Computational Studies of the Impulse Plasma Deposition Method

Abstract

During the Impulse Plasma Deposition (IPD), plasma is generated in the working gas due to a high-voltage high-current discharge ignited within an inter-electrode region of a coaxial accelerator. The paper presents computational studies of working medium dynamics during the IPD discharge. The plasma has been investigated with a two-dimensional mono-fluidic snow plow model and a two-dimensional two-fluid magnetohydrodynamic code. Computational studies of plasma dynamics have shown the function of the snow plow mechanism during the acceleration of plasma discharge, the role of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, and the details of a sophisticated structure of a plasmoid in the region of the electrodes' front head. Simulations have significantly increased the understanding of the phenomena during the IPD; they also pointed to optimization directions. Several recent developments in the IPD surface engineering have been suggested and supported by the presented computational investigations.