Polarization and Space Charge Effects in Electrode Design

Abstract

Electrostatic field effects in high pressure discharges which provide physical insight into the problem of electrode design are derived. The coupled set of charge transport equations and Poisson's equation have been analytically studied using perturbation theory techniques. Our study reveals that the homogeneous field must be supplemented by the inhomogeneous contributions of space charge and polarization effects which arise from nonuniform plasma ionization and local nonconservation of each species current. The validity of a commonly used boundary condition is examined and found untenable. Implications for the computational design of electrodes are presented.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA638076

Entities

People

  • John A. Filcoff
  • Patrick J. Roache
  • William M. Moeny

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Boltzmann Equation
  • Boundaries
  • Complex Variables
  • Conformal Mapping
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Dielectric Permittivity
  • Electric Fields
  • Electrodes
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Electrostatic Fields
  • Equations
  • Geometry
  • High Pressure
  • Poisson Equation
  • Polarization
  • Space Charge

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Plasma Physics.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster