Numerical simulation of conductive particle behaviour at the surface of a plate electrode affected by a DC corona field

The electric field in certain electrostatic devices can be modeled by a grounded plate electrode affected by a corona discharge generated by a series of parallel wires connected to a DC high-voltage supply. The system of differential equations that describe the behaviour (i.e., charging and motion) of the conductive particle in such an electric field has been numerically solved, using several simplifying assumptions. Thus, it was possible to investigate the effect of various electrical and mechanical factors on the trajectories of conductive particles. This model has been employed to study the behaviour of coal particles in fly-ash corona separators.     

Effect of bulk modification of polymers in a directional low-temperature plasma flow

A mechanism explaining the kinetics of polymer etching and the formation of modified layers in the plasma generated by a high-voltage gas discharge outside the electrode gap is proposed and substantiated from a unified point of view based on the Thomson-Widdington law. The effect of bulk modification of a polymer is discovered, which upgrades the knowledge of the processes occurring during polymer interaction with a low-temperature plasma.     

Electric charge and field in the meniscus of a dielectric fluid

Using the conformal mapping method, we calculate the electric field at the tip of a high-voltage electrode mounted in the injector of fluid particles. The space charge of the dielectric fluid charged from the high-voltage electrode of the injector of the fluid charged particles is determined. We present the results of simulation of the charge and field in the meniscus for VM-1vacuum oil.     

Orbital motion of dust particles in an rf magnetron discharge. Ion drag force or neutral atom wind force

Microparticles with sizes up to 130 μm have been confined and the velocity and diameter of particles in a plasma trap of an rf magnetron discharge with an arc magnetic field have been simultaneously measured. The motion of the gas induced by electron and ion cyclotron currents has been numerically simulated using the Navier-Stokes equation. The experimental and numerical results confirm the mechanism of the orbital motion of dust particles in the magnetron discharge plasma that is associated with the orbital motion of the neutral gas accelerated by electron and ion drift flows in crossed electric and magnetic fields.     

Development of a new atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet generator and application in sterilization

This paper reports that a new plasma generator at atmospheric pressure, which is composed of two homocentric cylindrical all-metal tubes, successfully generates a cold plasma jet. The inside tube electrode is connected to ground, the outside tube electrode is connected to a high-voltage power supply, and a dielectric layer is covered on the outside tube electrode. When the reactor is operated by low-frequency (6 kHz--20 kHz) AC supply in atmospheric pressure and argon is steadily fed as a discharge gas through inside tube electrode, a cold plasma jet is blown out into air and the plasma gas temperature is only 25--30℃. The electric character of the discharge is studied by using digital real-time oscilloscope (TDS 200-Series), and the discharge is capacitive. Preliminary results are presented on the decontamination of E.colis bacteria and Bacillus subtilis bacteria by this plasma jet, and an optical emission analysis of the plasma jet is presented in this paper. The ozone concentration generated by the plasma jet is 1.0×10¹⁶cm^-3 which is acquired by using the ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy.     

Study on high voltage generation using flame column and DC power supply

A theory for generating an ultra-high voltage using a flame column (weakly ionized plasma) and a normal high-voltage (HV) power supply is presented. A high-voltage generator adapted based on this theory was fabricated, and experiments on high voltage generation were carried out. As a result, high voltages were observed between an electron cloud in front of the flame column and the positive electrode in the experiment, and highly positive charges were stored efficiently on the large positive electrode. The experimental results proved that the output voltage is three times higher than that of the output voltage of the HV power supply whenever the gas flow velocity is close to 0. A maximum output voltage was obtained for the output voltage of the HV power supply, which was 15 times higher than the output voltage of the HV power supply. The generated voltage and the output current for the output voltage of the HV power supply were investigated, and the temporal dependence of the charging current was also measured. The use of this method made it possible to obtain a high voltage and high electric field in a large space. Furthermore, the realistic possibility of achieving a 10-MV using this method was shown.     

Self-organization of the channel structure of a nanosecond diffuse discharge in a wire-plane electrode system

The results of an experimental study of the spatial structure of a high-voltage diffuse discharge in a wire-plane electrode system are presented. Self-organization of the discharge current channels into regular cells is observed in the plane perpendicular to the electric field vector. The dependences of the structural parameters of the discharge in centimeter-sized gaps on the interelectrode distance are studied at air pressures within the range 220–760 torr. Self-organization of the discharge structure is explained in terms of the electric interaction among charges of the diffuse channel heads during bridging of the gap.     

Two-stage electrostatic precipitator with co- and counter-flow particle prechargers

Lab-scale, two-stage electrostatic precipitation system comprising of precharging stage, in which PM2.5 particles are electrically charged, and collection stage, in which the charged particles are removed from the flowing gas by electric field, was investigated in this paper. Two types of electrostatic particle prechargers were compared with respect to the collection efficiency of the system: (1) co-flow precharger, in which ionic current was generated co-currently with the gas conveying the particles, and (2) counter-flow precharger, in which ionic current was generated oppositely to the flowing gas. In each case, the electrodes of precharger were supplied with DC or AC high-voltage in order to compare the effect of discharge mode on the collection efficiency of two-stage electrostatic precipitator. The collection stage was formed by two parallel-plate electrodes connected to DC high voltage source. Plate electrodes without discharge points (spikes) are corona-free electrodes, which prevent the collection stage from electrical discharges, and reduce the probability of back discharge ignition. The back discharge decreases collection efficiency of conventional electrostatic precipitators.It was concluded that the co-flow electrode configuration of the precharger, supplied with DC high voltage, has the highest total number collection efficiency for PM2.5 particles, higher than 95% and the mass collection efficiency larger than 99%. The counter-flow precharger provided only about 90% number collection efficiency of two-stage electrostatic precipitator. It was also shown that by AC electrode excitation, the collection efficiency of the system is lower than for DC supply. The two-stage electrostatic precipitators allowed obtaining higher fractional collection efficiency for PM2.5 particles than other conventional systems and can be recommended as highly effective devices for gas cleaning in power plants or cement industry.     

实验研究大气压多脉冲辉光放电的模式和机理

采用稍不平行电极进行大气压He气介质阻挡多脉冲辉光放电实验,通过增强电子耦合器件相机短时曝光照片,研究大气压多脉冲辉光放电在不同时刻的放电模式.通过气隙放电电流、表面电荷计算,理论分析了表面电荷、空间电荷、外加电压与气隙电场强度的关系,研究大气压辉光放电形成多脉冲的机理.实验结果表明,放电首先在间隙稍窄的电极左端开始;在第一个脉冲电流峰值,电极右端也开始放电;第一个电流脉冲经历了Townsend放电到辉光放电的过程;电流脉冲之间的时间内,间隙一直维持着微弱的辉光放电;随后的每个电流脉冲均是辉光放电.理论分析表明,大气压辉光放电的多个电流脉冲是表面电荷、空间电荷与外加电压共同演化的结果;除放电伊始出现Townsend放电外,同一半周期内的放电电流脉冲中不会再出现Townsend放电. 关键词： 介质阻挡放电 增强电子耦合器件 大气压辉光放电 多脉冲     

Experimental observation of negative differential characteristic of corona discharge in ultraviolet spectrum

Corona discharge is a self-sustained discharge which appears at electrodes with a small radius curvature in gas insulation. An almost invisible glow occurs just above the inception voltage. Corona phenomenon is mainly used in electro-technological processes to obtain space charge for electrostatic precipitation, separation of different particles, electrostatic liquid or solid coating, neutralization of space charge, etc. All of these processes rely on a strong nonhomogeneous electric field generated by a point – plate electrode system. When the critical value of the applied voltage is reached, the ionization processes near the point electrode start and give rise to the current between two electrodes. If the pointed electrode is positive, it is possible to observe an anomaly of the current – voltage (I-U) characteristic for the point-plate space. It means that while the voltage is raising the current density decreases in a narrow voltage area (2–3 kV). The anomaly was technically named as negative differential conductivity (dI/dU < 0). Unstable current can have a negative influence on electro-technological processes. The anomaly was detected for different shapes and materials of the electrode as well as for various temperatures and distances between electrodes. An oxidation layer, which appears on the metal electrode, also influences the ionization processes near the pointed electrode and causes a decrease of a current. In this paper measuring of the discharge activity in a point – plate electrode system is presented. Ionization of gas atoms and molecules in a high electric field and the following recombination of electrons and positive ions in the corona region can give rise to high-energy photons which produce new electrons in the field of discharge. Corona discharges are detected by DayCor Corona camera which can register UV emission generated by corona in a day light. The experiment was conducted with various shapes of the pointed electrode and distances between the high voltage and the grounded electrode under applied direct voltage with positive and negative polarity.     

实验研究大气压多脉冲辉光放电的模式和机理

采用稍不平行电极进行大气压He气介质阻挡多脉冲辉光放电实验,通过增强电子耦合器件相机短时曝光照片,研究大气压多脉冲辉光放电在不同时刻的放电模式.通过气隙放电电流、表面电荷计算,理论分析了表面电荷、空间电荷、外加电压与气隙电场强度的关系,研究大气压辉光放电形成多脉冲的机理.实验结果表明,放电首先在间隙稍窄的电极左端开始;在第一个脉冲电流峰值,电极右端也开始放电;第一个电流脉冲经历了Townsend放电到辉光放电的过程;电流脉冲之间的时间内,间隙一直维持着微弱的辉光放电;随后的每个电流脉冲均是辉光放电.理论分析表明,大气压辉光放电的多个电流脉冲是表面电荷、空间电荷与外加电压共同演化的结果;除放电伊始出现Townsend放电外,同一半周期内的放电电流脉冲中不会再出现Townsend放电.     

Numerical simulation of super-short pulsed discharge in Helium with particle-in-cell Monte--Carlo collisions technique

This paper reports that a simulation of glow discharge in pure helium gas at the pressure of 1.333×10³ Pa under a high-voltage nanosecond pulse is performed by using a one-dimensional particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collisions (PIC--MCC) model. Numerical modelling results show that the cathode sheath is much thicker than that of anode during the pulse discharge, and that there exists the phenomenon of field reversal at relative high pressures near the end of the pulse, which results from the cumulative positive charges due to their finite mobility during the cathode sheath expansion. Moreover, electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and ion energy distribution function (IEDF) have been also observed. In the early stage of the pulse, a large amount of electrons can be accelerated above the ionization threshold energy. However, in the second half of the pulse, as the field in bulk plasma decreases and thereafter the reverse field forms due to the excessive charges in cathode sheath, although the plasma density grows, the high energy part of EEDF decreases. It concludes that the large volume non-equilibrium plasmas can be obtained with high-voltage nanosecond pulse discharges.     

Structure of a microparticle crystal in a radio-frequency discharge plasma

By employing the particle-in-cell method we study the distributions of the electric field strength and of the electron and ion concentrations in the microparticle crystal in the electrode sheath in a radio-frequency discharge in helium. The coordinates and charges of the microparticles are found from the balance condition for the forces acting on the particles and the balance of electron and ion fluxes to the particles. With periodic boundary conditions introduced, we investigate the three-dimensional problem for the unit cell of the microparticle crystal. We examine the dependence on gas pressure and discharge voltage of the main crystal parameters: the critical particle separation (at which a phase transition from a monolayer crystal to a double-layer crystal occurs), the particle potentials, and the distances between the layers in the double-layer crystal. We obtain the critical values of the friction coefficient for the particles in the gas, i.e., values below which the crystal becomes unstable against the development of particle oscillations in the transverse direction, and compare the experimental data on crystal structure and stability with the theoretical results. Finally, we set up an approximate model that makes it possible to calculate the main parameters of the microparticle crystal. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 877–893 (March 1999)     

Diffusion Mechanism in Aluminum–Silicon Structures Surface-Irradiated by Off-Electrode Plasma of a High-Voltage Gas Discharge

Technical Physics - The mechanism of diffusion in Al–Si structures that arises during surface irradiation by off-electrode plasma of a high-voltage gas discharge (discharge current and...     

Formation of an out-of-electrode plasma in a high-voltage gas discharge

The formation of an out-of-electrode plasma in a high-voltage gas discharge is studied. The occurrence and self-maintenance of a gas discharge and its associated plasma fluxes on the straight portions of electrical field lines are predicted theoretically and confirmed experimentally. It is shown that the focusing of the gas discharge and plasma fluxes is provided by increasing the length of the field line straight portions toward the symmetry axis of a hole in the anode. It is found that, when the discharge power (more specifically, an accelerating voltage applied to the electrodes of the gas-discharge tube) rises, the straight portions of the field lines elongate and concentrate near the symmetry axis of the hole in the anode. Recommendations are given on using the out-of-electrode plasma in surface micro- and nanostructuring.     

Choice of conditions of an electrical discharge for generating chemically active particles for the decomposition of impurities in water

An electrical discharge between a liquid surface and an electrode positioned above it is considered. A second electrode, which delivers the output from a high-voltage source, is located at the bottom of the vessel containing the liquid. The conditions that must be met by the electrical discharge in order to efficiently initiate reactions in the liquid phase are analyzed. Under these conditions the number of active particles generated by the discharge turns out to depend on the concentration in the liquid of the substance with which the active particles interact. It is shown that for a corona or spark discharge the reactions can occur in a liquid layer 10–20 mm thick and that for specific reactions there exists an optimum value of the electric field at which the energy expenditures on the initiation of the reaction will be minimum. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 58–63 (January 1999)     

Formation of a volume discharge at a subnanosecond rise time of the voltage pulse

A study is made of the formation of a volume discharge in atmospheric-pressure air in a nonuniform electric field without additional preionization. It is shown that the spatial distribution of the plasma glow between a plane and a spherical (as well as a point) electrode at a subnanosecond rise time of the high-voltage pulse is volumetric in character. The change of the voltage polarity does not qualitatively affect the character of the glow. The propagation of a spherical ionization wave in nitrogen is calculated in the drift-diffusion approximation. The fact that the character of the discharge glow is essentially independent of the voltage polarity is explained by the multiplication of the background electrons in the dense working gas.     

Relation between the distribution of initiation sites of a discharge and the field nonuniformity at an electrode

The connection between the field nonuniformity at an electrode and the distribution of discharge initiation sites over its surface is described. The results of experiments on the breakdown of transformer oil in the cone-plane system of electrodes is analyzed within the framework of a multifractal model of the charge distribution [1]. The conclusion given in [1] that the regions with the maximum local field strength are not always the most probable sites for initiation of a discharge was experimentally confirmed. We observed the theoretically predicted transition of the discharge initiation sites at sharp points on the surface of a cone. For electrodes of stainless steel and transformer oil a value of the index relates the probability of initiation of a discharge to the local field strength was determined.Scientific — Research Institute of High Voltages at Tomsk Polytechnic Institute. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 4, pp. 32–35, April, 1995.     

常压窄间隙介质阻挡放电等离子体辐射特性

利用带有透明电极与可测向观察的一个介质阻挡放电(DBD)实验装置对它的常压窄间隙等离子体辐射特性进行了实验研究。结果表明：这一DBD装置的辐射特性会受激励电压、激励频率、DBD结构等多种因素影响。在频率为10～20kHz高压电源激励下,采用窄间隙、薄电介质层结构DBD可以大幅度提高放电空间的电场强度,增加放电功率密度,提高了放电装置性能。     

放电参数对爆燃模式下同轴枪强流脉冲放电等离子体的影响

同轴枪强流脉冲放电常见有爆燃模式和预填充模式两种放电模式,爆燃模式放电可以得到杂质少、准直性高、输运速度更快的等离子体射流.本实验主要对不同电压及进气量下同轴枪强流脉冲爆燃模式放电的等离子体特性进行了研究.结果表明,在相同放电电压下,进气量少时会有多团等离子体从枪口喷出.随着进气量的增加,同轴枪放电产生的等离子体密度增加,输运速度减小,最终等离子体只有一团从枪口喷出;而在相同进气量下,随着电压的增加,等离子体密度增加,输运速度增大,开始出现有多团等离子体从枪口喷出的现象.产生该现象的原因主要是在放电过程中,当气体持续进入枪底部时,同轴枪底部会产生新的电流通道向前运动,使得在同轴枪出口处观察到了多团等离子体喷出的现象;随着放电电压的增加,在放电过程中回路电流也增加.当电流增加到一定程度时,同轴枪底部就会产生新的电流通道,从而有多个等离子体团从枪口喷出.通过改变充电电容以及对磁探针信号的分析,进一步分析并验证了同轴枪底端多次放电的现象.