Experimental observations of plasma armature properties and characteristics

The Railgun Simulator, RGS-II, has operated for over two years with the goals of developing diagnostic techniques for railgun plasmas and using the experiment as a testbed to study the behavior of high current plasma armatures. Over the course of the research, a series of diagnostic techniques were employed, including b-dot and fiber optic probes, laser transmission measurements, interferometry, and spectroscopy. These techniques were used to observe the plasma behavior under varying conditions of chamber pressure, arc current, and arc initiation mechanisms. The experimental techniques and results are described in this paper.