Gas Temperature and Cu Vapor Density in an Impulse Discharge

Abstract

The laser scattering techniques are very powerful for the diagnostics of impulse discharges. Characteristics of gas temperature, density of Cu atoms from electrodes and electron density in and near an impulse discharge channel at an air pressure of 66.7hPa were investigated. The gas temperature took much higher values in the constricted regions of the channel, especially in the two regions near the tips of anode and cathode along the positive column. At the transition from glow to arc, the gas temperature and the densities of Cu atoms and electrons in the discharge channel became high with a rise of discharge current, and reached maximum values of 4800K, 9×10¹⁸m^-3 and 8×10²³m^-3, respectively. Both the positions of peaks of the gas temperature and the density of Cu atoms moved quickly from the inside toward the outside of discharge channel; their moving velocities decreased from 1200m/s to 200m/s within 20μs.