On interaction of gas cross-flow with electromagnetic fields

The effect of cross-flow blowing on an arc between a pair of electrodes has been studied theoretically by extending the generalized Ohm's law to include collisional exchange of momentum from the directed velocity of the heavy particles to the comparatively light electrons. The analysis has been extended also to a case in which there is an external magnetic field to be perpendicular to both electric and gas cross-flow fields, so that the analysis is applicable to both aerodynamically and magnetically balanced arcs. An expression is given to compute the arc shape for a magnetically balanced arc between parallel rail electrodes, where uniform electric and magnetic fields are assumed. The theoretical results are compared qualitatively with experimental results.