Title :
Plasma-material interaction relevant to electric launcher technology
Author :
Bourham, M.A. ; Gilligan, J.G.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Nucl. Eng., North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC, USA
Abstract :
Summary form only given. Material surface erosion is one of the limiting factors for achieving the desired exit velocities in electric launchers. Surface erosion is mainly due to the heat fluxes generated by the launcher´s plasma, which may exceed 100 GW/m/sup 2/ for a pulse duration of 0.1-5 ms. Erosion studies have been performed on the electrothermal launcher SIRENS, which simulates typical operational conditions of high heat flux deposition, experienced in electric launch technology. Various material surfaces have been exposed to SIRENS plasma to test their performance, erosion behavior, and survivability. The database of the tested materials includes pure metals, alloys, refractory materials, specially coated material insulators and composites, and pure and composite graphites.
Keywords :
electrothermal launchers; 0.1 to 5 ms; SIRENS; alloys; composite graphites; composites; electric launcher; electrothermal launcher; graphite; insulators; metals; plasma material interaction; refractory materials; surface erosion; Composite materials; Databases; Electrothermal launching; Inorganic materials; Insulator testing; Materials testing; Plasma materials processing; Plasma simulation; Pulse generation; Resistance heating;
Conference_Titel :
Plasma Science, 1993. IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts., 1993 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1360-7
DOI :
10.1109/PLASMA.1993.593479
