Abstract
An arc-heater using a zirconium cathode was developed as an atomic-oxygen generator. With pre-mixed argon-oxygen injection, stable discharge was maintained for more than three hours, and the cathode erosion rate was as low as 1.7x10-5 g/s. The plume temperature and velocity distributions were measured and chemical composition and total specific enthalpy was evaluated by laser absorption spectroscopy. As a result, in the center area of the plume, the degree of dissociation in oxygen was found almost 100% with the total specific enthalpy of 4.5±0.1 MJ/kg.
