Study of the effect of properties of material on vacuum breakdown initiated by laser radiation

In this work, the effect of various properties of materials on vacuum breakdown initiated by laser radiation is considered. Estimating calculations are performed which show that the material of the target electrode distinctly affects the minimum energy of laser radiation needed for igniting a vacuum spark. The experimental studies carried out confirm the estimating calculations, and a number of materials are revealed which can be arranged in order of increase in the energy needed for the formation of breakdown in vacuum by the impact of a laser pulse.     

Combustion properties of H2/N2/O2/steam mixtures

The present work reports new experimental and numerical results of the combustion properties of hydrogen based mixtures diluted by nitrogen and steam. Spherical expanding flames have been studied in a spherical bomb over a large domain of equivalence ratios, initial temperatures and dilutions at an initial pressure of 100 kPa (T_ini = 296, 363, 413 K; N₂/O₂ = 3.76, 5.67, 9; %Steam = 0, 20, 30). From these experiments, the laminar flame speed $S_L^0$, the Markstein length L’, the activation energy Ea and the Zel'dovich β number have been determined. These parameters were also simulated using COSILAB^® in order to verify the validity of the Mével et al. [1] detailed kinetic mechanism. Other parameters as the laminar flame thickness δ and the effective Lewis number Le_eff were also simulated. These new results aim at providing an extended database that will be very useful in the hydrogen combustion hazard assessment for nuclear reactor power plant new design.