REENTRY TURBULENT PLASMA MODULATION MODEL

PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. (PSI) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A MODEL AND COMPUTER CODE TO PREDICT AN ANALYZE THE EFFECTS OF TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER PLASMA MODULATION ON ANTENNA PERFORMANCE. A THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC PROPAGATION OF MICROWAVE RADIATION THROUGH A TURBULENT MEDIUM WILL BE DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE AMPLITUDE AND PHASE MODULATION INFORMATION. THIS THEORY WILL BE ANALOGOUS TO EXISTING METHODS FOR OPTICAL PROPAGATION THROUGH TURBULENCE, BUT WILL BE SPECIALIZED TO CONDITIONS WHERE THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVELENGTH IS MUCH LONGER THAN SCALE SIZES OF THE PLASMA FLUCTUATIONS. PSI FURTHER PROPOSES TO EXTEND ITS EXISTING HYPERSONIC TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER MODEL TO PROVIDE THE PLASMA STATISTICAL PARAMETERS THAT INFLUENCE PROPAGATION. IN PHASE I PSI WILL DEMONSTRATE THE CAPABILITY OF THE MODEL FOR BALLISTIC RV APPLICATIONS AT LOW/MODERATE ELECTRON DENSITY LEVELS. EXTENSIONS TO A COMPUTER CODE THAT ADDRESSES MANEUVERING RV FLOWFIELDS, AS WELL AS UNLIMITED ELECTRON DENSITIES, WOULD BE CARRIED OUT IN PHASE II.