Fs. Milos et Ce. Shepard, THERMAL-ANALYSIS OF AN ARC-HEATER ELECTRODE WITH A ROTATING ARC FOOT, Journal of thermophysics and heat transfer, 8(4), 1994, pp. 723-729
Analytic formulations are presented for the analysis of an arc-heater
electrode with a rotating arc foot. Two limiting cases, a smoothly rot
ating arc foot and an arc foot that jumps between multiple sticking po
ints, are analyzed. For each case the temperature distribution for a c
opper electrode is obtained for the plausible range of operating condi
tions. It is shown that the smoothly rotating arc foot is an extremely
safe mode of operation, whereas the jumping arc foot produces excessi
vely high electrode surface temperatures. It is suggested to eliminate
arc-foot rotation and rely on a distribution of fixed electrodes with
stationary arc attachment to avoid electrode failure at high current.