ANALYSIS OF POWDER PARTICLE-ACCELERATION AND HEATING PROCESSES IN A DISCHARGE CAPILLARY-ABLATIVE PIPE DEVICE

A theoretical model for the study oi the acceleration of powder partic les by plasma produced in an ablative discharge device is proposed. In this work, particles made of low thermal diffusivity materials, such as ZrO2, are considered. The model equations allow a consistent evalua tion of the plasma's main thermodynamic and hydrodynamic characteristi cs, as well as those of the accelerated particles. The effect of the c hanges in the device geometry and of the value of the input energy on the plasma and particle physical parameters are studied. The aim of th is work is twofold. First, to prove that the plasma produced in such a device can be used to accelerate particles to high velocities; second , to show that by proper variations of the device geometry and input p ower, an extended range of plasma parameters and, consequently, of the accelerated particle parameters can be obtained. As a result, these k inds of plasma and particle fluxes can hopefully be used in many appli cations. At ?he same time, the theoretical model presented here could be helpful in the design of such devices.