Experimental Investigation of the Interaction between an Electric Arc and a Gas Flow

The results of investigating the shape of an electric arc carrying an electric current of less than 100 A and exposed to an air, nitrogen, or argon stream at a stream velocity of from zero to 20 m/s, when the interelectrode gap is less than 20 mm, are reported. The shape of the arc is qualitatively investigated as a function of the gas type, blowing velocity, and interelectrode gap. It is shown that an arc burning in a channel with insulated walls is much more stable under these conditions than an arc with the same parameters burning in free space.