Mixing of supersonic plasma jets

The objective of the present work is to predict the profile of the shock front formed by the interaction of two identical parallel diverging supersonic plasma jets. Line source models were assumed, and the differential equations describing the front location and plasma transport were formulated and solved numerically for two angular distributions of the plasma flux from each source: (a) isotropic plasma distribution; and (b) the plasma flow confined within a cone. The streamlines of the two plasma jets diverge before the front and are parallel behind it. The interaction of the identical jets forms two symmetrical shock fronts which bound an interdiffusion zone. The form of the front is determined by the divergence of the jets and by the distance between their sources. For the isotropic jets, the shock fronts bound a jet interaction region which proceeds from the source plane, while the conical jets form a shock front with a head point at a distance from the source plane determined by the apex angle of the cones. The maximum angle of the front inclination at the head point of the shock wave is determined only by the plasma properties. For two conical plasma jets with an ion temperature of 10⁴ K, a jet velocity of 10⁴ m s^- 1, and initial densities of 10¹⁷ and 16¹⁸ m^-3 corresponding to a Mach number of 10 and Knudsen numbers of 0.04 and 0.4 respectively, the partial and total density distribution in the diffusion zone was found. The ion distribution is not homogeneous. The most homogeneous distribution was obtained with the initial density of 10¹⁷ m ^-3. In this case the partial densities in a plane 10 times the source separation distance have peak of 0.25 time the density at the head point of the shock wave, which is displaced from the axis of symmetry by 0.4 times the source separation distance