Materials Analysis of Transient Plasma-Wall Interactions
Abstract
This program seeks to advance the field of high temperature materials, space propulsion and electro-energetic physics research. With the discovery of a new class of electromagnetic pulsed plasma propulsion devices such as the Electrodeless Lorentz Force Thruster, it is critical to characterize and develop and new materials for these systems. Through a combination of experiment and surface analysis, the behavior of the plasma-material boundary under transient thermal convective and radiative loads was investigated. Specifically, transient non-equilibrium plasma flows have been produced over a range of high energy densities (100 kJ/sq m - 500 kJ/sq m), on time scales of 10s of microseconds. The initial investigations employed deuterium plasmas to reduce the effect of radiation effects while providing for a chemically active species whose effect on the substrate could easily be traced. The chemical and physical effects of these flows on a range of insulative, conducting and composite materials were examined by detailed surface analysis on the micro, meso and macro scale. The information obtained through Optical Microscopy, Secondary Electron Microscopy, and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy were used to develop a model showing the importance sputter and re-deposition.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 13, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA609812
Entities
People
- Chris Pihl
- Duwayne L. Smith
- Fumio Ohuchi
- John Slough
- Richard Milroy
- Samuel Andreason
Organizations
- University of Washington