An Investigation of Unipolar Arcing in Various Conductors and Metallic Glasses.

Abstract

An investigation of unipolar arcing in various conductors and surface preparations was undertaken. A discussion on the production of 'glassy' surfaces on various metals, and their susceptability to unipolar arcing is also presented. All experiments were conducted using a neodymium glass laser in a Q-switched mode to generate a hot plasma. Results show that stainless steel and mild commercial steel arc are very heavily, in agreement with past researchers, while titanium undergoes arcing at a lesser crater density but over a greater surface area, HY 130 undergoes arcing at a low crater density, and a commercially prepared metallic glass Fe80B20 and Poco graphite not at all. Experiments were conducted in attempt to produce metallic glass coatings on stainless steel, HY 130, and a mild commercial steel (1030). Coatings produced were exposed to a laser produced plasma and arcing was found to be present in all cases but at a lower arc density. In conjunction with attempts to produce metallic glass surface coatings on metals, an experiment was done to determine the energy density required for the onset of plasma production in type 304 stainless steel. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA111004

Entities

People

  • Todd Jeffrey Hoover

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alloys
  • Ceramic Materials
  • Chemistry
  • Electron Microscopes
  • Electrons
  • Energy Transfer
  • Glass Lasers
  • Heat Energy
  • Laser Beams
  • Laser Target Interactions
  • Laser Targets
  • Lasers
  • Materials
  • Metallic Glass
  • Nd:Glass Lasers
  • Scanning Electron Microscopes
  • Stainless Steel

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Materials Science (Mechanical Engineering).
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.
  • Reinforced Composite Materials

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy