See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/23589691

Performance Modeling of Experimental Laser Lightcrafts

Article · February 2001

Source: NTRS

CITATIONS READS

5 28

7 authors, including:

Ten-See Wang Yen-Sen Chen

NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center TiSPACE Incorporated
117 PUBLICATIONS   1,027 CITATIONS    151 PUBLICATIONS   1,236 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Comprehensive Internal Ballistic Modeling and the Designs of Hybrid Rocket Engines. View project

Hypersonics View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Yen-Sen Chen on 12 December 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 I !

AIAA 2001-0648
Performance Modeling Of Experimental Laser
Lightcrafts

Ten-See Wang
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, AL

Yen-Sen Chen and Jiwen Liu

Engineering Sciences, Inc.
Huntsville, AL

Leik N. Myrabo
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY

Franklin B. Mead, Jr.

Air Force Research Laboratory
Edwards AFB, CA

39th AIAA Aerospace Sciences

Meeting & Exhibit
8-11 January 2001 / Reno, NV

For permission to copy or republish, contact the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500, Reston, VA 20191
 AIAA2001-0648

Performance Modeling of Experimental Laser Lightcrafts

Ten-See Wang
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville. AL 35812
Yen-Sen Chen _ and Jiwen Liu "_
Engineering Sciences, Inc., Huntsville, AL 35802
Leik N. Myrabo _
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180
and
Franklin B. Mead, Jr.
Air Force Research laboratory, Edwards AFB, CA 93524

ev vibrational energy
ev eq equilibrium vibrational energy
A computational plasma aerodynamics model is flux vector
developed to study the performance of a laser propelled Gibbs' free energy of species i
g,
Lightcraft. The computational methodology is based on H total enthalpy
a time-accurate, three-dimensionaL finite-difference, I intensity or number of quantum levels
chemically reacting, unstructured grid, pressure-based j emission coefficient
formulation. The underlying physics are added and K transfer constant between quantum levels
tested systematically using a building-block approach. k_ Boltzmann's constant
The physics modeled include non-equilibrium k_ Coulomb constant
thermodynamics, non-equilibrium air-plasma finite-rate kv thermal conductivity
kinetics, specular ray tracing, laser beam energy molecular weight
absorption and refraction by plasma, non-equilibrium me electron mass
plasma radiation, and plasma resonance. A series of N total quantum level population
transient computations are performed at several laser N, quantum [eve[
pulse energy levels and the simulated physics are tl refraction index
discussed and compared with those of tests and
II unit normal vector
literatures. The predicted coupling coefficients for the
tle electron number density
Lightcraft compared reasonably well with those of tests
Pr Prantdl number
conducted on a pendulum apparatus.
P gas static pressure
P_ partial electron temperature
lX_me.a_c.lala_
Q,. collision energy transfer
,4; reaction rate constant of the j-th reaction
Q_ net radiative heat flux
Ap, A,_ matrix coefficients of transport equations
qe electron charge
c speed of light in a vacuum. R gas constant
D species diffusivity

Copyright © 2001 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. No copyright is asserted in the United States under Title 17.
US Code. The US. Government has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for Government purposes.
All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner
S|aff, Senior Member AIAA
t President, Member AIAA
: Senior Research Engineer, Member AIAA
§ Associate Professor. member AIAA
Senior Scientist, Member AIAA

3.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 AIAA 2001-0648

r position vector the parabolic optic. The Laser Lightcraft uses a Rocket-
S source terms Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) to operate in both the
T gas temperature, K rocket and air-breathing modes. When operating in an
T_ electron temperature, K air-breathing mode, the specific impulse is infinity since
no fuel is consumed. These successful tests 7,s
T, translational temperature, K
T_ vibrational temperature, K demonstrated the concept and the potential feasibility of
t time, s launching small payload with a Laser Lightcraft.
lti velocity components When the tbcused beam energy strikes the shroud of a
V velocity magnitude Laser Lightcraft, free electrons form to invoke Inverse
Xt Cartesian coordinates Bremsstrahlung (IB) and the optical breakdown ensues.
F In order to achieve maximum intensity and to avoid
l chemical species mass fraction
plasma resonance, repetitive short pulses are used. As
such. repetitive Pulsed Detonation Waves (PDW) are
Greek Symbols
generated to propel the vehicle, hence the Laser
Eo permittivity
Lightcraft engine is also known as a PDW engine. It can
0 dependent variable
be seen that the underlying physics involved such as IB
F control surface and PDW are so complicated that a simple system model
KI laser absorption coefficient. is not capable of describing the phenomena, let alone
electron species thermal conductivity predicts the thrust performance and the associated flow
laser wavelength and thermal environments necessary for designing for the
P viscosity structure integrity,, A detailed computational plasma
stoichiometric coefficient aerodynamics model is therefore needed for the design
0 refractive angle and scaling of future Laser Lightcrafts.
P density From May to July, 1999, performance data in the form
"t'Lr vibrational-translational relaxation time scale of coupling coefficients were taken in a series of indoor
shear stress tensor tests for the Model #200 series vehicles. These test were
control volume domain pertbrmed under a cooperative effort between Rensselaer
_t chemical reaction source term Polytechnic Institute, the Air Force Research

cop plasma frequency Laboratory's Propulsion Directorate and NASA's

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), to enhance Laser
[ntrodqction Lightcraft propulsion research. These data are the first of
Beamed energy propulsion was first promoted bv a kind benchmark quality data for computational model
Kantrowttz . Since then, a propulsion system supported development. Armed with these data for comparison
by a laser-sustained plasma has been the subject of many purposes, a computational plasma aerodynamics
studies. -'4' The main advantage gained by laser methodology is developed as a first attempt to predicting
propulsion is the low-weight system derived from the thrust performance of a PDW engine propelled Laser
decoupling the energy source from the vehicle, and high Lightcraft.
specific impulse resulting in low fuel consumption. The
first ground and flight tests of a ground-based laser Computational Plasma Aerndynamic_ Development
propelled vehicle were reported in 1998, 7 in which active Several attempts have been made to analytically or
tracking and beam control were demonstrated to 122 m computationally model the physics inside continuous
on a horizontal wire and spin-stabilized free flights in the wave (CW) devices. For example, an early effort by
Raizer '} assumed constant-pressure one-dimensional (ID)
laboratory were accomplished to altitude of 4 m. Six
flow in air with heat addition by a laser. Thermal
months later, the spin-stabilized vertical free flights
outdoors reached 30 m. s These results were conduction was considered dominant and the radiation

accomplished with axisymmetric vehicles which are of a loss from the plasma was ignored. Kemp and Root m
special design in which a nosecone shaped forebody, an later extended this ID analysis to hydrogen and to
include thermal radiation. Molvik, Choi, and Merkle _
annular shroud, and a parabolic afterbody are the only
major components. A vehicle of such design is hereby extended this problem to a two-dimensional (2D)
named as the "Laser Lightcraft" in this study. The layout structured-grid hydrogen flow and implemented real ray
of a computational grid for a Laser Lightcraft is shown in tracing, but ignored thermal radiation. Jeng and Keefer _
Fig. 1. The parabolic afterbody surface serves both as an did similar analysis and added thermal radiation.
Myrabo, Raizer, and Surzhikov 6 later simulated the
aerospike nozzle and also the main receiving optic,
whereas the annular shroud surrounds the ring focus of radiative-gasdynamics processes in optical discharges

2
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 AIAA 2001-0648
maintained in a subsonic De Laval nozzle. In the work
described in this paper, a multidimensional unstructured-
grid computational plasma aerodynamics methodology is
developed for both CW and repetitively pulsed wave where _ is the domain of interest and F denotes the
devices, with emphases on nonequilibrium effects and
surrounding surfaces; _ is a unit normal vector of F in
laser-induced physics such as laser-plasma interactions.
Realistic laser absorption coefficients are used. The the outward direction. The flux function IG contains the
governing equations will be described first, with the inviscid and the viscous flux vectors.
auxiliary equations that compute the nonequilibrium and
laser induced physics to follow.
P =pro - ,uovo
The C.oyernin_ Equations
To properly describe the plasma aerodynamics Let's consider a control volume interface, e, between
involved in laser propelled propulsion, the time-varying control volumes E and P, with a normal vector n. And,
transport equations of continuity, species continuity,
momentum, global energy (total enthalpy) and electron g'E-O/' =_'Oe°(_E-_P), where We is interpolated from
energy are formulated and written in a Cartesian tensor the neighbor cells E and P. For the face e between
form: control volumes P and E, the diffusive flux can be
approximated as:

+ puj )= 0

I j
atY, a (pD aY, +

The finite volume formulation of flux integral can be

evaluated by the summation of the flux vectors over each
face,

=k_t,

where k(i) is a list of faces of cell i, F_.j represents

convection and diffusion fluxes through the interface
between cell i and j, and -XFi is the cell-face area.
The convective flux is evaluated through the upwind-
where the shear stress z_jcan be expressed as:
cell quantity by a linear reconstruction procedure to
achieve second order accuracy:
/'Su, 0u_ 20uk )
r,, = # _+
[8.rj O.r, 39.r_ J
5_j Oe = Ou + OeVOu
represents
• (re - -/u )
the upwind cell and q/_ is a limiter used to
where the subscript u

ensure that the reconstruction does not introduce local

The beam energy absorption, beam energy transfer, and extrema. The limiter proposed by Barth lz is used here.
plasma radiation are invoked through the source terms of
Defining Omax = max{Ou .Oj ) , Omin = min(Ou,Oj ) (and
the global energy and the electron energy equations,
whereas the plasma species are generated through the assuming 02 is computed with N_ = 1) the scalar _
source terms of the species continuity equations.
associated with the gradient at cell u due to edge e is:
Numerical Scheme
The cell-centered scheme is employed to allow the
..... -o,)_
,,,i,, I 1. 0_-_z-o- ,_ o - o > 0
volume surfaces to be represented by the grid cell
surfaces. The transport
integral form as:
equations can be written in
m in i °-°.)
1'..... ,,o_o<o
e )- O _

1 GO'-o=O

3
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 AIAA2001-0648
equation,
thesourcetermis linearized
to resultin an
Solution Procedure_ explicit term and an implicit term. This treatment is
A general implicit discretized time-marching scheme important for an unconditionally stable solution of the
tbr the transport equations can be written as below, equation. That is,

(jO _l N8 (pOD) n e_q(zi)

= +--+S O
L+ pfv ,n=l - -m,-,,, _d Explicit source term = P rLT

Implicit source term = - '° ev

where NB means the neighbor cells of cell P. The high rLr
order differencing term and cross diffusion term are
treated using known quantities and retained in the source The vibrational temperature is used to influence the
term and updated explicitly. The second term of the reaction rates of chemical reactions by assuming that the
right-hand side (RHS) is a perturbation that comes from rate coefficients tbr dissociation are functions of the
the RHS. A predictor and corrector solution algorithm is geometrical mean temperature between T and Tv. J5
employed to provide coupling of the governing
equations. The discretized finite-volume equations form Nnn-Equilihrium Air Chemistry
a set of linear algebraic equations, which are non- A general system of chemical reactions can be written
symmetric matrix system with arbitrary sparsity patterns. in terms of its stoichiometric coefficients (vij and vij')
.th • • 4h +
The preconditioned Bi-CGSTAB I: and GMRES(m) 13 and the t chemical species name (Mi) of the j reactl.on
matrix solvers are used to efficiently solve the linear as
algebraic equations.

vu,lM + = E U,)+'v/,
Auxiliary Equations t

Thermal Non-Equilihrium Energy Equation_

For high temperature flows, thermal non-equilibrium The net rate of change in the molar concentration of
state may be important. In Landau and Teller's species i due to reactions j, Xij, and the species
• - 14
dertvatlon, a master equation is employed to describe production rate can be written as:
the evolution of the population of quantum level At,. This
master equation is written as:

(lj_rj
++
:(o,-o,);+,,n,5,,,-++n,v,
1 L _ ,' l_ i
= NI,'_ K/_,Nj - ,.V _ K,_,j,_', :i - 0 ........ 1.....
<It t =0 r =0 r.b,= M% 2 X
j,

Results from the quantum mechanical solution of the

The forward (Arrhenius law) and backward reaction
harmonic oscillator are used to relate the various
rates for each reaction is given by:
quantum transition rates to one another, and then the
master equation may be summed over all quantum states
to obtain the Landau-Teller equation: KfI = A I Tt+'ExpC-_T)
K/¢
Kb_ -
Ke

D,-<9.,,+,
Dpe,: 0 (k,. OT,. I e_q(T,)-e_,

where Kej is the equilibrium coefficient

An empirical expression (given below) is used to
model the Landau-Teller relaxation time scale. The
Landau-Teller expression for the vibrational relaxation RT)- _'',I',+,'E+rp I Xl(V U vij>._'; l
time is calculated using the 6-coefficient specified.
L J
b_Tb: exPt(b3 /T_ J
=

r,•r p(l - b+exp(- b6 ]T)) A point-implicit (operator splitting) method is

employed to solve the chemistry system. For the
x_here bt=7. tE-4, b:=0, b_=l.91E6, b4=0.3333, bs=0, breakdown ()fair, Park's multitemperature air chemistry Is
b0=0 are used here. To solve this vibrational energy is baselined in this study. This mechanism composes of

4
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 AIAA 2001-0648

thedissociation, NOexchange, associativeionization,the energy absorbed by the plasma reaches 15% of that
charge exchange,electron-impact ionization,and delivered. Spark times computed based on that criterion
radiative
recombination reactions.Withthismechanism, range from 0.4 bts to 1.2 /,ts. As expected, lower laser
electronsareproduced firstbytheassociative ionizationpulse energies require longer spark times for ignition. It
processandmoreelectrons areproduced bytheelectron-is also reasonable to assume that the plasma initiates in a
impactreactions. Sincethenumber of electronsdoubles(spark) region enclosed by the two outer laser rays and an
in each such event, electrondensity increases arc with an origin at the focal point (in a 2D sense), and
exponentially,in the form of an avalanche. _5 This the (spark) radius of that region is determined empirically
mechanism thusprovides theinitialelectrondensitytbr as 1 ram. In actuality, the spark region is a toms
ignition and producesthe avalancheof electronsgenerated by a pie-shaped cross-section rotated about the
necessary for the subsequent optical breakdown. It can vehicle axis. Finally, the spark power is also empirically
be seen that the IB process is embedded in the determined as 15% of that of the incident laser - its
dissociation, associative ionization, and electron-impact theoretical maximum.
ionization reactions. The reaction rates were validated _5
with experiments of postshock temperatures ranging from l.,,'la.er_.Radla.t_m
20,000 - 60,000 K which are inline with the maximum Geometric optics is used to simulate the local
computed breakdown temperatures. intensity of the laser beam, which is split into a number
of individual rays. In the presence of absorption, the local
intensity of each ray follows the Beer's law:
Understanding the mechanisms responsible for plasma
initiation (ignition) has been the subject of ongoing dl,
-- = --K l [_
research. A spark gap, an extremely intense pulse of ds_
laser energy striking the focal point, seeded molecules or
particles, or a retractable tungsten target placed at the
The electron is the only plasma species that absorbs
focal point _6 have been used as sources of free electrons
the laser energy. The absorption coefficient of the CO:
tbr initiation." It has also been shown that plasma can be
laser radiation, corrected for stimulated emission in the
ignited quite easily, off metal surfaces.- Likewise in
single ionization range, is approximated by the formula: _7
numerical modeling, initial free electrons are required for
plasma ignition. This means determining an initial
5. 70 p_: ln[ 271T / l Oa)_ j 3_P_-t / 3'!
electron density or a threshold breakdown intensity. For KtCO, -
example, Ergun _6 described an initial electron density (TIlOa) _/:
that is necessary for modeling the ignition of a hydrogen
plasma initiated with a retractable tungsten wire. In this
study', a threshold breakdown intensity approach is A ray' may change its propagating direction due to the
devised in anticipation that a different threshold inhomogeneous refractive index within the hot plasma.
breakdown intensity may be encountered tbr differing The index of refraction is taken from Edwards and
surface material, target approach, and laser power. The Pleck: Is
advantage of this approach is that the threshold
breakdown intensity can either be calibrated or measured.
" n e)tt k ,.
For example, the effect of seeds on laser breakdown I1 = l--
i ,}ll / 2
intensity has been reported) In this study, this approach p_l e C -]_

is accomplished by performing parametric studies on

plasma initiation with spark time, spark region, and spark
The refracted angle is associated with the refractive index
power. A "'spark" provides a fixed amount of energy
throu_h_ the Snell's law: v_
(spark energy') in a region (spark region) centered around
the focal point |br a fixed amount of time (spark time).
n lsin01 =,z_sin&
VChen the strength of a spark reaches a threshold, or the
threshold breakdown intensity is satisfied, a laser
where n_ and n2 represent the refractive indexes tbr two
supported combustion (LSC) or detonation (LSD) is
initiated. different control volumes, and 0t and 0: are the incident

That means enou,,h seed electrons are produced and refracted directions with respect to the normal
direction of the interface between two volumes.
through the likes of associative ionization reactions such
that the subsequent optical breakdown (ignition) is
possible. It is found that an i_nition is sustainable when

5
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 AIAA 2001-0648

experiments. The CO,, laser delivered up to 400 J single- starts. Ten laser rays are plotted for clarity, whereas t_o
pulses at a pulse width of 18 p.s. The laser pulse energy hundred rays are actually used in the computation.
was measured with a calorimeter and the uncertainty of It is probably best to recount the phenomenon of an
the delivered energy was estimated to be + l0 J. Several optical detonation wave, which is a detonation wave
variations of the basic Laser Lightcraft design (Model generated by the optical breakdown of a medium with an
200 series) similar to those described in Ref. 8 were incident laser beam, at this moment. This was put
examined and the test results of the 6061-T6 all forward by Raizer _r in detail in his book. Essentially. a
aluminum Model #200-3/4 vehicle and Model A vehicle strong shock wave is generated in the region where the
are chosen for this study. The vehicle shape of Model A laser radiation that produces the plasma is absorbed and
can be found in Ref. 7. The impulse measurements were heat is deposited very rapidly. This shock wave travels
conducted with a pendulum apparatus. This technique through the medium, heating and ionizing it such that the
employed a velocimeter coil, which was used in previous medium becomes capable of absorbing more laser
work to determine the impulse imparted to a flat plate radiation. The laser energy is deposited in successive
using the PHAROS llI laser at Naval Research layers of a medium adjoining the front of the shock wave
Laboratory. 3° The Laser Lightcraft was suspended and subjected to the laser radiation. These layers themselves
suitably weighed before being subjected to a single pulse thus become energy sources that maintain the shock
of energy from the PLVTS laser. The uncertainty in the wave. Hence, the shock wave moves along the optical
impulse measurement is estimated to be 1% or better. channel in the opposite direction to the laser beam, Thus,
Details of the laser, measurement technique, and during the initial stages the shock wave is maintained by
pendulum apparatus can be found in Refs. 7 and 8. the laser beam and does not decay.
In Fig, 2 the optical breakdo_vn is being fed by the
Computational Grid Generation laser energy and the plasma front grows. Notice the rays
Figure I shows the layout of a computational grid (for are allowed to bend as the index of refraction varies with
Model #200-3/4), As described in Refs, 7 and 8, the the expanding plasma. As the local electron density of a
Laser Lightcraft vehicle consists of a forebody (nose), an plasma front reaches the critical value such that plasma
annular shroud, and a PDW engine (parabolic optic). resonance occurs, the local plasma becomes opaque and
Only half of the grid shown in Fig. I is actually solved the regular laser energy absorption is greater on other
due to the axisymmetric formulation. An eight-zone points of the surface of the plasma front. This process is
structured grid was generated first using a grid generation nonlinear and may explain the irregular shape of the
code called UMESH. 31 The grid is then fed to an plasma front. It is anticipated that eventually the laser
auxiliary program such that an one-zone unstructured- beam is totally reflected as the plasma resonance
grid is constructed for the actual computation. phenomenon spreads over the entire plasma front. The
Quadrilateral elements are used such that the wall phenomenon of plasma resonance disappears as the
boundary layer can be computed if needed. High grid plasma front expands and the electron density decreases.
density is used in the inner shroud region for capturing The computed optical breakdown phenomenon appears
the optical breakdown and pulsed detonation wave to agree with the description given by Raizer. _7 Notice
processes. that the spreading of the shock wave outside the optical
channel results in gradual attenuation because there is no
Results and Discussion energy to maintain it. Thus, as the shock wave expands
A series of computations have been performed for in the direction opposite to the laser beam, it is weakly
average laser pulse energies of 75, 100, 150, 200, 300 maintained by laser radiation when it is not in a state of
and 400 J for Model 0200-3/4, and 400, 600, and 800 J plasma resonance.
fi_r Model A. Maximum computed temperatures ranging Figure 3 shows the temperature contours at an elapsed
from 51,000 to 60,000 K fall within the computed post- time of 20 _ts. At this time, the laser beam is turned off
shock temperatures of 20.000 to 60,000 K using Park's since the pulse width is fixed at 18 Its, thus the shock
multi-temperature air chemistry. _5 LSD occurs in all wave is not being maintained by the laser radiation. The
cases with maximum Math number reaching 2.5. LSC computational results show that a pulsed detonation wave
then ensues as the plasma front expands, and the Mach usually takes place at approximately 10 to 20 _ after the
number decreases to subsonic value. Figure 2 shows the start command. The higher the pulse energy, the earlier
computed temperature contours and laser beam traces at the generation of a pulsed detonation wave. Part of this
an elapsed time of 10 _s and an average laser pulse propagating detonation wave will hit the parabolic optic
energy of 400 J. It can be seen that the laser beam and reflect off the surface. The reflected and non-
reflects specularly on the optical surface and focuses onto reflected portions would combine to make a propagating
a focal "'point" on the shroud where the breakdown of air Mach stem. It should be noted that the phenomenon of a

7
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 AIAA 2001-0648

propagating Machstemon theopticalsurface is very detonation wave propagation agree well with those
similarto thatof a propagatingMathdiscinsidea bell described in the literature. The model predicted coupling
• _2.33
nozzle during the start-up transient.- This is because coefficient for a Model #200-3/4 Laser Lightcraft and the
the aerospike optic geometry is an "'inside-out" version to predicted impulse for a Model A Laser Lightcraft agreed
that of a contoured bell nozzle. reasonably well with those measured.
As the Mach stem moves past the end of the shroud,
the part that is attached to the inner-shroud starts to wrap
around the outer-shroud. As the wrap around progresses, The authors wish to thank Sandy Kirkindal[ of Laser
the shock wave weakens and grows like an ellipsoid. A Propulsion and John Cole of Advanced Propulsion for
forebody attaching "leg" eventually develops, as shown supporting this study. The lead author wishes to thank
in the pressure contours of Fig. 4 at 1050 Its. Eventually, Chris Beairsto of the Directed Energy Team for the laser
the "leg" leaves the nose and the ellipsoid expands to specifics, James Reilly of NorthEast Science and
infinity. That completes the propulsion physics of the Technology and Jonathan Jones for discussions on
Laser Lightcraft for a single pulse of laser energy, plasma resonance, and Shen Zhu for discussions on the
The coupling coefficient is the generated impulse (N-s) energy conversion processes during the plasma
divided by the delivered average laser single-pulse resonance.
energy (MJ). It is a performance measure unique to the
pulsed laser propulsion, and conceptually similar to the Referenee._
specific impulse (generated thrust divided by propellant Kantrowitz, A., "Propulsion to Orbit by Ground-Based
weight flow rate) of a chemical rocket. Figure 5 shows a Lasers," Astronautics and Aeronautics, Vol. 10, No, 5,
comparison of model predicted and experimental May 1972, pp. 74-76.
measured coupling coefficients for Model #200-3/4. The 2 Glumb, R.J.. and Krier, H., "'Concepts and Status of
model with non-equilibrium radiation produced slightly Laser-Supported Rocket Propulsion," Journal of
better comparison than that without non-equilibrium Spacecraft and Rockets', Vol. 21, NO. 1, 1984, pp. 70-79.
radiation. The scattering of the measured data is 3 Brandstein, A., and Levy, Y., "'Laser Propulsion System
attributed to the measurement of the laser energy, which for Space Vehicles," Journal of Propulsion and Power,
varied from shot to shot (+ 10 J) and an average over Vol. 14, No. 2, 1998, pp. 261-269.
many pulses was used. The model (without non- Jeng, San-Mou, and Keefer, Dennis, "Theoretical
equilibrium radiation) predicted coupling coefficients Evaluation of Laser-Sustained Plasma Thruster
agree reasonably well with those measured in the Performance," Journal of Propulsion, Vol. 5, No. 5,
laboratory. Figure 6 shows a comparison of model Sept-Oct., 1989, pp. 577-581.
predicted and measured impulses for Model A. The s Molvik, G.A., Choi, D., and Merkle, C.L., "A Two-
model predicted slightly higher impulses at laser pulse Dimensional Analysis of Laser Heat Addition in a
energies from 600 to 800 J. It is anticipated that the Constant Absorptivity Gas," AL4A Journal, Vol. 23, No.
comparison improves with inclusion of non-equilibrium 7, 1985, pp. 1053-1060.
calculation. 6 Myrabo, L., Raizer, Y.P., and Surzhikov, S.T., "'Laser
Figure 7 shows the predicted maximum electron Combustion Waves in Laval Nozzles," High
density (Ne .... ) as a function of elapsed time for Model Temperature, Vol. 33, No. 1, 1995, pp. 11-20.
#200-3/4. It rises sharply within about 5/as, reaching its 7 Myrabo, L.N., Messitt, D.G., and Mead, F.B., Jr,,
peak, then drops with time. The earliest rise and the "Ground and Flight Tests of a Laser Propelled Vehicle,"
highest peak value occur for the highest laser pulse AIAA Paper 98-1001, Jan., 1998.
energy (400 J). as expected. The computation indicates s Mead, F.B., Jr., and Myrabo, L.N., Messitt, D.G.,
the occurrence of plasma resonance for all cases since the "Flight and Ground Tests of a Laser-Boosted Vehicle,"
maximum electron densities exceed the critical value for AIAA Paper 98-3735, July, 1998.
about 25 to 45 Its. '_ Raizer, Y.P., "Subsonic Propagation of a Light Spark
and Threshold Conditions/'or the Maintenance of Plasma
by Radiation," Soviet Physics JETP, Vol. 31, Dec., 1970,
A computational plasma aerodynamics model has been _0p. 1148-1154.
developed to study the propulsion physics of an Kemp, N.H, and Root, R.G., "Analytical Study of
experimental Laser Lightcraft. The model development LSC Waves in Hydrogen," Journal of Energy, Vol. 3,
is based on a building block approach such that the Jan-Feb, L979, pp. 40-49.
model can be improved continuously with improved i_ Barth, T.J.. "Recenf Developments in High Order K-
understanding of the physics. The mode[ predicted laser Exact Reconstruction on Unstructured Meshes,' AIAA
propulsion physics such as the optical breakdown and Paper 93-0668, 1993.

8
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 AIAA 2001-0648
12Fletcher,R., "ConjugateGradientMethodsfor 27 Brown, Sanborn C., Basic Data of Plasma Physics,
Indefinite
Systems,"
Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Vo[. The Technology Press of The Massachusetts Institute of
506, 1976, pp. 73-89. Technology and John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York.
13 Saad, Y., and Schultz, M.H., "GMRES: A Generalized _-_Hora, Heinrich, Laser Plasmas and Nuclear Energy.
Minimal Residual Algorithm for Solving Nonsymmetric Plenum Press, New York and London, 1975.
Linear Systems," SIAM Journal of Scientific and -"_Zhu, S., USRA, MSFC, personal communication.
Statistical Computing. 30 Lyons, P.W., Myrabo, L.N., Jones, R.A., Nagamatsu,
Vol. 7, No. 3, Jan. 1986, pp. 856-869. H.T., and Manka, C., "Experimental Investigation of a
14 Landau, L., and Teller, E., "Zur Theorie der Unique Airbreathing Pulsed Laser Propulsion Concept,"
Schalldispersion," Physic Z. Sov, jetunion, Vol. 10, No. AIAA Paper 91-1922, 1991.
34, 1936. 3_ Chen, Y.S., "UNIC-MESH: A Model Builder & Mesh
15 Park, C., "Review of Chemical-Kinetic Problems ofGenerator, Graphical User Interface," Engineering
Future NASA Missions, I: Earth Entries," Journal of" Sciences. Inc. Internal Report, UNIC-Mesh-V.3.0, 2000.
Thermophysics and Heat Transfer. Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993, 3-, Wang, T.-S., "Numerical Study of the Transient
Nozzle Flow Separation of Liquid Rocket Engines,"
p6p. 385-398,
Ergun, M.A., Modeling and Experimental Computational Fluid Dynamics Journal, VoI.I, No.3,
Measurements of Laser Sustained Hydrogen Plasmas, Oct. 1992, pp. 319-328.
Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana- 33 Wang, T.-S. and Chen Y.-S., "Unified Navier-'Stokes
Champaign, 1993. Flowfield and Performance Analysis of Liquid Rocket
_7 Raizer, Y.P., and Tybulewicz. A., "Laser-Induced Engines," Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 9, No.
Discharge Phenomena", Studies in Soviet Science, Edited 5, Sept.-Oct. 1993, pp.678-685.
by Vlases, G.C., and Pietrzyk, Z.A., Consultants Bureau, ._4 Park, C., Nonequilibrium Hypersonic
New York, 1977. Aerothermodynamics, Wiley, New York, 1990.
ts Edwards, A. L, and Fleck, Jr. J. A.. "Two-dimensional 35 Sharma, S.P., Gillespie, W.D., and Meyer, S.A.,
Modeling of Aerosol-Induced Breakdown," Journal of. "'Shock Front Radiation Measurements in Air," AIAA
Applied Physics., Vol. 50, No. 6, 1979, pp. 4307-4313. Paper 91-0573, Jan. 1991.
t'J Modest, M. F., "Radiative Heat Transfer," McGraw-
Hill, NY, 1993.
z0 Park, C., "Nonequilibrium Air Radiation Program:
User's Manual," NASA TM-86707, 1985.
__lHartung, Lin, "Theory and User's Manual tbr Loran
Code," NASA TM-4564, 1994.
:" Gogel, T. H., Duouis. M., and Messerschmid. E. W., "
Radiation Transport Calculation in High Enthalpy
Environment for Txvo-dimensiona[ Axisymmetric
Geometries," Journal of Thermophysics and Hec_t
Transfer, Vol. 8, No. 4_ 1994, pp. 744-750.
".3Hartung, L. C. and Hassan, H. A., "Radiation
Transport around Axisymmetric Blunt Body Vehicles
Using a Modified Differential Approximation," Journal
of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, Vol. 7, No. 2,
1993, pp. 220-227
,,4 Surzhikov, S. T.. "Calculation of the Radiation Flux
Divergence near the Region of Local Heat Release by
Quadromoment Method." Proceedings of the First
International Symposium on Radiation Transfer,
Kusadasi, Turkey, August 13-18, 1995, pp. 92-106.
,,s Liu, J,. Shang, H., Chert, Y.-S,, and Wang, T.-S.,
"Analysis of Discrete Ordinates Method with Even Parity
Formulation," Journal of Thermophysis and Heat
TraJ_sfi'r, Vol. 11, No. 2, April-June, 1997, pp. 253-260. Fig. I The layout of a computational grid for the laser
'_' Coelho, P. J. and Carvalho. M. G., "'A Conservative lightcraft.
Formulation of the Discrete Transfer Method," Journal
of Heat Transfer, Vol. 119, No. 1, 1997, pp, 118-128.

9
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 AIAA 2001-0648

! ' ' ' ' I ' ' ' ' 1 ¸' ' '' I ' _ ' ' I' '' ' !

0.11

,,', 0.10 ///_

d O.O9

__
g o.08 //_
a 0.07 -

0.05
• i "- _, tdata
004,,_1_, , , , I , , , , I, J ,, .... I ....
350 450 550 650 750 850

Average Laser PuLse Energy. J

Fig. 6 A comparison of the impulses.

I°2' _:_._

, -':,:
Critical Valu
J
I
? l},z3 '.
E 'L, .... /

S
k _ ......... 200 J I/
. ?,,,X "_ l ,_0 J l

1021 _ _ , J
0.0000 0.0001 0.0002

Elapsed time..;

Fig. 7 Computed maximum electron density history.

11
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

View publication stats