LINE-BY-LINE METHOD OF CALCULATING EMISSION COEFFICIENTS FOR THERMAL PLASMAS CONSISTING OF MONATOMIC SPECIES

A theoretically rigorous method for obtaining radiation property data of thermal plasmas composed of monatomic, nonhydrogenic species is pre sented. An exact line-by-line technique is utilized in order to avoid assumptions that are commonly made in handling line radiation. Doppler , natural, Van der Waals, resonance, and quadratic Stark broadening me chanisms are included in determining the line half-widths. In addition to line radiation, free-bound continuum and free-free continuum for b oth ions and neutral particles are considered. The fundamental radiati on property determined by the program is the spectral emission coeffic ient. From this property the spectral absorption coefficient can easil y be determined. Properties that are more suitable for engineering ana lysis, such as the wavelength integrated emission coefficient and the net emission coefficient, are also calculated. Comparisons to experime ntally determined wavelength integrated emission coefficients for argo n plasmas and analytically determined net emission coefficients for ar gon/copper plasmas are presented. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd