Control of Plasma Jet Using Strong Magnetic Field(<Special Issue>Advanced Fusion of Functional Fluids Engineering)

A fundamental study of functional enhancement of plasma jet with external magnetic field was carried out to utilize the attractive properties effectively. The magnetic field was applied to the jet in a vacuum chamber by using a pair of superconducting coils. The behavior of the jet between two coils was taken by a digital camera through the window for observation. The image analysis shows that the jet is constricted radially by the strong magnetic field. However, high brightness region around the center of the jet increases with the field strength. Measurement on the emission was also performed at lateral positions from the center to the outer edge of the jet. The results of emission measurement also supported the constriction of the jet illustrated by the image analysis. It is clarified from these results that the plasma jet can be controlled significantly by using the strong magnetic field.