Velocimetry techniques in highly-constricted plasma jets

LEANDRO PREVOSTO; HÉCTOR KELLY; BEATRIZ MANCINELLI; MARCELO RISSO; DAMIÁN INFANTE

Rosario-Argentina

Congreso; 94 Reunión anual de la Asociación de Física Argentina (AFA); 2009

Universidad Nacional de Rosario

A method to determine plasma velocities in a cutting torch is presented. The method is based on the measurement of the delay between two optical signals that register arc light fluctuations, which are assumed to propagate with the flow velocity. Fast photodiodes are employed as the light sensors. The motion is detected by the cross-correlation of fluctuation signals which are simultaneously measured at different axial positions along the arc. The obtained velocity values are in good agreement with those values predicted by a sophisticated numerical code for a torch similar to that employed in this work.