Investigation of non-equilibrium argon and hydrogen plasmas
Theoretical and experimental investigations are made into non-equilibrium argon and hydrogen partially-ionized plasmas characteristic of glow-discharge devices such as thyratrons and discharge tubes. For an argon plasma, the development and use of a collisional-radiative, steady-state, three-energy-level model is presented, and experimental measurements on pulsed argon plasmas are briefly mentioned. Two different theoretical argon plasma models are discussed; the first is numerically solved using a non-Maxwellian electron distribution function, while the second is solved analytically, including atom-atom inelastic collisions, assuming Maxwellian electron and atom distribution functions. For a hydrogen plasma, experimental measurements using fluorescence and laser-induced fluorescence have been made in a modified hydrogen thyratron over a wide current density range (from 100 to 8000 A/cm/sup 2/) for the atomic hydrogen population densities n = 2,3,4. A pronounced rise in the atomic hydrogen excited state populations is observed after the end of the current pulse. A new method to measure the time-resolved electron density was developed and results are presented.
- Research Organization:
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5375206
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Measurements of the populations of metastable and resonance levels in the plasma of an RF capacitive discharge in argon
Fundamental processes affecting recovery in hydrogen thyratrons
Related Subjects
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ARGON
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
EQUATIONS
FERMIONS
FLUIDS
FLUORESCENCE
FUNCTIONS
GASES
HYDROGEN
LEPTONS
LUMINESCENCE
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MAXWELL EQUATIONS
MEASURING METHODS
NON-EQUILIBRIUM PLASMA
NONMETALS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
PLASMA
RARE GASES