Experimental characterization of plasma effects on energetic materials for electrothermal-chemical launch applications

Katulka, G.L.; White, Kevin J.; Oberle, William F.; Kaste, Pamela J.; Pesce‐Rodriguez, Rose A.; Leadore, Michael G.

doi:10.1109/20.738403

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Such plasmas can be used to study the interaction between plasma and solids [11][12][13], including plasma-wall interaction in fusion reactor devices [14,15]. Other applications of coaxial plasma accelerators include helicity injection in tokamaks [16], particle acceleration [17], plasma projection into vacuum and plasma propulsion [18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation of the inner electrode geometry effect on the rundown phase characteristics of a coaxial plasma accelerator.

2021

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A 2D computational model, incorporating the Snowplow approximation in the mass balance, is used to simulate the acceleration of an annular current sheath along two coaxial electrodes, with the inner one having either cylindrical or conical shape. The circuit, mass and momentum equations are simultaneously solved in 2D (r, z) considering initial breakdown along the insulator surface, ideal gas mass accretion by the current sheath (snowplow model) and distributed inductance along a coaxial transmission line short-circuited by the current sheath. Plasma density and electron temperature in the current sheath are estimated using standard planar shock theory. Numerical integration of the model’s equations for a given electrode geometry yields the temporal evolution of the current sheath parameters during the axial acceleration phase. In order to see the effect of the inner electrode shape on sheath parameters (i.e. transit time, kinetic energy, total mass, shape, etc.) and/or circuit properties (i.e. circuit inductance, voltage and current evolution, etc.), the portion of the inner electrode beyond the insulator was given a conical shape. By changing the cone slant in a range between ±5°, it was found that the current driven on the plasma sheath varies nonlinearly with the angle. The divergent (positive angle) electrode gives the sheath the highest kinetic energy, being twice the value corresponding to that of the straight inner electrode case, and the transit time is reduced from 1.34 to 1.20 µs. The estimates of plasma density and electron temperature indicate that the achievable ion densities are on the order of 4x1022 m-3, which corresponds to 30 % ionization, and typical temperatures at the end of the rundown phase are on the order of 8 eV. These values are comparable with those measured in experimental devices. The development of this tool will enable us to benchmark its results against an experimental installation currently close to being operational, and a future follow-up paper will be devoted to the comparison between the prediction of the rundown phase behavior and experimental results utilizing conical electrodes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation of the inner electrode geometry effect on the rundown phase characteristics of a coaxial plasma accelerator.

2021

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“…Katulka et al. studied the effects of various energetic materials on the plasma ignition process at different electrical power levels. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique was used to determine the effects of plasma exposure on the energetic materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulation of Plasma‐Propellant Interaction Under the Non‐Fourier Model

Zhang

2019

Propellants Explo Pyrotec

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Due to the signicant characteristics of shorter and more reproducible ignition delay, plasma ignition becomes one of the key technologies of electrothermal-chemical (ETC) propulsion. Plasma ignition is a complex heat transfer process, characterized by high temperature, high pressure, micro-scale and extremely short duration. Under such extreme conditions, the assumption that the propagation speed of thermal disturbance is infinite in Fourier's law is no longer applicable. As such, for accurate prediction the non-Fourier model with dual-phase-lag (DPL) is adopted to describe the interaction process between the plasma and the propellant. The temperature history of propellant is ob-tained by Dufort-frankel numerical difference method. The numerical results obtained by DPL model are compared with the results by the Fourier model and Cattaneo-Vernotte (CÀ V) model, it shows that the DPL model occupies preferable prediction performance. Additionally, the effects of plasma temperature, particle radius and absorber thickness on ignition delay are discussed. It finds that the ignition delay decreases with the increase of plasma temperature, increases with the increase of particle radius, and increases with the increase of absorber thickness. The numerical results based on DPL model are verified by the experimental results as well.

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Corona, Spark, and Electrothermal‐Chemical Plasma Ignition Systems

Das

Thynell

2010

Handbook of Combustion

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The sections in this article are Introduction Plasma Fundamentals and Classifications Corona and Spark Discharge Corona and Spark Ignition Electrothermal‐Chemical Ignition Applications in Industry Outlook Summary

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Experimental characterization of plasma effects on energetic materials for electrothermal-chemical launch applications

Cited by 12 publications

References 2 publications

Simulation of the inner electrode geometry effect on the rundown phase characteristics of a coaxial plasma accelerator.

Simulation of the inner electrode geometry effect on the rundown phase characteristics of a coaxial plasma accelerator.

Numerical Simulation of Plasma‐Propellant Interaction Under the Non‐Fourier Model

Corona, Spark, and Electrothermal‐Chemical Plasma Ignition Systems

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