FEASIBILITY STUDIES ON GENERATION-, MEASUREMENT- AND APPLICATION-TECHNIQUES OF ULTRA-HIGH TEMPERATURE FIELDS BY ARC-DISCHARGE (PART 1: GENERATION-TECHNIQUES OF ARC-PLASMA).

This report presents the survey on the present states and the future research trends of the arc-plasma generation techniques. The arc-plasma fields have been utilized for the high temperature heat sources. It is expected that the chemical reactivity and high density energy of arc-plasma can be applied to the synthesis and processing new materials. To realize them, it is urgent to develop the new techniques precisely controlling its density and temperature, densifying the plasma energy and expanding the high temperature region. The present states of the arc-plasma generation techniques are surveyed. Especially, each element such as power supply, electrode, plasma gas and so on, of the generation system is investigated. Finally, the discussion is presented for developing such new techniques.