Influence of Polyamide 6.6 Ablation on Direct Current Arcs—Experiment and Simulation

A tube geometry in air is used to experimentally investigate polyamide 6.6 (PA6.6) ablation mass and rates depending on the dissipated arc energy for direct current (dc) arcs while varying the tube length, inner channel radius, and arc current. The geometry is designed to minimize the influences of external factors such as contact vapor. Furthermore, a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) arc model with a four-band selection for radiation modeling designed for air-PA66 is developed. The experimental results indicate a linear relationship between the ablation rate and dissipated arc energy. Moreover, increasing ablation rates and arc voltages are observed for a decreasing tube channel radius. The arc model is found to be able to predict these trends.