NON-EQUILIBRIUM IN THE INITIAL ZONES OF SINGLE- AND TWO-PHASE (WITH METAL PARTICLES) SUBMERGED ARGON PLASMA JETS.

Experimental results on the temperature and electrical conductivity distributions along the axis of single and two-phase argon plasma jets (i. e. , pure gas and gas carrying tungsten or titanium particles) are presented. It is shown that the electron and atom temperatures in the initial region of the pure argon plasma jet are different. Equilibrium can be attained by mixing the argon with atmospheric nitrogen. The difference between the electron and atom temperatures decreases with vaporization of the dispersed particles.