Characterization and Reduction of Interactive Forces Among Magnetically Driven Arcs

Interactive forces among magnetically driven arcs were considered theoretically. It was assumed that several plasma torches were arranged in parallel under an alternating external magnetic field, which drove the arcs to produce an oscillatory motion of their anode roots. The electromagnetic interaction among arcs causes their mutual attraction, thereby disturbing their oscillatory motions. A new method to reduce such disturbance was proposed by arranging additional current paths. Their optimum position and currents to be supplied were calculated for cancellation of attractive interactions among arcs.