Investigation of the Short Argon Arc with Hot Anode, Part II: Analytical Model

Abstract: Short atmospheric pressure argon arc is studied numerically and analytically. In a short arc with inter-electrode gap of several millimeters non-equilibrium effects in plasma play important role in operation of the arc. High anode temperature leads to electron emission and intensive radiation from its surface. Complete self-consistent analytical model of the whole arc comprising of models for near-electrode regions, arc column and a model of heat transfer in cylindrical electrodes was developed. The model predicts width of non-equilibrium layers and arc column, voltages and plasma profiles in these regions, heat and ion fluxes to the electrodes. Parametric studies of the arc have been performed for a range of the arc current densities, inter-electrode gap widths and gas pressures. The model was validated against experimental data and verified by comparison with numerical solution. Good agreement between the analytical model and simulations and reasonable agreement with experimental data were obtained.