Experimental ablation processes study on an electrothermal launcher
An experimental parametric study has been performed to analyse the influence of time on the ablation processes in the capillary of an electrothermal launcher. A 600 kJ, 16 cells pulse forming network (PFN) was used. The time discharge was varied from 350 /spl mu/s to 100 /spl mu/s by changing the cell number (from 16 to 4) and then the capacitance (from 1760 /spl mu/F to 440 /spl mu/F). The parametric study has been performed at a constant voltage level (13 kV). The ablated masses have been measured for different time discharge and the results have been compared with a 0-D code.
Investigation of the performance of an electrothermal plasma source with extended pulse length
Electrothermal (ET) plasma sources operating in the ablation-controlled arc regime uses discharge currents with pulse lengths between 100µs to 1ms. Faster or longer or extended flat-top pulses can also be generated to satisfy various applications of ET sources. It was reported that shorter pulse length of about 300ms is more powerful but provided shorter time duration for the interaction of the plasma flow with a solid target, and that the pulse is a key parameter for effective ignition of plasma propellant interactions1.
Capillary discharge in the electrothermal gun
A one-dimensional model is described for calculating the properties of plasma arcs in ablating, cylindrical capillaries. The basic assumptions and governing equations are presented, and the results of some numerical solutions are discussed. These results are also compared with experimental measurements of the voltage across the arc, as well the pressure measured at a specific point in the capillary tube. The degree to which theory and experiment agree is discussed in some detail, and possible reasons for the lack of agreement, where it exists, are pointed out. Results of the calculations indicate fair agreement between theory and experiment for values of the conductance, but poor agreement between predicted and measured values of the pressure. >