Cathode sheaths in potassium seeded MHD combustion plasmas

A systematic study of cathode sheaths in seeded (by K2CO3) products of stoichiometric combustion of liquefied petroleum gas (Csub(3.7)Hsub(8.8)) and oxygen is presented. The effect of electrode temperature on thermal sheath thickness is investigated. The experimental values of the electrostatic sheath thickness developed over the cathode surface have a good qualitative agreement with the theoretically predicted values for different seeding ratios and the applied potentials between the electrodes. The breakdown potential is observed to decrease by increasing the cathode temperature. (author)