Method to induce MHD interaction

The MHD control of the flow around the vehicle and of the shock structure may provide a tool for the control of the flight trim. Through the control of the shock structure it may also control the transport properties of the shock layer and reduce the thermal flux toward the vehicle walls providing an efficient thermal shield to add or even substitute the ceramic one. In the MHD regimes typical of the re-entry into the atmosphere of hypersonic vehicles (as a Shuttle), the plasma of the shock layer of the vehicle is characterized by large values of the Hall parameter. In order to optimize the MHD process in high Hall parameters, the Hall component of the electric field (parallel to the plasma flow) to generate the MHD interaction is exploited, the Hall current is kept equal to zero and the Faraday (perpendicular to the plane containing the flow and the magnetic flux density) current is short-circuited. By short-circuiting the Faraday current totally inside the plasma of the shock layer the large electrical resistance presented by the plasma near the vehicle wall is prevented and the MHD effect is not spoiled. The main idea to be patented, is to use geometries of the device that utilizes the described electrical scheme and short-circuits the current completely inside the plasma.