The effect of ionization on heat transfer to wires immersed in a highly thermallyionized plasma

Abstract

Results obtained with a previously developed technique for measuring local heat transfer to bare and ceramic coated metal wires from a dense, highly thermallyionized plasma are presented and compared with theoretical predictions. A free-burning arc in argon at atmospheric pressure provides a plasma in local thermodynamic equilibrium. Wire probes are swept through this plasma in planes parallel to the anode. The wires do not draw a net current from the plasma. Experimental evidence indicates that the layer between the undisturbed plasma and the probe surface is not in chemical equilibrium. The data show that heat transfer to the wire in this situation is dominated by the energy transport associated with electron and ion partial currents to the probe surface as determined by the potential of the probe with respect to the plasma. The data obtained using this technique provide an experimentally verified model for the heat transfer to wires immersed in a plasma over a wide range of plasma conditions including a 100 percent variation in the degree of ionization.