A shock wave driven by millimeter wave ionization can be applied into a pulsed detonation engine as a Microwave Rocket. A high pressure induced inside the thruster generates the thrust, thus the shock wave propagation driven by the plasma is important. In this study, to obtain a different propagating structure, the beam profile was transformed from a Gaussian into a Ring and a Flat‐top profile by using a pair of phase correcting mirrors. As a result, the shape of the propagating plasma was changed into a no‐center shape in case of the Ring beam, and it was changed to a wider shape in case of the Flat‐top beam. The propagating velocity of the ionization front of the Flat‐top beam was much lower than that of the Gaussian due to the lower peak power density, and a higher plateau pressure and higher thrust impulse were generated by the Flat‐top beam.
Millimeter‐wave Driven Shock Wave for a Pulsed Detonation Microwave Rocket
BEAMED ENERGY PROPULSION: Seventh International Symposium ; 2011 ; Ludwigsburg, (Germany)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 1402 , 1 ; 478-486
2011-11-10
9 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Millimeter-wave driven shock wave for a pulsed detonation Microwave Rocket
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