Analytical description of a collisional plasma column in a vacuum arc centrifuge

In this work the effects of electron-ion collisions in the plasma column of a vacuum arc centrifuge are modelled using a perturbation technique. It is found that the model agrees reasonably with an earlier fluid simulation, in which ion viscosity effects were also included. Using the perturbed solutions, the axial evolution of the steady-state separation profile is resolved, showing that the effect of electron-ion collisions is to improve separative performance with increasing axial position. The conditions under which separative performance are optimized are suggested. The non-uniformity in the axial magnetic field of a vacuum arc centrifuge caused by plasma rotation is also investigated. It is found that the non-uniformity is weak for standard operating conditions. (author)