Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Transient Flowfield Characteristics of Polycarbonate Plasma Discharge from Pulse-powered Electrothermal Gun Operation

  • Peer Reviewed
  • Published:
Journal of Thermal Spray Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An electrothermal gun is the device that produces high-temperature and high-velocity plasma vapor using high current pulsed power and has a potential to be an efficient method for producing a variety of nanomaterials. Pulsed plasma discharge from the electrothermal gun into the open air has been investigated numerically, and the time-dependent inviscid gas dynamics equations are solved for the two-dimensional computational domain including electrothermal gun and the open-air space using flux-corrected transport (FCT) scheme. The modeling of the Joule heating and the mass ablation from the bore wall are incorporated in the computation. The computational results yield the details of the plasma discharge behavior inside and outside the capillary bore including choked condition at the bore exit and complex shock structure of external plasma discharge. The flow structure of freely expanding plasma discharge in the open air is essentially the highly underexpanded supersonic jet featuring Mach disk, barrel shock, contact surface, and spherical blast wave. Compared to the experiments, the numerical simulation agrees well with the experimental data such as the capillary mass ablation and shock structure of the plasma jet.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. K.J. White, G.L. Katulka, T. Khong, and K. Nekula, “Plasma Characterization for Electrothermal-Chemical (ETC) Gun Applications,” ARL-TR-1491, U. S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1997

  2. M.J. Nusca, K.J. White, A.W. Williams, A.M. Landsberg, T.R. Young, and C.A. Lind, “Computational and Experimental Investigations of Open-Air Plasma Discharges,” AIAA Paper 99-0865, 1999

  3. J.M. Kohel, L.K. Su, N.T. Clemens, and P.L. Varghese, 1997. Emission Spectroscopic Measurements and Analysis of a Pulsed Plasma Jet,” IEEE Trans. Magn., 35(1), 201–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. J.U. Kim, N.T. Clemens, and P. L. Varghese, “Experimental Study of an Underexpanded Pulsed Plasma Jet,” AIAA Paper 99-0452, 1999

  5. J.D. Powell and A.E. Zielinski, “Theory and Experiment for an Ablating-Capillary Discharge and Applications to Electrothermal-Chemical Guns,” BRL-TR-3355, U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1992

  6. J.D. Powell and A.E. Zielinski, 1993, Capillary Discharge in the Electrothermal Gun, IEEE Trans. Magn., 29(1), 591–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. L.L. Raja, P.L. Varghese, and D.E. Wilson, 1997, Modeling of the Electrogun Metal Vapor Plasma Discharge, J. Thermophys. Heat Transfer, 11(3), 353–360

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. M.F. Zaghloul, M.A. Bourham, and J.M. Doster, 2001, Semi-Analytical Modelling and Simulation of the Evolution and Flow of Ohmically-Heated Non-Ideal Plasmas in Electrothermal Guns. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 34, 772–786

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. K. Kim, 2003, Time-Dependent One-Dimensional Modeling of Pulsed Plasma Discharge in a Capillary Plasma Device,” IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., 31(4), 729–735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. E.M. Schmidt, D.D. Shear, 1975, Optical Measurements of Muzzle Blast, AIAA J., 13(8), 1086–1091.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. B.E. Djakov, V. Hermoch, 2003, “Plasma Formation at the Electrodes of Pulsed Arcs,” Vacuum, 69, 129–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. R.W. Liebermann and R.J. Zollweg, 1987, “Electrical Conductivity of Nonideal Plasmas,” J. Appl. Phys., 62(9), 3621–3627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. J. Batteh, J. Powell, D. Sink, and L. Thornhill, 1995, “A Methodology for Computing Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of Plasma Mixtures in ETC Injectors,” IEEE Trans. Magn., 31(1), 388–393.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. J.P. Boris, A.M. Landsberg, E.S. Oran, and J.H. Gardner, “LCPFCT—Flux-Corrected Transport Algorithm for Solving Generalized Continuity Equations,” Naval Research Laboratory Report No. 6410-93-7192, 1993

  15. J.P. Boris, “Flux-Corrected Transport Modules for Generalized Continuity Equations,” NRL Memorandum Report 3237, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., 1976

  16. J. Iwamoto, 1990.“Impingement of Under-Expanded Jets on a Flat Plate. J. Fluid Eng. Trans. ASME, 112, 179–184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author greatly acknowledges Professors N. T. Clemens and P. L. Varghese of The University of Texas at Austin for providing their experimental data and valuable suggestions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, 1 Yangho, Gumi, Gyeongbuk, 730-701, South Korea

    Kyoungjin Kim

Authors
  1. Kyoungjin Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyoungjin Kim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kim, K. Transient Flowfield Characteristics of Polycarbonate Plasma Discharge from Pulse-powered Electrothermal Gun Operation. J Therm Spray Tech 17, 517–524 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-008-9204-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-008-9204-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation