Investigation of a plasma deflagration gun and magnetohydrodynamic Rankine-Hugoniot model to support a unifying theory for electromagnetic plasma guns
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Electromagnetic Plasma Guns generally operate by pulsing a large current through a gas, thereby ionizing it, and then using the Lorentz force from the self-induced magnetic field to accelerate the generated plasma. In most cases, plasma gun operation is characterized by the formation of a current sheet which forms at the gun breech and is then accelerated downstream. Therefore, these devices are often described using a snowplow model, which describes the observed luminous front as a moving piston that has a certain sweeping efficiency associated with it. In plasma guns where the snowplow model does not apply, a complete set of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations often has to be solved numerically. As an alternative to these approaches, this dissertation explores an underutilized concept that is based on an MHD extension of the Rankine-Hugoniot model from combustion theory. This approach treats the snowplow as an MHD detonation rather than as a piston and suggests that a plasma deflagration should also be possible. A plasma gun was then designed and constructed based on this concept and investigated through a series of experiments. It was determined that the constructed gun does operate in a plasma deflagration mode. In addition, the extent of the MHD Rankine-Hugoniot analogy to the combustion case and the breadth of its applicability to different types of plasma guns were briefly explored. Finally, an interesting effect was observed when operating in deflagration mode and at high energy. An intense, inductively amplified current loop forms near the exit plane of the gun. It is believed that this effect may also cast new light on the so-far unexplained origin of energetic ion beams emitted from Dense Plasma Focus devices.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Poehlmann, Flavio |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| Primary advisor | Cappelli, Mark A. (Mark Antony) |
| Thesis advisor | Cappelli, Mark A. (Mark Antony) |
| Thesis advisor | Edwards, C. F. (Christopher Francis) |
| Thesis advisor | Gascon, Nicolas, 1972- |
| Advisor | Edwards, C. F. (Christopher Francis) |
| Advisor | Gascon, Nicolas, 1972- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Flavio Poehlmann-Martins. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering. |
| Thesis | Ph.D. Stanford University 2010 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2010 by Flavio Poehlmann-Martins
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