Energy Deposition I: Applications to Revolutionize High Speed Flight and Flow Control

Abstract

INCE its beginning, PM&AM Research has been pioneering a broad range of energy deposition applications to revolutionize how the world flies and controls high speed flow [Ref. 1-10], in particular, how we execute highspeed flight and flow-control, ranging from high subsonic to hypersonic regimes. This conference paper is intended to provide an overview of a number of applications to provide an intuitive feel of the many possibilities opened up by this novel approach. More specifics are described in a separate paper at this conference, including physical mechanisms, their timescales, and their coupling. The basic effect stems from our approach to rapidly expand gas out of regions, through which we want high-speed/high-pressure gas to flow. As a simple analogy (requiring some imagination and license), consider the difference in effectiveness of trying to make a projectile cross through the Red Sea at high speed, either firing the projectile directly through the water from one side to the other, or first “parting” the Red Sea and then firing the same bullet through a path that contains no water (Figure 1).