Modeling the propagation of long intense microwave pulses in mixtures of air and SF/sub 6/

Conference · Fri Oct 14 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6611175

Khanaka, G H; Yee, J H; Mayhall, D J

We have used a set of self-consistent equations---Maxwell's equations and the electron fluid transport equations---to study the interaction of long intense microwave pulses with gases. In this interaction, the final shape of the transmitted pulse at breakdown is independent of the pulse length. We found that the threshold for breakdown is a factor of 7 higher in SF/sub 6/ than in air. This difference we attribute to the fact that SF/sub 6/ is an insulator. When SF/sub 6/ was mixed with air, the breakdown threshold increased with the increase in the percentage of SF/sub 6/. Introducing 5--10% of SF/sub 6/ in air increased the breakdown threshold by a factor of 3--4. The electron density and conductivity and the plasma frequency increased as the pulse intensity increased. The growth rates of the electron density and conductivity were much higher in air than in SF/sub 6/. 3 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 6611175
• Report Number(s): UCRL-97840; CONF-8805132-12; ON: DE89004787
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BREAKDOWN
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
ELECTRICAL INSULATORS
ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EQUATIONS
EQUIPMENT
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
IRRADIATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MICROWAVE RADIATION
PULSED IRRADIATION
PULSES
RADIATIONS
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR FLUORIDES