INTERACTIONS OF AN ELECTRIC ARC PLASMA WITH TRANSVERSE MAGNETIC FIELDS AND GAS FLOWS.

Abstract

Interactions of wall-stabilized and free burning arcs with transverse gas flows and magnetic fields perpendicular to the arc axis are studied. The arc plasma is described by the mono-fluid-approximation and the gas flow is assumed to be laminar, i.e. the Reynold-number of the flow is sufficiently small. Temperature distribution and flow in a wall-stabilized cylindrical arc are calculated, a transverse magnetic field giving rise to a double vortex and a displacement of the maximum of the arc temperature. For a free burning arc, analytical and numerical methods are developed to calculate the flow field for a given reasonable temperature field and the temperature distribution for a given flow field. For a given approximate temperature distribution the momentum equation is solved including inertial forces, viscous forces, and Lorentz forces. An analytic solution for a channel model is compared with more rigorous numerical calculations. It is shown that strong magnetic fields or inertial forces can cause a back-flow in the arc core. From the energy equation the temperature distribution is calculated for a given homogeneous or inhomogeneous flow field. Assuming cylindrical symmetry the solution leads to an eigenvalue problem which determines the electric field strength in the arc depending on the flow parameters. The three-dimensional temperature distribution of an arc in a homogeneous flow is obtained prescribing suitable boundary conditions on the electrodes. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1968
Accession Number
AD0674057

Entities

People

  • Ernest Fischer
  • Jurgen Uhlenbusch
  • Klaus Bartels
  • Wilhelm Fucks

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Channel Models
  • Eigenvalues
  • Electric Arcs
  • Electric Fields
  • Equations
  • Flow
  • Flow Fields
  • Gas Flow
  • Lorentz Force
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Three Dimensional
  • Transverse

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Plasma Physics.