Numerical modeling of the electrohydrodynamic and thermal instability of aconducting liquid surface in a strong electric field

The electrohydrodynamic and thermal instability development on a conducting liquid surface exposed to a strong electric field was studied by methods o f two-dimensional numerical modeling. The Navier-Stokes equation was solved and the surface cone heating by the field emission current was described. It is demonstrated that the free surface evolution in this system leads to an avalanche-like growth in the cone tip temperature and the resulting expl osion-like field electron emission. A considerable contribution to the liqu id heating is due to a surface energy source (the Nottingham effect). The p roposed computational method, based on the domain transformation to a canon ical form, can be used to develop dynamic models of the liquid-metal ion so urce operation and to analyze the interaction of a gas plasma with a liquid metal surface in the cathode spot of a vacuum arc. (C) 2001 MAIK "Nauka/ I nterperiodica".