Report 2010-49

Three dimensional plasma arc simulation using resistive MHD

R. Jeltsch and H. Kumar

Abstract: We propose a model for simulating the real gas, high current plasma arc in three dimension based on the equations of resistive MHD. These model equations are discretize using Runge-Kutta Discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) methods. The Nektar code is used for the simulation which is extended to include Runge-Kutta time stepping, accurate Riemann solvers and real gas data. The model is then shown to be suitable for simulating plasma arc by using it to generate a high current plasma arc. Furthermore, the model is used to investigate the effects of the external magnetic field on the arc. In particular, it is shown that the external magnetic field forces the plasma arc to rotate.

Paper: Available as PDF (695KB) or as hardcopy to order reports@sam.math.ethz.ch.