{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/102740"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/102740","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Design and Characterization of a Coaxial Plasma Railgun for Jet Collision Experiments","abstract":"Plasma railguns are electromagnetic accelerators used to produce controlled high velocity plasma jets. This thesis discusses the design and characterization of a small coaxial plasma railgun intended to accelerate argon-helium plasma jets. The railgun will be used for the study of plasma shocks in jet collisions. The railgun is mounted on a KF-40 vacuum port and operated using a 90 kA, 11 kV LC pulse forming network. Existing knowledge of coaxial railgun plasma instabilities and material interactions at vacuum and plasma interfaces are applied to the design. The design of individual gun components is detailed. Jet velocity and density are characterized by analyzing diagnostic data collected from a Rogowski coil, interferometer, and photodiode. Peak line-integrated electron number densities of approximately 8 × 10<sup>15</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> and jet velocities of tens of km/s are inferred from the data recorded from ten experimental pulses.","abstract_html":"Plasma railguns are electromagnetic accelerators used to produce controlled high velocity plasma jets. This thesis discusses the design and characterization of a small coaxial plasma railgun intended to accelerate argon-helium plasma jets. The railgun will be used for the study of plasma shocks in jet collisions. The railgun is mounted on a KF-40 vacuum port and operated using a 90 kA, 11 kV LC pulse forming network. Existing knowledge of coaxial railgun plasma instabilities and material interactions at vacuum and plasma interfaces are applied to the design. The design of individual gun components is detailed. Jet velocity and density are characterized by analyzing diagnostic data collected from a Rogowski coil, interferometer, and photodiode. Peak line-integrated electron number densities of approximately 8 × 10&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt; cm&lt;sup&gt;-2&lt;/sup&gt; and jet velocities of tens of km/s are inferred from the data recorded from ten experimental pulses.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Coleman, Mathew Riley"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":"Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Pierson, Mark Alan","Adams, Colin"],"committee_members":["Meadows, Joseph"],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-03-17","date_published":"2021-03-17","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:57Z","subjects":["coaxial plasma gun","plasma-jet","plasma dynamics"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:29355"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:29355","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/102740","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Pierson, Mark Alan","Adams, Colin"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Meadows, Joseph"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Coleman, Mathew Riley"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2021-03-18T08:00:30Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-03-18T08:00:30Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021-03-17"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["coaxial plasma gun","plasma-jet","plasma dynamics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:29355"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/102740"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Plasma railguns are electromagnetic accelerators used to produce controlled high velocity plasma jets. This thesis discusses the design and characterization of a small coaxial plasma railgun intended to accelerate argon-helium plasma jets. The railgun will be used for the study of plasma shocks in jet collisions. The railgun is mounted on a KF-40 vacuum port and operated using a 90 kA, 11 kV LC pulse forming network. Existing knowledge of coaxial railgun plasma instabilities and material interactions at vacuum and plasma interfaces are applied to the design. The design of individual gun components is detailed. Jet velocity and density are characterized by analyzing diagnostic data collected from a Rogowski coil, interferometer, and photodiode. Peak line-integrated electron number densities of approximately 8 × 10<sup>15</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> and jet velocities of tens of km/s are inferred from the data recorded from ten experimental pulses."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Plasma is a gaseous state of matter which is electrically conductive and interacts with electric and magnetic fields. Plasmas are used in many everyday objects such as fluorescent lights, but some of the physics of plasmas are still not entirely understood. One set of plasma interactions that have not been fully explored are those which occur during high-velocity collisions between plasmas. Experiments aimed to further the understanding of these interactions require the generation of plasmas with specified properties at very high velocities. A device known as a plasma railgun can be used to produce plasmas which meet these experimental demands. In a plasma railgun, a short pulse of current is passed through a plasma located between two parallel electrodes, or \"rails\". This current generates a magnetic field which propels the plasma forward. The plasma is accelerated until it leaves the muzzle of the railgun. In coaxial plasma railguns, the electrodes are concentric. This paper discusses the design and testing of a small, relatively low power coaxial plasma railgun. Specific elements of the design are examined and the inherent physical and material difficulties of a coaxial design are explored. The experiment which was performed to confirm the properties of the plasma jets produced by the coaxial plasma railgun is explained. The results of this experiment confirm that the design succeeds in producing plasmas which meet targets for plasma properties."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Design and Characterization of a Coaxial Plasma Railgun for Jet Collision Experiments"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Pierson, Mark Alan","Adams, Colin"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Meadows, Joseph"],"dc:contributor.department":["Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Coleman, Mathew Riley"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2021-03-18T08:00:30Z"],"dc:date.available":["2021-03-18T08:00:30Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-03-17"],"dc:description.abstract":["Plasma railguns are electromagnetic accelerators used to produce controlled high velocity plasma jets. This thesis discusses the design and characterization of a small coaxial plasma railgun intended to accelerate argon-helium plasma jets. The railgun will be used for the study of plasma shocks in jet collisions. The railgun is mounted on a KF-40 vacuum port and operated using a 90 kA, 11 kV LC pulse forming network. Existing knowledge of coaxial railgun plasma instabilities and material interactions at vacuum and plasma interfaces are applied to the design. The design of individual gun components is detailed. Jet velocity and density are characterized by analyzing diagnostic data collected from a Rogowski coil, interferometer, and photodiode. Peak line-integrated electron number densities of approximately 8 × 10<sup>15</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> and jet velocities of tens of km/s are inferred from the data recorded from ten experimental pulses."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Plasma is a gaseous state of matter which is electrically conductive and interacts with electric and magnetic fields. Plasmas are used in many everyday objects such as fluorescent lights, but some of the physics of plasmas are still not entirely understood. One set of plasma interactions that have not been fully explored are those which occur during high-velocity collisions between plasmas. Experiments aimed to further the understanding of these interactions require the generation of plasmas with specified properties at very high velocities. A device known as a plasma railgun can be used to produce plasmas which meet these experimental demands. In a plasma railgun, a short pulse of current is passed through a plasma located between two parallel electrodes, or \"rails\". This current generates a magnetic field which propels the plasma forward. The plasma is accelerated until it leaves the muzzle of the railgun. In coaxial plasma railguns, the electrodes are concentric. This paper discusses the design and testing of a small, relatively low power coaxial plasma railgun. Specific elements of the design are examined and the inherent physical and material difficulties of a coaxial design are explored. The experiment which was performed to confirm the properties of the plasma jets produced by the coaxial plasma railgun is explained. The results of this experiment confirm that the design succeeds in producing plasmas which meet targets for plasma properties."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:29355"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/102740"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["coaxial plasma gun","plasma-jet","plasma dynamics"],"dc:title":["Design and Characterization of a Coaxial Plasma Railgun for Jet Collision Experiments"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:57Z"}