Free-boundary vacuum arc plasma jet expansion in a curved magnetic field

Author

Keidar, Michael ; Beilis, Isak I. ; Anders, André ; Brown, Ian G.

Author_Institution

Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA, USA

Volume

27

Issue

2

fYear

1999

fDate

4/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

613

Lastpage

619

Abstract

A hydrodynamic model of free-boundary vacuum arc plasma jet flow through a curved magnetic field has been developed. The plasma flow was modeled by sourceless steady-state equations, and the free boundary of the plasma was determined as a part of the solution of the gas-dynamic equations. It was found that the maximum plasma density shifts with respect to the centerline. The shift is maximum at the 90° guide exit plane and for the case of low magnetic field. The maximum increase in longitudinal plasma velocity along the duct was shown to be a factor of three. The plasma distribution within the duct was analyzed experimentally using a deposition probe technique. The plasma jet expansion predicted by the model was compared with the experiment and a good qualitative agreement was found

Keywords

magnetic fields; plasma density; plasma jets; vacuum arcs; curved magnetic field; deposition probe technique; free-boundary vacuum arc plasma jet flow; gas-dynamic equations; longitudinal plasma velocity; maximum plasma density; plasma distribution; plasma jet expansion; sourceless steady-state equations; Ducts; Equations; Hydrodynamics; Magnetic analysis; Magnetic fields; Plasma density; Plasma sources; Probes; Steady-state; Vacuum arcs;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/27.772293

Filename

772293