Decay and thermal reignition of low-current cylindrical arcs

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Abstract
Measurements have been made of the critical reignition fields for decaying 5‐mm‐diam plasmas formed initially from steady‐state wall‐stabilized arcs of from 12 to 36 A in air. It is found that the reignition field for a given plasma conductance (a) is independent of the initial temperature profile of the plasma and (b) corresponds closely to the field given by the steady‐state arc characteristic. These results suggest that the temperature profiles of the decaying plasmas from low‐current arcs correspond closely to the steady‐state temperature profiles which have the same conductance. The effects are consistent with theoretical predictions made using the energy‐balance equation, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium.

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