2-TEMPERATURE MODELING OF LASER SUSTAINED HYDROGEN PLASMAS

A kinetic nonequilibrium model of laser sustained hydrogen plasmas has been formulated and solved for the prediction of steady-state energy transport processes. This model is the first of its kind and includes a discretized beam ray-trace with a variable index of refraction based upon plasma electron number density for a 10.6-mum CO2 laser input. Model results for fraction of incident laser power absorbed, and fraction of incident laser power retained by the hydrogen gas have compared favorably with experimental results. The model has been used to provide predictions of laser sustained plasma (LSP) performance well outside the realm of experiments to incident powers as high as 700 kW. At the gas pressures studied, minimal kinetic nonequilibrium was observed in LSP core regions, even for 700-kW laser power.