Laboratory plasma jet disruption above a critical axial magnetic field

In the present research, plasma jets form from Joule heating and ablation of a radial foil (∼15 μm thin disk) using a pulsed power generator (COBRA) with 1 MA peak current and 100 ns rise time. We study the effects on jet dynamics resulting from varying an applied uniform axial magnetic field (Bz) f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2016 IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) p. 1
Main Authors Byvank, Tom, Hamlin, Nathaniel, Cahill, Adam D., Seyler, Charles E., Kusse, Bruce R.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.06.2016
Subjects
Generators
Heating
Magnetic fields
Nickel
Plasmas
Security
US Government
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Summary:In the present research, plasma jets form from Joule heating and ablation of a radial foil (∼15 μm thin disk) using a pulsed power generator (COBRA) with 1 MA peak current and 100 ns rise time. We study the effects on jet dynamics resulting from varying an applied uniform axial magnetic field (Bz) from 0 to 1.8 T. We empirically observe a disruption of the plasma jet collimation. The critical Bz for the disruption depends upon the foil material (Al, Ti, Ni, Cu). We discuss physical reasons for the material dependence of the disruption.
DOI:10.1109/PLASMA.2016.7534389