Numerical study of the effect of atomic mass of the ambient gas on the expansion and the lateral interactions of LBO plumes

Abstract

Abstract The characteristics of the lateral interaction of two LBO plasma plumes in argon Ar ambient gas at high pressures were reported in a recent publication (Yadav et al 2017 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 50 355201). Further, we have investigated the interaction characteristics of plumes in He, Ne, Ar and Xe gases to see the effect of atomic mass on the interaction. The present work illustrates the applicability of the present model for theoretical understanding of dynamics, structure, density variation, shock wave formations and their interactions of two propagating plasma plumes in a wide range of ambient conditions. The formation of interaction region, geometrical shape and strength of the shock fronts and subsequent regular and Mach reflections in accordance with the nature and pressure of ambient gas are successfully captured in the simulations.