A Calculation Method of Electromagnetic Wave Reflection in Plasma Sheath Environment

Due to its high-speed movement, the reentry object is enveloped with a plasma sheath featuring complex electromagnetic (EM) characteristics. Based on the physical process of EM wave transmission/reflection in plasma sheath, we propose a calculation method of EM wave reflection suited for plasma sheath environment. The proposed method comprehensively considers the resonance shielding surface, the critical angle of total reflection, and the damping effect. Our method is simulated and verified using typical blunt cone computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation data. We analyze the reflection intensity distributions of EM waves in the plasma sheath with different altitudes and speeds, revealing the reflection law of EM wave under scenarios of complex EM environment and oblique incidence of plasma sheath. Simulation/experimental results suggest that our proposed method exhibits excellent performance under the conditions of sparse data grid and grazing incidence.