Current-Filamentation Instability in Railgun Arcs.
Abstract
We extend some previous analysis of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in railgun arcs to treat the current-filamentation instability. The basic model is similar to that used in our previous treatment of the interchange instability, and the formalism is adapted from that developed by Tsai, Liskow, and Wilcox. It is demonstrated that railgun arcs are indeed unstable to the formation of current filaments for any nonzero value of the acceleration. However, numerical solution of the appropriate eigenvalue problem suggests that the growth rates of the unstable modes are generally too small, and the wavelengths generally too large, for the instability to be of much practical importance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA184618
Entities
People
- John D. Powell
Organizations
- Ballistic Research Laboratory