Peculiarities of Volt–Ampere Characteristics of a Tungsten Cathode in a High-Current Arc

A model making it possible to calculate the emission currents in a cathode and its volt–ampere characteristic (VAC) taking the phenomena in the near-cathode plasma layer into account is proposed. The effect of plasma electrons and ions, thermal field-emission processes, and radiation from the plasma and evaporation of the cathode material are taken into account. The fields of the electrical potential and temperature in the cathode body, with the Joule heat release taken into account, are calculated. The numerical simulation yielded the conditions causing the volt–ampere characteristic ambiguity in the near-cathode layer in the absence of a liquid cathode spot. The obtained characteristics make it possible to estimate the lifetime and efficiency of a plasmotron with a tungsten cathode and argon serving as an actuating medium used in a number of plasma technologies.