Energetics and limitations of passive electron transpiration cooling for hypersonic leading edges

Abstract: Electron transpiration cooling (ETC) offers a promising approach for thermal management of hypersonic vehicles by leveraging thermionic emission from the leading edge. While emitted electrons cool the surface, subsequent collection of flowfield electrons induces heating, limiting ETC effectiveness unless collection occurs in cooler aftbody regions. Most existing ETC studies neglect this heating contribution, assuming ideal downstream collection. This work integrates a one-dimensional collisionless plasma sheath model into a discretized leading-edge framework to predict surface potentials and charged-particle fluxes. A parametric study examines how plasma and vehicle properties affect ETC performance. Results reveal that passive ETC is susceptible to thermionic space-charge overcompensation, which can reverse the intended cooling effect and cause surface heating at high plasma densities. Flowfield electron heating can be mitigated but not eliminated by using dielectric coatings or blunt geometries. The same mechanisms that protect blunt bodies from adverse electrical conduction and flowfield heating also preclude incorporation of ETC-based cooling in those vehicle geometries.