Analysis of the Evolution of a Supersonically Expanding Plasma

A supersonically expanding arc plasma in argon is analyzed both experimentally and theoretically. The plasma is created in a cascaded arc and extracted through a hole in the anode. It emanates in a large vacuum system, where it expands supersonically. This expansion is limited by a shock wave. After the shock wave a subsonic plasma beam is created. A quasi one-dimensional model, based on the conservation of mass, momentum and energy is presented. The shock wave is treated as a discontinuity. The electron density, the gas velocity and the gas temperature are measured as a function of the position in the expansion by means of Stark broadening and Doppler spectroscopy. The model calculations agree well with the measurements, especially in the first part of the supersonic flow.