Spherical quartz stones of around 1 cm in diameter have been exposed to anodic arc discharges in a helium atmosphere at 300 Torr. The arc current flowing between the graphite electrodes was set either in continuous DC mode (30–150 A) or in pulsed mode at 2 Hz (220 A peak). The ablation rate in each sample was systematically measured after several seconds of arc plasma treatment. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) diagnostics and 2D fluid simulations of the arc discharge have shed light on the heat flux transport and the heating mechanisms of the quartz crystals. A linear correlation is found between the absorbed power density and the resulting rate of penetration, which yields a maximal value of 15 cm h⁻¹ for approximately 150 W cm⁻². The linear fit on the slope provides a specific energy of 40 kJ cm⁻³. The incident energy flux onto the sample surface promoted a phase transition from crystalline to glassy silica, as characterized via Raman spectroscopy. This study points out the strong potential of arc plasma technology for geothermal drilling applications.

直径约 1 cm 的球形石英石已在 300 Torr 的氦气气氛中暴露于阳极电弧放电。石墨电极之间流动的电弧电流设置为连续直流模式（30-150 A）或脉冲模式，频率为 2 Hz（220 A 峰值）。在经过几秒钟的电弧等离子体处理后，系统地测量了每个样品的烧蚀率。电弧放电的光学发射光谱 (OES) 诊断和 2D 流体模拟揭示了石英晶体的热通量传输和加热机制。在吸收的功率密度和由此产生的渗透率之间发现了线性相关性，对于大约 150 W cm ^-2产生了 15 cm h ^-1的最大值. 斜率上的线性拟合提供了 40 kJ cm ^-3的比能量。入射到样品表面的能量通量促进了从晶体到玻璃态二氧化硅的相变，如通过拉曼光谱表征的那样。这项研究指出了电弧等离子体技术在地热钻井应用中的巨大潜力。