On the theory of the plasma capillary effect

From the condition of the minimum energy of a three-phase system in an equilibrium stable state, it is shown that the plasma capillary effect occurs due to the electrification of the meniscus when the liquid comes into contact with the plasma. The presence of an electric charge on the meniscus leads to an increase in the wettability of the capillary walls by the liquid. It was additionally established that a second stationary, but unstable state of the system appears in this case. The calculation results are consistent with the observational dat

Energy estimation of wettability of a charged dielectric surface by a conductive drop

This work estimates the energy of wetting of a dielectric substrate by a conducting drop charged by an external electric charge fixed on it. It was found that the wettability of such a surface decreases if the average density of the charge induced at the base of the droplet exceeds the threshold valu

Modelling of a continuous optical discharge stabilized by a gas flow in quasi-optical approximation

We consider a continuous optical discharge (COD) sustained by a weakly focused CO(2) laser beam and stabilized by a cold gas flow incident in the direction of the laser radiation propagation. We develop and examine a two-dimensional radiative gas-dynamic model for COD which uses realistic quasi-optics and takes refraction of the laser radiation in the plasma properly into account in describing the laser beam propagation. The model is applied to calculate the parameters of COD in the air flow as functions of the laser power and inlet velocity of the incident flow

On modelling of microwave heating of a ceramic material

A simple model is proposed and tested for simulations of ceramic processing by microwave heating. The model is based on a piecewise constant approximation of the material properties and makes it possible to separate and analyse different effects caused by the sample shape and the dependence of the material properties on temperature. Specifically, the simulation results demonstrate that microwave heating of an alumina sample can be very sensitive to a variation of its dielectric constant with temperature. For different geometries, there is a similarity in the dependences of the thermal state characteristics ( temperature drop across the sample, amount of dissipated power and electric field amplitude at the sample centre) on maximal temperature. It is shown also that a temperature drop between the sample centre and surface can be strongly enhanced in the case of a spherical sample irradiated symmetrically by microwaves

Mathematical modelling of transformer discharge

The theoretical investigations of the low-frequency discharge of a transformer type without gas flow were carried out. The application of the kinless approach with the electrodynamic description of the discharge and the possibility of a steady approach during calculation of the argon plasma characteristics in the frequency range 1-10 kHz and at pressures of 10-100 kPa was shown. The existence of two regimes of discharge burning was established: stable one with a high temperature and unstable one with a low temperature. The influence of frequency and voltage on the plasma coil, type and pressure of plasma gas on the discharge characteristics was investigated. The results of modelling are in agreement with experimentsTranslated from Russian (Proceedings of Conf. Thermal Plasma 98, Inst. of Thermophysics, Russian Acad. Sci., Novosibirsk, 1998)Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:9023.190(9405)T / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Numerical investigation of the characteristics of a steady curved arc in external fields

Translated from Russian (Proceedings of Thermal Plasma 98, Institute of Thermophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 1998)SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:9023.190(9409)T / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo