Abstract
Voltage - current characteristics of a subsonic disk CCMHD generator are examined with time-dependent quasi-one-dimensional numerical simulations. The output voltage is found to be almost constant for load resistances higher than the designed value, whereas the output current is kept almost constant for lower load resistances. It is confirmed that for the high load resistances the subsonic flow is maintained in the whole generator, and steady and uniform nonequilibrium plasma is realized. The connection of the low load resistances makes the flow choked at the generator inlet, leading to the supersonic flow. Then the shock wave and the ionization instability take place in the generator.
