Instabilty of a Vacuum Arc Centrifuge.docVIP

Instability of a Vacuum Arc Centrifuge M. J. Hole, R. S. Dallaqua?, S. W. Simpson* and E. Del Bosco?. EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, Cu lham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3DB UK *School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Sydney, N.S.W. 2006 Australia ?Laboratório Associado de Plasma (LAP), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), CP 515, 12201-970, S?o José dos Campos, SP, Brazil Abstract. Ever since conception of the Vacuum Arc Centrifuge (VAC) in 1980, periodic fluctuations in the ion saturation current and floating potential have been observed in Langmuir probe measurements in the rotation region of a VAC. Our theoretical and experimental research suggests that these fluctuations are in fact a pressure-gradient driven drift mode. In this work, we summarise the properties of a theoretical m odel describing the range of instabilities in the VAC plasma column, present theoretical predictions and compare with detailed experiments conducted on the PCEN centrifuge at the Brazilian National Space Research Institute (INPE). We conclude that the observed instability is a ‘universal’ instability, driven by the density-gradient, in a plasma with finite conductivity. INTRODUCTION In 1981, Krishnan, Geva and Hirshfield 1 presented the first results for a new type of centrifuge, the vacuum arc centrifuge (VAC). The VAC is an axially configured plasma centrifuge, with a uniform plasma column present in a cylindrical vessel. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the PCEN centrifuge at the Brazilian National Space Research Institute (INPE) used for the experimental measurements reported here. The plasma is created from metal vapour ablated from the cathode of the discharge by the action of vacuum arcs (see Figure 1) with a metal grid forming the anode of the discharge. The discharge is initiated by a high voltage pulse at the cathode. The interaction of the current with the axial magnetic field sets the pla