Simulation of Vacuum Arc with High Average Cathode Current Density

This work presents the results of theoretical modeling of high current vacuum arc (HCVA) with cathode average current density (arc current divided by the cathode area) in the order of 10⁵A/cm². This type of HCVA is used as pumping plasma gun in experiments with plasma puff Z-pinches [4], [5]. During the simulation of the arc burning we calculated the cathode heating and the following cathode evaporation under the action of heat fluxes from the arc plasma. The vaporized substance supplied the arc plasma in parallel with cathode spots. It was shown that the evaporation of the cathode due to plasma heating can explain the sharp increase in the mass of the plasma liner observed in the experiments.