Numerical modeling of the interaction between an electric arc and a gas flow

The interaction between an equilibrium arc discharge and a gas (air or argon) flow at atmospheric pressure and a current of 20 A is investigated on the basis of a time-dependent three-dimensional gasdynamic model. The computational algorithm uses the splitting in the spatial variables. The calculations are parallelized using the graphics card of a personal computer. The dynamics and the special features of the electric arc formation are studied for both gases. In the air the electrically conductive arc column is distributed in shape. In the argon a contracted conducting channel bent toward the flow direction is formed. It is established that the factor causing the differences in the process of electric arc formation in air and argon is the difference in their heat-conducting properties.