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Title: A numerical study on bow shocks around the lightning return stroke channel

Abstract

Bow shock structures are important to various hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) phenomena in geophysics and astrophysics. The formation and propagation of bow shocks around the lightning return stroke channel are investigated based on the self-similar motion theory and simulated with a two-dimensional Eulerian finite volume resistive radiation MHD code. In this framework, as verification of theoretical models, the evolving structures of many quantities, such as the plasma density, temperature, pressure, shock velocity, and magnetic field, can be obtained, which present all the characteristics of bow shocks in the lightning return stroke processes. The evolution characteristics and the configuration of the curved return stroke channels, e.g., the non-ideal effects and the scaling laws, are discussed in detail. The results may have applications for some observed features of the return stroke channels and other phenomena in the lightning discharge plasmas.

Authors:
; ;  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. National Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Environment and Electro-Optical Engineering, PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210007 (China)
  2. The China Satellite Maritime Tracking and Control Department, Yuan Wang III, Jiangyin 214400 (China)
  3. Engineer Academy of PLA, Xuzhou 221004 (China)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22408226
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Physics of Plasmas
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 22; Journal Issue: 3; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; ASTROPHYSICS; GEOPHYSICS; HYDRODYNAMICS; LIGHTNING; MAGNETIC FIELDS; MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS; NUMERICAL ANALYSIS; PLASMA DENSITY; PRESSURE DEPENDENCE; SHOCK WAVES; TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE; TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS; TWO-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS; VELOCITY

Citation Formats

Chen, Qiang, Chen, Bin, Yi, Yun, Chen, P. F., E-mail: chenpf@nju.edu.cn, Mao, Yunfei, and Xiong, Run. A numerical study on bow shocks around the lightning return stroke channel. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4915522.
Chen, Qiang, Chen, Bin, Yi, Yun, Chen, P. F., E-mail: chenpf@nju.edu.cn, Mao, Yunfei, & Xiong, Run. A numerical study on bow shocks around the lightning return stroke channel. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4915522
Chen, Qiang, Chen, Bin, Yi, Yun, Chen, P. F., E-mail: chenpf@nju.edu.cn, Mao, Yunfei, and Xiong, Run. 2015. "A numerical study on bow shocks around the lightning return stroke channel". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4915522.
@article{osti_22408226,
title = {A numerical study on bow shocks around the lightning return stroke channel},
author = {Chen, Qiang and Chen, Bin and Yi, Yun and Chen, P. F., E-mail: chenpf@nju.edu.cn and Mao, Yunfei and Xiong, Run},
abstractNote = {Bow shock structures are important to various hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) phenomena in geophysics and astrophysics. The formation and propagation of bow shocks around the lightning return stroke channel are investigated based on the self-similar motion theory and simulated with a two-dimensional Eulerian finite volume resistive radiation MHD code. In this framework, as verification of theoretical models, the evolving structures of many quantities, such as the plasma density, temperature, pressure, shock velocity, and magnetic field, can be obtained, which present all the characteristics of bow shocks in the lightning return stroke processes. The evolution characteristics and the configuration of the curved return stroke channels, e.g., the non-ideal effects and the scaling laws, are discussed in detail. The results may have applications for some observed features of the return stroke channels and other phenomena in the lightning discharge plasmas.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4915522},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22408226}, journal = {Physics of Plasmas},
issn = {1070-664X},
number = 3,
volume = 22,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}