The effect of collisions on near-steady rotation in a vacuum arc centrifuge

A two-dimensional fluid simulation of the plasma column present in a vacuum arc centrifuge after the anode grid has been developed. The simulation accounts for the effect of collisions on the plasma column, which is assumed to consist of multiply charged ions and electrons. It is found that the radial outwards plasma drift associated with collisions produces a spreading of the column density profile. With the plasma assumed to be in electrical contact with the anode grid, this in turn leads to a flow of current directed radially inwards, which increases the angular velocity of the plasma.