Experimental assessment of a 1 kJ electro-pyrotechnic device ignited in the 300-1000 V range for ETC studies

In order to assess a plasma igniter, a low energy and low cost device has been designed. This device makes it possible to produce 10 to 100 mg of high temperature gaseous mixture that can reach several k Kelvin, using only 1 or 2 kT of electrical energy. This paper presents the optimization of the discharge cell size with an experimental design method and the influence of the material on the device. These experimental measurements and methods are discussed and compared to thermodynamic calculations. An analysis has been made of the effects of the device design on output parameters such as the pulse duration, the plasma resistivity and the energy conversion. A first approach using the spectroscopic measurements is presented in order to assess the temperature and the chemical species produced by the device. The spectroscopic investigation is performed using both atomic and molecular emissions with time-resolved data sampling (Princeton Instruments optical multichannel analyzer). The interaction at low pressure (10/sup 5/ Pa) of a C/sub x/H/sub y/O/sub z/N/sub t/ plasma with a single base propellant is studied at the ignition/nonignition threshold in order to determine which physical parameters are predominant for the energy transfer.