München 2019 – scientific programme
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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik
P 18: Postersitzung
P 18.122: Poster
Thursday, March 21, 2019, 16:30–18:30, Foyer Audimax
Complex plasma experiments with PK-4 on parabolic flight campaign DLR #31 — •Michael Kretschmer1, Markus Thoma1, Christopher Dietz1, Benjamin Steinmüller1, and Jeremiah Williams2 — 1Justus-Liebig-Universität, I. Physikalisches Institut, Giessen, Germany — 2Wittenberg University, Ohio, USA
The Plasmakristall-4 (PK-4) plasma facility employs a dc discharge in a low-pressure noble gas inside a glass tube to study complex (dusty) plasmas (CP) under various gravity conditions. A flight model of PK-4 is installed inside the Columbus module of the International Space Station ISS since November 2014. Another model is situated at the University of Giessen, Germany. It is used for experiments on ground and on parabolic flights to compare with and extend the experiments performed in space.
The results of a recent parabolic flight campaign are presented: 1. Investigation of electro-rheological effects in complex plasmas. By changing the duty cycle of the alternating polarity of the dc discharge particles form chains inside the complex plasma that significantly change the properties of the CP fluid. A new algorithm using machine learning techniques for structure analysis was successfully tested. 2. A 20W laser was used to create a shearflow inside the CP fluid. By analyzing the transition region between stationary and driven particles, e.g. with a PIV method, we gained some information about the material properties of the fluid.
Acknowledgements: This work is supported by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) under grant number 50WM1742.