Thermodynamic Properties Of Hydrogen-helium Plasmas
Abstract
The thermodynamic properties of an atomic hydrogen-helium plasma have been calculated for postulated conditions present in a stagnation shock layer of a spacecraft entering the atmosphere of Jupiter. These properties can be used to evaluate transport properties, to calculate convective heating, and to investigate nonequilibrium behavior. The calculations have been made for temperatures from 10,000° to 100,000°K, densities of 10–7 and 10–5 g/cm3, and three plasma compositions: pure hydrogen, 50 % hydrogen, 50 % helium, and pure helium. The shock layer plasma consists of electrons, protons, atomic hydrogen, atomic helium, singly ionized helium, and doubly ionized helium. The thermodynamic properties which have been investigated are: pressure, average molecular weight, internal energy, enthalpy, entropy, specific heat, and isentropic speed of sound. A consistent model was used for the reduction of the ionization potential in the calculation of the partition functions. © American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., 1972, All rights reserved.
Recommended Citation
H. F. Nelson, "Thermodynamic Properties Of Hydrogen-helium Plasmas," Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 177 - 181, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Jan 1972.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.2514/3.30386
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
And Plasma Properties; Atomic; Molecular
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0022-4650
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 1972
Comments
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Grant NGR 26-003-055