DOW-UAP-D149, AAWSAP DIRD, MHD Air Breathing Propulsion and Power for Aerospace Applications, November 2010
Department of War · 11/21/10 · Las Vegas, Nevada · Document
DOW-UAP-D149, AAWSAP DIRD, MHD Air Breathing Propulsion and Power for Aerospace Applications, November 2010 is indexed as a Department of War record with incident date 11/21/10 and location Las Vegas, Nevada. This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIRDs are best understood as reference and synthesis products rather than as original research. It is one of 38 DIRDs produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) between 2009 and 2011. Because AAWSAP s scope permitted a broad range of supporting topics, not every DIRD in the series directly concerns aerospace systems or future threat assessment. The following summary reflects the DIRD s scope and framing at the time of writing and should not be read as implying current validation of the concepts discussed. This DIRD surveys magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and plasma-based concepts for air-breathing propulsion, onboard power generation, and aerodynamic control, arguing that such systems could in principle extend aerospace performance beyond the limits of conventional chemical propulsion and control surfaces. The report reviews concepts including MHD acceleration, flow control, inlet control, onboard power generation, drag reduction, and plasma-generated virtual aerodynamic surfaces, while giving particular attention to hypersonic applications such as scramjet power extraction, reentry vehicles, global-strike gliders, and aero-assisted orbital maneuvers. However, it emphasizes major practical constraints, especially extreme power requirements, system weight and complexity, and the difficulty of achieving useful ionization in colder air at lower hypersonic speeds; on that basis, it argues that Ajax-style MHD bypass concepts, in which energy is extracted from the airflow upstream and reintroduced downstream through an electromagnetic system, are not meaningful below about Mach 12, while treating the virtual cowl and related reentry applications as more plausible. The document presents plasma and MHD aerospace systems as a technically serious but highly demanding field whose nearer-term promise lies in specialized hypersonic control, power generation, and reentry applications rather than a fully realized air-breathing propulsion system. Redactions have been made to protect the identity of eyewitnesses, the location of government facilities, or potentially sensitive information about military sites not related to UAP. No redactions have been made to any files released under President Trump's directive concerning information about the nature or existence of any encounter reported as a UAP or related phenomena.
Notable / anomalous element
- The ionization fraction needed for a good electrical conductivity and acceptable MHD performance is much higher than that required for a fluorescent light, again resulting in high power budget and overheating. (native PDF text, page 17)
- For spacecraft, the current trend of replacing chemical rockets with electric propulsion systems will continue and is likely to become the standard. (native PDF text, page 4)
- ago that weakly ionized plasmas can reduce shock strength via some unknown physical mechanism, extensive research in the United States, Europe, and Russia has conclusively shown that the effects are purely thermal. (native PDF text, page 21)
- Chemical rockets can operate at all altitudes but have limited burn times and require both fuel and oxidizer to be carried onboard. (native PDF text, page 5)
Details
- UNCLASSIFIED/ /,FAR Oliliili Gili,t.L W&E 8HL'f MHD Air Breathing Propulsion and Power for Aerospace Applications The Defense Intelligence Reference Document provides nonsubstantive but au Lhorita Live reference information related to intelli ence to ics or methodolo ies. (native PDF text, page 2)
- This product is one of a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2010 under the Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Warning Office's Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Applications (AAWSA) Program, Comments or gue tions pertaining t o this document should be addressed to._A!_A P_P,.e,,,,r,,s,,,o,,,.n,. (native PDF text, page 2)
- Unclassified/ /for official use only contents summary.,. iv chapter 1: concept overview. (native PDF text, page 3)
- 1 Weakly Ionized Plasmas for Propulsion Applications. (native PDF text, page 3)
- 11 Basic Principles of Magnetohydrodynamics and Requirements for MHD Performance. (native PDF text, page 3)
- 18 MHD Applications to Reentry and Near-Orbital Flight.,. (native PDF text, page 3)
- Field Orientation for Hall Field Systems and PS Hall Thruster. (native PDF text, page 3)
- Schematic of the Virtual Cowl Concept. (native PDF text, page 3)
Tags: War Department, Nevada, AAWSAP, Technical research, Weapons, Rocket, Lights