Factors influencing the minimum arc sustaining electric field and associated current for a high-pressure-vortex-water-wall-arc lamp

This paper establishes the minimum sustaining voltage, associated current, and minimum sustaining current specifications for a pulsed-vortex-water-wall high-pressure argon arc lamp. The specifications are formulated as a function of the arc's pressure and the enclosure's length and radius. Patankar's control volume algorithm along with boundary conditions has been used to solve the extended Ellenbass-Heller equation in cylindrical coordinates. The simulation results agree qualitatively with previously published experimental results along with the results presented in this paper. The addition of the convection term to Patankar's algorithm and a more exact treatment of the radiation term will improve the accuracy of the results.