Bernard |
| contents | Communication blackout due to the plasma layer creates a critical telemetry gap for re-entry vehicles. To mitigate this, we present the first fully-coupled simulation of high-voltage pulsed discharges interacting with a Mach 24 flowfield using an advanced numerical framework. The results demonstrate that the applied electric field generates a large, non-neutral plasma sheath near the cathode, depleting electron density by several orders of magnitude over a distance commensurate with the height of the shock layer. This depletion window effectively reduces the attenuation of a 4 GHz signal from 60% to 4% with a manageable power requirement of 66 W per cm$^2$ of exposed cathode surface. Feasibility analysis indicates that this system can be powered by a battery pack weighing less than 3 kg for a typical re-entry trajectory, with further mass reductions possible through intermittent transmission. A sensitivity analysis reveals that the sheath topology is governed principally by ion kinetics; specifically, corrections to ion mobility at high reduced electric fields lead to enhanced space-charge shielding and a subsequent contraction of the sheath. Conversely, the sheath structure is largely insensitive to the electron mobility model. Finally, we argue that the present drift-diffusion model likely yields a conservative lower bound for mitigation performance. A kinetic approach accounting for ballistic ion transport and non-local ionization would likely predict thicker sheaths and lower attenuation for equivalent power deposition. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_18163 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Electron Density Depletion in Reentry Plasma Flows Using Pulsed Electric Fields Fuentes, Felipe Martin Rodriguez Parent, Bernard Plasma Physics Communication blackout due to the plasma layer creates a critical telemetry gap for re-entry vehicles. To mitigate this, we present the first fully-coupled simulation of high-voltage pulsed discharges interacting with a Mach 24 flowfield using an advanced numerical framework. The results demonstrate that the applied electric field generates a large, non-neutral plasma sheath near the cathode, depleting electron density by several orders of magnitude over a distance commensurate with the height of the shock layer. This depletion window effectively reduces the attenuation of a 4 GHz signal from 60% to 4% with a manageable power requirement of 66 W per cm$^2$ of exposed cathode surface. Feasibility analysis indicates that this system can be powered by a battery pack weighing less than 3 kg for a typical re-entry trajectory, with further mass reductions possible through intermittent transmission. A sensitivity analysis reveals that the sheath topology is governed principally by ion kinetics; specifically, corrections to ion mobility at high reduced electric fields lead to enhanced space-charge shielding and a subsequent contraction of the sheath. Conversely, the sheath structure is largely insensitive to the electron mobility model. Finally, we argue that the present drift-diffusion model likely yields a conservative lower bound for mitigation performance. A kinetic approach accounting for ballistic ion transport and non-local ionization would likely predict thicker sheaths and lower attenuation for equivalent power deposition. |
| title | Electron Density Depletion in Reentry Plasma Flows Using Pulsed Electric Fields |
| topic | Plasma Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.18163 |