Modelling and simulation of unsteady dc electric arcs and their interactions with electrodes

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the study of unsteady electric arcs and the effects of electrodes on their dynamics. One of the objectives is to simulate and understand the three-dimensional behaviour of arcs in complex geometries, which create important fluctuations of the column and reattachments on the electrodes. The usual methods to solve the problem of arc–electrodes coupling are not suitable to simulate three-dimensional unsteady arcs. We propose a numerical development to simulate both steady-state and unsteady arcs without additional assumptions. The method is based on the incorporation of electrodes into the computational domain. It is validated with measurements from the literature, in the case of a point–plane steady-state argon arc. The model is used to study the lightning certification test device, which simulates in laboratory the effects of lightning arcs on fuselage panels. The results bring to light, in agreement with the observations in laboratory, the fundamental role of the electrodes on the three-dimensional behaviour of the arc column. The model is also used to simulate the development of the free jet of a plasma on an aluminium planar anode. The objective is to characterize the interaction region and the thermal constraint of the arc.