Electrical and plasma flow characteristics of a segmented plasmatron operating with mixture of gases

The electric characteristics of a segmented plasmatron and the results of optical emission spectroscopy of Ar-air, N2, and N2–CO2 are presented. The main working gas forming the plasma stream was fed near the cathode into the arc region and another additional gas was injected into the plasma stream beyond the arc. It is shown that the gas injected into the plasma stream is drawn to the arc area due to arc spot movement and cyclic arc shrinking and expanding due to the power supply pulsation. It was found that when the anode spot moves upstream, the additional gas is retracted into the arc region, changing the operating conditions of the plasmatron. The retraction mechanism depends on the gas type and is different in argon and molecular plasmas. The results of the plasma emission spectroscopy show differences in the electron excitation and rotational temperatures for the plasmas studied and are used to explain the mechanism of functioning of a segmented plasmatron.