Supersonic Gas Flow in a Plane Channel with a Normal Glow Discharge in the Magnetic Field

The results of numerical study of the interaction of supersonic molecular nitrogen flow with a normal glow discharge in a magnetic field at velocities M = 2 and 5 and a pressure of 0.6 Torr are given. It is shown that, depending on the polarization of the magnetic field induction vector, the magnetic field can both accelerate and slow down the motion of the discharge current column in gas flow. When there is no magnetic field, the normal glow discharge is not carried away by the flow, but moves at a noticeably lower velocity. This is a consequence of the influence of the gas boundary layers near the surfaces and a delay in the rate of ionization processes in the electric current column of gas-discharge plasma relative to the velocity of motion of the neutral gas that penetrates the discharge.