Numerical modeling of constrictor plasma at the Technion arc-heated wind tunnel

Atmospheric re-entry is accompanied by high levels of aerodynamic heating, which leads to the need for thermal protection systems. Arc-heated wind tunnels are used for testing materials for such systems. The core of the arc-heated wind tunnel is the constrictor, where air is heated by a high current flow, which then goes through a converging-diverging nozzle. The intense heating of the air generates a weakly-ionized plasma with peak temperatures of ~10000 K in some regions of the flow. Understanding the characteristics of this plasma is important for the understanding of the nozzle outflow which then hits a target material. In this talk we present a simplified 1D calculation of the temperature radial distribution around the middle of the constrictor, where the electric field is considered constant. This calculation is based on the Elenbaas-Heller equation and uses measured voltage and current as inputs. Also, initial 2D simulation results using COMSOL will be presented which are based on magnetohydrodynamics equations.