Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 31, 45-51 (2005)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap:2005039

A comparative study of the behaviour of silver, copper and nickel submitted to a constant high power flux density

¹ Laboratoire Arc Electrique et Plasmas Thermiques, CNRS UMR 6069, Université Blaise Pascal, 63177 Aubière, France
² Laboratoire de Mathématiques Appliquées, CNRS UMR 6620, Université Blaise Pascal, 63177 Aubière, France
³ Laboratoire de Recherches sur la Réactivité des Solides, CNR UMR 5613, Université de Bourgogne, 21078 Dijon, France

Received: 23 November 2004
Revised: 10 January 2005
Accepted: 4 February 2005
Published online: 19 May 2005

Abstract

In this paper, we present a numerical simulation of three metal cathode (silver, copper and nickel) submitted to a constant flux power flux density ranging between and . The goal is to compare the interface evolution (vaporization and liquefaction rate, appearance time of liquid and vapour, energetic repartition) to predict the behaviour of the cathodes during an electric arc.