The use of electrostatic probes to measure the temperature profiles of welding arcs

The electrostatic probe is an attractive diagnostic tool for DC welding arcs. The current-voltage characteristic of such a probe in a high-current (100 A), high-pressure (1 bar), DC argon (TIG) welding arc is found to give a very flat ion saturation region. Sheath thicknesses are estimated to be much smaller than 1 μm, ie less than the mean free path, so that conventional collisionless probe theory should be applicable - in contrast to the flame plasmas dealt with by Thomas (1969) and others. By using an Abel inversion technique the measured probe current can be converted to a radial distribution of current. The temperature variation across the arc can then be derived from this current variation. By measuring the radial temperature profile at several points along the length of the arc column, a complete isothermal map of the TIG arc has been obtained which is important for basic calculations of energy transfer.