M. E. Pinchuk

Influence of the cathode and anode jets on the properties of a high-current electric arc

AbstractA study is made of the effects related to the formation of electrode jets in discharges in hydrogen and air at a current of 105–106 A, a current growth rate of 1010 A/s, an initial pressure of 0.1–4.0 MPa, and a discharge gap length of 5–40 mm. After secondary breakdown, jets are observed in a semitransparent discharge channel expanding with a velocity of (4–7)×102 m/s. The formation of shock waves in the interaction of the jets with the ambient gas and the opposite electrode is observed by the shadowgraphy method. Seventy microseconds after the beginning of the discharge, the pressure of the metal vapor plasma near the end of the tungsten cathode amounts to 177 MPa. The brightness temperature in this case is T=59×103 K, the average ion charge number is

Detection of X rays from a high-current discharge in a dense gaseous medium

\overline m = 3.1

Electrode Plasma Jets in Powerful Pulsed Discharge in High-Pressure Gas

, and the metal vapor density is n=5.3×1019 cm−3. After 90 µs, the average ion charge number and the metal vapor density near the anode end are

High-current discharge channel contraction in high density gas

\overline m = 2.6

Studying energy evolution in the discharge chamber of a multichamber lightning protection system

and n=7.4×1019 cm−3, respectively. Based on the experimental data, possible reasons for the abnormally high values of the total voltage drop near the electrodes (up to ∼1 kV) are discussed.

An experimental stand for investigating protective devices for high-voltage overhead lines

Results are presented from experimental studies of the contraction of the channels of discharges in hydrogen and helium at current amplitudes of 0.5–1.6 MA and initial gas pressures of 5–35 MPa. The observed decrease in the brightness temperature of the discharge channel with increasing deposited energy is caused by the heating of the ambient gas. The channel contraction observed near the maximum of the discharge current is due to the attainment of the Pease-Braginskii critical current. Previously, it was shown that megampere discharges operate in a fully metallic plasma of the eroded electrodes. The theoretical value of the Pease-Braginskii current for discharges in vacuum is ∼100–200 kA. The observed increase in the critical current to ∼1 MA is attributed to the absorption of channel radiation in the dense ambient gas.