Abstract
The influence of the gas density on the acceleration of a plasma armature inside the railgun channel filled with various gases (xenon, air, or helium) under atmospheric pressure is investigated experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that, after the discharge current has reached a steady value, the velocity of the glowing plasma front ceases to grow and remains constant as long as so does the current. The length over which the velocity saturates is equal to a few centimeters, i.e., is much shorter than the railgun channel length. The maximum velocity of the plasma piston meets a predicted limit, which is determined by the drag of the medium and a decrease in the acceleration of the plasma armature when a fraction of the material evaporated from the rails is involved into motion. The plasma composition depends on the electrode material. The velocities measured when the channel is filled with helium (V = 17.5 km/s) or air (V = 9.8 km/s) noticeably exceed the sound speed inside the plasma piston (5–7 km/s).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. V. Parker, IEEE Trans. Magn. 25, 418 (1989).
V. E. Ostashev, E. F. Lebedev, and V. E. Fortov, Teplofiz. Vys. Temp. 31, 313 (1993).
G. A. Shvetsov, A. G. Anisimov, Yu. L. Bashkatov, and S. V. Stankevich, Rail Electromagnetic Accelerators of Solids: Advances, Problems, Prospects, in Hydrodynamics of High-Density Energy (Inst. Gidrodinamiki, Novosibirsk, 2004), pp. 282–304 [in Russian].
S. N. Luzganov, A. V. Kozlov, V. P. Polishchuk, and A. V. Shurupov, Tr. Inst. Teplofiz. Ékstrem. Sost. OIVT RAN, No. 5, 103 (2002).
P. M. Kolesnikov, Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 36, 80 (1966) [Sov. Tech. Phys. 11, 56 (1966)].
J. D. Powell and J. H. Batteh, J. Appl. Phys. 54, 7195 (1983).
B. B. D’yakov and B. I. Reznikov, Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 58, 136 (1988) [Sov. Tech. Phys. 33, 81 (1988)].
B. B. D’yakov and B. I. Reznikov, in Proceedings of the 1st All-Union Seminar on Dynamics of High-Current Discharge in Magnetic Field, Novosibirsk, 1990, pp. 38–79.
E. M. Drobyshevski, B. G. Zhukov, E. V. Nazarov, et al., Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 61, 170 (1991) [Sov. Tech. Phys. 36, 469 (1991)].
E. M. Drobyshevski, R. O. Kurakin, S. I. Rosov, and B. G. Zhukov, Progress in Plasma Processing of Materials 1999: Proceedings of the 5th International Thermal Plasma Processes Conference, St. Petersburg, 1998 (Wallingford, New York, 1999), pp. 121–126.
R. S. Hawke, A. L. Brooks, C. M. Fowler, et al., AIAA J. 20, 978 (1982).
L. A. Artsimovich, S. Yu. Luk’yanov, I. M. Podgornyĭ, and S. A. Chuvatin, Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 33, 3 (1957) [Sov. Phys. JETP 6, 1 (1957)].
P. M. Kolesnikov, Electrodynamic Plasma Acceleration (Atomizdat, Moscow, 1971) [in Russian].
B. B. D’yakov and B. I. Reznikov, Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 59, 148 (1989) [Sov. Tech. Phys. 34, 676 (1989)].
L. G. Loitsyanskii, Mechanics of Liquids and Gases (Nauka, Moscow, 1978; Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1966).
L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Course of Theoretical Physics, Vol. 6: Fluid Mechanics (Nauka, Moscow, 1986; Pergamon, New York, 1987).
M. A. Tsikulin and E. G. Popov, Radiative Properties of Shock Waves in Gases (Nauka, Moscow, 1977) [in Russian].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Original Russian Text © B.G. Zhukov, B.I. Reznikov, R.O. Kurakin, S.I. Rozov, 2007, published in Zhurnal Tekhnicheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 77, No. 7, pp. 43–49.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhukov, B.G., Reznikov, B.I., Kurakin, R.O. et al. Influence of the gas density on the motion of a free plasma piston in the railgun channel. Tech. Phys. 52, 865–871 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063784207070079
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063784207070079