Arc Behavior in Non-uniform AC Magnetic Field

Abstract

The authors developed an oscillating arc driven by an alternating magnetic field perpendicular to a transferred arc. In this work, the arc behavior was investigated under a non-uniform magnetic field. To prevent heat flux from decreasing near the edge of the arc oscillation, a specially designed non-uniform magnetic field was imposed to the arc. Theoretical consideration of the arc deflection under the non-uniform magnetic field was conducted, where the upper field was in inverse direction to the lower one. The magnetic flux density distribution in each side was assumed to be symmetric with respect to point z=z_o. The heat flux decrease was minimized by adjusting the position of z_o. Experimental results confirmed the theoretical predictions.