A Vapor-Air Discharge with a Porous Electrolytic Cathode at Atmospheric Pressure

An experimental investigation is performed for the first time of the structures and electrical and thermal characteristics of a vapor-air discharge between a porous (solid cylindrical body and hollow cylinder) electrolytic cathode and a solid anode in the range of current from 0.2 to 8 A with an interelectrode spacing of 2 to 200 mm for electrolytes of different compositions and concentrations with vertical and horizontal orientations of the plasma column in space at atmospheric pressure. An electrode of a new type is developed, namely, a porous electrolytic cathode (PEC), which makes it possible to produce cone-shaped, multichannel, and mixed discharges. The moist, boiling, and film modes of PEC operation are revealed. It is found that the heat loss on a PEC depends on the mode of its operation. The minimal heat loss is observed in the moist cathode mode, in which the electrolyte is delivered to the cathode working surface in the form of vapor only. In so doing, an almost complete regeneration occurs of heat delivered to the cathode from discharge plasma. It is found that the characteristics of a vapor-air discharge between a PEC and electrolytic anode depend significantly on the composition and concentration of the PEC electrolyte. The discharge voltage fluctuations and the nonuniform pattern of distribution of electric field intensity are revealed. The results of experimental investigation of a vapor-air discharge with a PEC are generalized in the form of an empirical formula.