Determination of the voltage drop on a high-current vacuum arc discharge under conditions of a limited cross-section of the plasma flow

Abstract The work is devoted to the study of the high-current vacuum arc discharge characteristics under conditions of a limited cross-section of the plasma flow. The experiments were carried out on the IMRI-5 setup with a sinusoidal arc current amplitude of 300–350 kA and a rise time of 500 ns. Aluminum rods with diameters from 3 to 7 mm were used as a cathode. The plasma flow was formed in a channel whose diameter was equal to that of the cathode. The features of the formation of a plasma jet with various configurations of the used plasma gun are described. The electrophysical parameters of the arc discharge are presented. Theoretical estimates of the voltage drop across the high-current arc during the outflow of a plasma flow through holes with a limited diameter are provided.

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Measurement of the expansion velocity of the plasma high-current vacuum arc discharge

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/2064/1/012005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2064 (1) ◽

pp. 012005

Author(s):

A S Zhigalin ◽

A G Rousskikh ◽

V I Oreshkin ◽

A P Artyomov

Keyword(s):

Discharge Plasma ◽

Streak Camera ◽

Arc Discharge ◽

Vacuum Arc ◽

Expansion Velocity ◽

High Current ◽

Plasma Expansion ◽

Plasma Gun ◽

Axis Of Symmetry ◽

Plasma Guns

Abstract In this work, we present experimental results on measuring the velocity of vacuum arc discharge plasma expansion. In the experiments, two designs of plasma guns were used. In the first version, the end of the arc discharge cathode was located below the plane of the anode, and the surface of the insulator separating them was parallel to the axis of symmetry of the plasma gun. In this design, the arc discharge plasma escapes the anode through a hole, the diameter of which coincides with the diameter of the cathode. In the second variant, the plane of the end face of the arc discharge cathode coincided with the plane of the anode, and the surface of the insulator separating them was located perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the plasma gun. To obtain an image of plasma in the optical range, an FER-7 optical streak camera was used. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the expansion velocity of the plasma of a high-current vacuum arc discharge does not depend on the design of the guns considered in this experiment.

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Investigation of the aluminum electrodes erosion of a plasma gun during the operation of a high-current vacuum arc discharge

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/2064/1/012016 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2064 (1) ◽

pp. 012016

Author(s):

A P Artyomov ◽

A G Rousskikh ◽

A S Zhigalin ◽

I A Rousskikh ◽

A G Tyukavkin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Arc Discharge ◽

Current Source ◽

Vacuum Arc ◽

High Current ◽

Plasma Gun ◽

X Ray ◽

Closed Type ◽

Aluminum Electrodes ◽

Current Characteristics ◽

A Current

Abstract The aim of this work was to obtain magnitude quantitative estimates of the “closed-type” plasma gun aluminum electrodes erosion that occurs during the course of a high-current vacuum arc discharge. The experimental setup consisted of two current generators. The first generator capable of generating a current with an amplitude of up to 450 kA and a rise time of 500 ns was used as a current source for a plasma gun. The second one was used as an X-ray radiograph to visualize the object under study in the soft X-ray range (hv ≈ 0.5–3 keV). Quantitative distributions of the plasma linear mass are obtained both along the radius and along the length of the jet at different times. It was shown that the erosion properties of the electrode material are related to the current characteristics of the arc discharge current.

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