An experimental investigation of the effects of environmental pressure on the exhaust of a coaxial plasma gun
By: by Michael J. Smith
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1968
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 94
Subjects: Plasma accelerators; Radioactive tracers; Radioisotope scanning; Magnetohydrodynamics
Description: A coaxial plasma accelerator system was restored to working order and procedures for operating the system were established. Gold was used as the working material and was mounted as a thin circular foil between coaxial electrodes, ionized, and accelerated by discharging a high energy capacitor across the electrodes. Downstream of the electrodes, part of the gold was collected on a cylindrical collector sheet of aluminum foil. This sheet surrounded the outer electrode and extended 16 inches above the muzzle. A radioisotope tracer technique was then used to determine the mass of deposited gold on sample disks cut from selected portions of the collector sheet. It was found that only a very small percentage of the total mass was collected and that the pressure effects, in the range from .00005mm Hg to .05mm Hg, were such that an increase in exhaust pressure caused an increase in the mass of gold collected on the sheet; however, pressure effects on the distribution of this mass were negligible. (Author)
Notes: Thesis advisor(s): David C. Wooten.

Thesis (M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 1968.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 35)

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