Structure of Plasma Jets Formed by a High-Current Vacuum Arc Discharge

The work is devoted to the study of the structure of plasma jets formed by a high-current vacuum arc discharge. The experiments were conducted on the high-current generator IMRI-5 with a current amplitude of 250 KA. The plasma jet was formed while burning a vacuum arc discharge between coaxial aluminum electrodes with initiation on the surface of a capropolon dielectric. The following were registered in the experiments: a current flowing along the plasma jet at different distances from the plasma gun cathode; visible image of a plasma jet at different moments in time with an exposure of 10 ns; the propagation speed of the plasma jet. Numerical simulation of the evolution of the plasma jet was carried out. The results of the simulation are compared with the experiments.