A theoretical exploration of the flow about an electric arc transverse to an airstream using potential flow methods

Abstract

The arc cross section is supposed to be a region in which heat is supplied to a continuous stream and in which a body force acts. Pressure variations are assumed small so that incompressible potential flow methods can be used to calculate streamlines and thence flow velocities of the compressible gas by a simple transformation. Example calculations are made in which a non-potential slit is used to obtain a positive drag coefficient, and flowdiagrams are given. For future work it is suggested that some of the region constituting the arc should be separated from the external stream by an impenetrable boundary since this should enable closer agreement with experiment to be reached.