How Does Plasma Technology Impact Aerospace Engineering?

[member 428835]

what is plasma in aerospace??

ive heard of graduate programs focusing on plasma. i thought this was physics, not aerospace engineering. can you please help me understand what this covers in a practical sense, what math is associated with this focus, and if it is practical

 

[boneh3ad]

At the graduate level, the line between physics and engineering is blurred significantly. Generally if you run into plasma research in aerospace engineering, it probably has to do with propulsion or flow control (e.g. plasma-based propulsion or DBD based flow actuation).

 

[Aero51]

Also, in hypersonic aerodynamics and reentry aerodynamics fluids will dissociate and chemically react; if the mach number is very high (M>10ish but I am not 100% certain) the fluid can actually turn into a plasma. I have an extensive PDF on hypersonic flows but can't find it at the moment. When I find it I will post the title of the document as a reference.

For now check the Wikipedia page, specifically the "Shock layer gas physics" sections:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reentry

 

[member 428835]

thank you guys and thanks aero. please post once you find the doc

 

[boneh3ad]

If you are interested in that high-temperature flows that Aero51 is referring to, just check out "Hypersonic and High-Temperature Gas Dynamics" by Anderson at your school's library.

 

[Aero51]

Unfortunately, the PDF I was talking about actually pertained to pulse detonation engines. :( sorry. To compensate for this loss I found a good set of slides here:
<http://www.dept.aoe.vt.edu/~mason/Mason_f/HypersonicPres.pdf>

It's a very interesting topic!

 

[member 428835]

youre awesome aero. thanks

 

[Angry Citizen]

If you are interested in that high-temperature flows that Aero51 is referring to, just check out "Hypersonic and High-Temperature Gas Dynamics" by Anderson at your school's library.

Huh - is that the same Anderson from Fundamentals of Aerodynamics fame? Guy gets around.

 

[boneh3ad]

Yes it is the same Anderson. He has 4 books that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Aero51]

Anderson is not the best choice unless you like spoon-fed aerodynamics. That is good if you just need to "get by", but not so for a fundamental understanding of the material. Don't get his books, he basically reiterates what other experts have already published. I believe he also got into some confrontation a few years ago because one of his books was identical to an already published one. I think it was his gas dynamics (compressible flow) book.

 

[boneh3ad]

Anderson is not the best choice unless you like spoon-fed aerodynamics. That is good if you just need to "get by", but not so for a fundamental understanding of the material. Don't get his books, he basically reiterates what other experts have already published. I believe he also got into some confrontation a few years ago because one of his books was identical to an already published one. I think it was his gas dynamics (compressible flow) book.

Says the expert? These books are used in the majority of university aerospace engineering programs around the country for undergraduate courses. They do a very good job of taking what is usually considered a tough subject and putting it into a format that many people can understand. Of course there are other good books, but for a general reference and for a textbook for undergraduate courses, there aren't many that are too much better than Anderson's Fundamentals of Aerodynamics and Modern Compressible Flow. Of course if you are going to take it further and get a Ph.D. in the subject, then by all means get additional references.

 

[Aero51]

Says the expert?

Says a student who would rather read material that makes them think.

 

[Angry Citizen]

What book(s) would you recommend in its stead? My school also uses the Anderson book, and I'm always on the look out for (cheap) alternatives to supplement my understanding.

 

[boneh3ad]

Says a student who would rather read material that makes them think.

The idea is that you read a book that presents the basics clearly so that when you want to think, you can think about deeper ideas because the basics are already quite lucid.

 

[Aero51]

The book I would recommend is Carpenter's "Aerodynamics For Engineering Students". It's pretty rigorous, at times dense, but there is no equal in terms of completeness and depth of the material. Last time I checked it was cheaper than Anderson's. I wrote a review on the Amazon webpage, just read that:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0750651113/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Another good book, which is much older, is L. M. Milne-Thomson's "Theoretical Aerodynamics".

https://www.amazon.com/dp/048661980X/?tag=pfamazon01-20

The difficultly is somewhere between Carpenter's and Anderson's text. However, the only copy I had was boot-legged PDF that I didn't read too much. However, a good friend of mine has Thompson's sister book "Theoretical Hydrodynamics" which he described as "An extremely comprehensive treatment of potential flow". He also mentioned that the difficulty level was geared towards first year graduate/senior undergrad. If I am not mistaken this is a highly regarded classical text. This book will probably suffice for some understanding of aerodynamics because potential flow is the cornerstone of the field.

I would also recommend "Theory of Wing Sections" as a must have reference one you have developed a good foundation in aerodynamics.

This last text, "Theory of Flight" by Von Mises, is a great "all encompassing" textbook for an undergraduate in aeronautical engineering.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486605418/?tag=pfamazon01-20

It covers all the essentials of field (aerodynamics, stability and control, propeller theory and aircraft performance) from a theoretical and practical standpoint. I wish my professors used this text because it is a great book that covers everything a beginner will need to know. Unfortunately, I only ordered it my Junior year. Although I did not use this book for a specific class, I have found it to be a great all-in-one reference spanning a variety of subjects. The only drawback to this book is that it is very old and pertains to the design of propeller planes only. If you are a member of an RC design team this book is a must.

 

[Vadar2012]

I was going to add basically what Aero stated. I've done Reentry aerothermodynamics and thermodynamics research and plasma is a real pain in the *** to model. You also can't do it simply anymore, you have to account for radiative affects aswell. This adds like another million lines of code and needs like another 100 CPUS.

On the topic of textbooks, I've used all of those at some point in time. They've all got their good and bad bits. I do kinda like Carpenter's though.