The Thermal Boundary Layer in Dual Flow Arc Plasmas

Differential interferometry techniques (using the Wollaston prism) have been applied to a dynamic plasma to determine the radial and temporal distributions of temperature within the thermal boundary layer and the timewise distributions of the sizes of the thermal layer and the conducting core of the arc. Data are reported in the stagnation region of a dual flow orifice nozzle interrupter arrangement for a pulsed air plasma having a peak current of 2 kA with slope of 15 A/μs at current zero. The experimental results are in reasonable agreement with theory.