An Electron-Beam Triggered Spark Gap

The triggering of a high-voltage gas-insulated spark gap by an electron (e) beam has been investigated. Rise times of approximately 2.5 ns with subnanosecond jitter (~0.2 ns) have been obtained for 3-cm gaps charged at voltages as low as 50 percent of the self-breakdown voltage (varied up to 0.5 MV). The switch delay (including the e-beam diode) was 52 ns. The triggering e-beam pulse has a duration of 15 ns and a 0-50 percent rise time of 1.5 ns. The e-beam current is 0.5 kA, and the electron energy can be varied in the range from 80 to 145 keV. The working media were N2, mixtures of N2 and A, and N2 and SF6 at pressures of 1-3 atm. Voltage, current, and jitter measurements have been made for a wide range of gap conditions and e-beam parameters. Variations in the character of the discharge have been inferred using streak and open shutter photography. The photographs show that the discharge has a broad cross section and that its character varies for differing polarites and voltages. The effects of varying the e-beam width and the beam energy are discussed.     

Die weitere Entwicklung der Elektronenlawine,untersucht mit Bildverstärker und Wischverschluß

By simultaneously applying image intensifier and image converter streak shutter techniques it is possible to investigate the local and temporal development of electron avalanches in a homogeneous field into the weakly ionised streamer channels. Velocities of the anode-directed and cathode-directed streamers are measured (order of cm magnitude: several 10⁷ and approximately 10⁸sec/cm respectively). Persisting processes in the plasmachannels are revealed and it is shown that once the electrodes are bridged by the streamer-channels the high intensity spark starts rapidly.     

Die Entwicklung der Elektronenlawine in den Plasmakanal,untersucht mit Bildverstärker und Wischverschluß

The application of high gain image intensifier and image converter streak shutter techniques to investigations of faintly luminous early stages of gaseous discharges discloses in some detail the development of electron avalanches into anode- and cathode-directed streamers as soon as the critical amplification (n≈10⁸) is attained in the gap. The velocities of both of the streamer branches were measured quantitatively as to the dependence on pressure (p), field (E/p) and gas (Nitrogen and various mixtures), typical values being 0.5 ... 1 · 10⁸ cm/sec. We find that streamer propagation is suitably described in a coordinate-system drifting with the electrons (driftvelocityv _? ≈ 1 · 10⁷ cm/sec) and that the way it depends on the discharge parameters suggests that ionization by electron impact (in the eigen-spacecharge distorted field) and photoionization are the determining effects. — The cathode-directed streamers show a considerable intensification and acceleration as soon as they are encountered by cathodic secondary avalanches, which however are obviously not essential for the initiation of the process in itself. — The streak images give also an impression of persisting excitation and ionization processes in the region of the streamer-paths and of the transition into the beginning of the bright spark, correlated with several ionizing fronts observed moving towards anode or cathode with velocities even >10⁸ cm/sec. (The paper includes also details of the gaseous near UV-radiation which was utilized for registration with image intensifier or converter, especially with respect to the decaytime of the excited states.) The results obtained are essentially a verification and to some extend completion of predictions made on the basis of early cloud chamber investigations.     

Transition of a diffuse discharge to a spark at nanosecond breakdown of high-pressure nitrogen and air in a nonuniform electric field

The transition of a runaway-electron-induced diffuse discharge initiated in a nonuniform electric field under a high pressure of air and nitrogen to a spark is studied. High-voltage pulses with a rise time of 0.5 ns are applied to a discharge gap with a tubular cathode having a small radius of curvature. It is shown that the leader of the spark discharge propagates toward the tubular cathode along preproduced tracks and may pass from one track to another. For a pulse rise time of about 0.5 ns and a gap length of 12 mm or more, it is found that spark leaders originating at the cathode (which has a small radius of curvature) do not reach the anode and accordingly, do not cause the spark breakdown of the gap. It is confirmed that the spark breakdown of the gap is associated with a spark leader that moves away from the plane electrode after the appearance of a bright spot on it.     

气体火花开关放电通道半径及电阻测量

搭建低电感实验回路平台,利用高速分幅相机拍摄火花开关放电通道发展过程,分析照片光强和放电通道半径的对应关系,根据图片光强测定不同时刻放电通道的半径,提出适合实验条件的放电通道半径计算公式。依据高压探头和Pearson线圈测量得到的放电通道电压和电流波形,计算放电通道的电阻,再利用测量的放电通道半径进而得到其电导率。放电通道半径随着放电通道的发展逐渐增大,有饱和的趋势,放电电流2 kA时电流峰值处放电通道半径约0.6 mm;随着放电电流峰值的增大,放电通道电阻下降速率增大,达到稳定值所需的时间减小,稳定值也随之减小,其电阻稳定值最小能达到0.08 。     

Registration of accelerated multiply charged ions from the cathode jet of a vacuum discharge

The parameters of Cuⁿ⁺ and Taⁿ⁺ ions from the plasma of a vacuum spark with a voltage up to 2.5 kV and a current rise rate up to 2 × 10¹⁰ A/s are studied using the time-of-flight method. At the initial stage of the discharge, bursts of beams of accelerated multiply charged ions from the cathode flame have been detected. It is established that the charge state distribution and energy of a beam are controlled by the initial voltage U ₀ of the capacitor. Upon an increase in this voltage, the average charge of copper ions attains the value +9, and the average charge of tantalum ions can be as high as +20, while the energy attains values of 150 and 350 keV, respectively. It is found that the average energy of ions with charge Z increases in proportion to the charge and is close to the energy eZU ₀ which would have been acquired by ions accelerated in the electric field of the discharge gap.     

气体火花开关初始放电等离子体演化过程北大核心CSCD

气体火花开关的初始放电过程对研究其工作状态有着非常重要的影响,通过基于网格粒子法-直接蒙特卡罗法(PIC-DSMC)耦合算法模拟了气体火花开关从放电开始到等离子体通道初步形成的完整过程,得到了电子和离子的数密度时空分布变化,分析了间隙中电场分布随时间变化规律,完整清晰地揭示了气体火花开关从放电初始到等离子体通道初步形成的物理过程,并初步开展了气体火花开关击穿过程的光学诊断实验,为进一步深入研究气体火花开关的物理机理打下了基础。     

High power self-controled volume discharge based molecular lasers

An investigation was made of the characteristics of the formation of a selfcontroled volume discharge for the pumping of CO₂ lasers, i.e. self-sustained volume discharge (SSVD), which involved a preliminary filling of a discharge gap by an electron flux from an auxiliary-discharge plasma. We have found that this method was suitable for large interelectrode gaps, that distortion of the electric field in the gap by the space charge of the electron flux played an important role in the formation of the discharge and that the electrodes could be profiled dynamically during propagation of an electron flux through the discharge gap and a SSVD could form in systems with a strongly inhomogeneous field. High power SSVD based CO₂ laser systems have been created and investigated. Another type of self-controled volume discharge without pre-ionization, i.e. a selfinitiated volume discharge (SIVD), in nonchain HF lasers with SF₆−C₂H₆ mixtures was investigated as well in our review. We have established that, after the primary local electrical breakdown of the discharge gap, the SIVD spreads along the gap in directions perpendicular to that of the electric field by means of the successive formation of overlapping diffuse channels under a discharge voltage close to its quasi-steady state value. It is shown that, as new channels appear, the current flowing through the channels formed earlier decreases. The volume occupied by the SIVD increases with increase in the energy deposited in the plasma and, when the discharge volume is confined by a dielectric surface, the discharge voltage increases simultaneously with increase in the current. The possible mechanisms which explain the observed phenomena, namely the dissociation of SF₆ molecules and electron attachment SF₆ molecules, are examined. A simple analytical model, which makes it possible to describe these mechanisms at a qualitative level, was developed. High power SIVD based HF(DF) lasers have been developed and tested.     

Force at spark discharge in pin-to-plate system

We have investigated whether any force is generated by a spark discharge in a pin-to-plate system. Because it was difficult to measure the force directly over a short sparking period, three independent methods were employed to evaluate the magnitude of the force indirectly: (1) Axial vibration was observed for the pin electrode supported flexibly by a cantilever to the axial direction at the spark discharge that occurred periodically. The force was implicitly calculated in the case that the calculated vibration agreed with the measured. The result indicated that the force was almost 0 N during the spark period. The vibration was generated not by the force at the spark discharge but by alternative force of the Coulomb force at the period of no discharge and reaction force due to the ionic wind at the corona discharge. (2) A similar investigation was conducted whether the vibration magnitude depended on the spark current based on the assumption that the force at spark discharge depends on the spark current if any substantial force is generated at the spark discharge. We deduced that the force was not generated during the spark period and it was irrelevant to the spark current. (3) We made a hypothesis that axial vibration of the pin electrode could be observed if the spark discharge did not take place but the varying voltage was applied of which pattern was common with that with the spark discharge. To confirm the hypothesis an experiment was conducted with two parallel-connected pin-to-plate systems, the air gap of one system was slightly shorter than the other. The axial vibration was observed even in the system that the spark discharge did not take place and the vibration agreed also with the calculated. These three results suggested that no substantial force was generated at the spark period.     

Über den zeitlichen Verlauf des Stromes einer Gasentladung in Wasserstoff

The transient growth of currents in a Townsend gas discharge system under uniform dc field conditions in Hydrogen is examined. The discharge is started by 10³ to 10⁶ electrons released from the cathode by an UV light pulse within some 10^?7 seconds. Observed oscillations of the current are found to be due to the motion of the electrons through the gap creating new electrons by photoelectron emission at the cathode due to photons generated in the gap. At sparking threshold conditions (Μ ₀=1) the electron current becomes self-sustaining after a few electron transit times. The positive ion current soon exceeds the electron current and grows linearly with time (Μ ₀=1) until the positive ions of the first generation enter the cathode. For times greater than a positive-ion transit time the current becomes self-sustaining. Neglecting space-charge effects one would not expect a spark to occur. The space-charge of the positive ions, however, causes a distortion of the field changing the ionization efficiency of the electrons. It is shown that an observed rapid growth of current leading to breakdown after some positive-ion transit times is in agreement to this conception.     

气流对微秒脉冲滑动放电特性的影响

脉冲电源驱动的滑动放电能够在大气压下产生高能量、高功率密度的低温等离子体. 为了研究微秒脉冲电源在针-针电极结构中产生滑动放电的特征, 本文采用电压幅值为0–30 kV, 脉冲宽度约8 μs, 脉冲重复频率为1–3000 Hz的微秒脉冲电源, 通过测量电压、电流波形和拍摄放电图像, 研究了微秒脉冲滑动放电的电特性. 实验结果表明, 随着施加电压的增加微秒脉冲滑动放电存在三种典型的放电模式: 电晕放电、弥散放电和类滑动放电. 不同放电模式的电压、电流波形和放电图像之间差异显著. 脉冲重复频率对微秒脉冲滑动放电特性有影响, 表现为当气体流量较小(2 L/min)时, 类滑动放电的放电通道随着脉冲重复频率的增大逐渐集中, 而当气体流量较大(16 L/min)时, 类滑动放电的放电通道随着脉冲重复频率的增大逐渐分散. 不同气流下重复频率对滑动放电特性的影响与放电中粒子的记忆效应和气流的状态有关.     

直流场畸变开关中混合气体击穿特性

氩气中一般含有大量亚稳态原子,在强外电场作用下容易产生自由电子,能够促进放电通道快速形成。采用场畸变型气体开关,在直流电压下设计了实验平台来探究气体开关中采用SF6-Ar或N2-Ar混合气体后放电时延及抖动的变化情况。改变多种气体状态进行一系列实验,并得出场畸变气体火花开关中SF6-Ar及N2-Ar的击穿特性,根据工程需要对气体种类及混合比例进行最优化设计。实验表明SF6-Ar中Ar质量分数达到20%及以上时,开关放电时延及抖动明显减小。     

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空气中的大气压辉光放电通常因放电易过渡到火花状态而难以产生。在静态大气压空气针-板等离子体发生器中，采用阻容耦合负反馈方法控制等离子体放电发展过程，成功地抑制了辉光放电向火花放电的过渡，产生了稳定的交流辉光放电。研究了电压、电极间距等参数变化对放电的影响。     

Experimental study of pulsed corona discharge in air

We report on the results of experimental investigation of a pulsed corona discharge in electric fields with different degrees of nonuniformity under the action of a standard thunderstorm pulse in a wide range of voltages from the origination threshold to the breakdown. A high-sensitivity video camera makes it possible to record microdischarge and streamer processes in air long before the spark breakdown. It is known that the size of the corona discharge sheath increases with the supplied voltage, and the shape of the corona sheath depends on the polarity of the active electrode [1, 2]. It was demonstrated for the first time by Peek [3] that the range of voltages from the initiation of a corona discharge to the spark breakdown increases with the degree of nonuniformity of the electric field. We show that an analogous pattern is observed for a pulsed corona also. Our results show that the form of a pulsed corona discharge considerably depends on the pulse polarity, and a spark breakdown becomes possible when most branches in the streamer corona cover the electrode gap.     

同轴场畸变气体火花开关的多通道放电特性

设计了一种同轴场畸变气体火花开关,在开关仅受触发脉冲作用和开关内外电极分别连接正负充电电容两种条件下,实验研究了触发脉冲峰值对开关间隙在氮气中的放电通道数的影响,比较了两种条件下的放电通道数。开关仅受触发脉冲作用时,放电通道承载电流较小;开关内外电极分别连接充电电容,触发脉冲施加于开关触发极时,放电通道承载电流较大。实验结果表明:仅受触发脉冲作用时,开关内间隙的平均通道数随着触发脉冲峰值增加而显著增加;开关电极连接电容的情况下,随着触发脉冲峰值增加,开关内间隙的平均通道数增加,外间隙的平均通道数减小;相近的过电压倍数下,开关电极连接电容情况下的平均通道数明显小于开关仅受触发脉冲作用情况下的平均通道数。     

Geometrical study of spark ignition in two dimensions

Spark ignition, as the first step during the combustion in Otto engines, has a profound impact on the further development of the flame kernel. Over the last ten years growing concern for environment protection, including low emission of pollutants has increased the interest in the numerical simulation of ignition phenomena to guarantee successful flame kernel development even for lean mixtures.

However, the process of spark ignition in a combustible mixture is not yet fully understood. The use of detailed reaction mechanisms, combined with electrodynamical modelling of the spark, is necessary to optimize ignition of lean mixtures.

This work presents simulations of the coupling of flow, chemical reactions and transport with discharge processes in order to investigate the development of a stable flame kernel initiated by an electrical spark. A two-dimensional code to simulate the early stages of flame kernel formation, shortly after the breakdown discharge, has been developed. The model includes Joule heating. The spark plasma channel formed as a consequence of the breakdown is incorporated into the initial conditions. The computations include the initial phase (1–5 µs), which is governed by pressure wave formation, but also the transition to flame propagation. A thorough study of the influence of the electrodes' geometry, i.e. shape and size, and gap width, has been performed for air and a lean H₂–air mixture. Also a detailed methane-air mechanism was chosen as another example including combustion.

Due to the fast expansion of the plasma channel, together with the geometrical complexity of the electrodes, a complicated flow field develops after the emission of a pressure wave by the expanding channel. Special numerical methods, including artificial viscosity, are required to resolve the complicated flow field during these first 1–5 µs. The heat release through chemical reactions and transport processes is almost negligible during this short phase. The second phase, i.e. the development of a propagating flame and the flame kernel expansion, can last up to several milliseconds and is dominated by diffusive processes and chemical reactions. It has been found that the geometry greatly influences the developing flame kernel and the flow field. As soon as chemical reactions begin to contribute significantly to the heat release, the effect becomes smaller.     

Phenomenological model of the unstable stage of a vacuum spark discharge

A model of the unstable stage of a spark discharge in vacuum is proposed, which describes all typical manifestations of this stage, including current spikes in the diode, an increase in the potential at the cathode flame front, collective acceleration of ions in vacuum and plasma diodes, change in the cathode erosion mechanism, and the emergence of electron microbeams with a high current density at the anode. It is shown that these processes are associated with the formation of a charged electron layer of a spatially inhomogeneous plasma at the cathode flame boundary at the unstable stage of the spark discharge in vacuum. The emergence of this layer is associated with a limited emissive ability of the plasma at the cathode flame front during its expansion in vacuum. This leads to disruption of the plasma (field-induced emission of electron from the boundary region of the flame) and the formation of a short-lived charged plasma, viz., high-density ion cluster at the cathode flame boundary. The estimates obtained using this model are in good agreement with the experimental data on physical processes at the unstable stage of a vacuum spark discharge.     

Messung der Elektronendriftgeschwindigkeit in N2 imE/p-Bereich von 0,05 bis 40 Volt/cm Torr (Funkenkammerverfahren)

A special spark chamber technique was used to measure drift velocities of electrons for N₂ over anE/p-range from 0.05 to 40 volts/cm·Torr. The inaccuracy is smaller than 5% in the mediumE/p-range and increases to 10% at the ends of the region. This method uses a single α-particle traversing a parallel plate gap. The α-particle triggers by a photomultiplier a high voltage pulse which initiates an avalanche discharge. By varying the delay time after which the high voltage pulse is triggered one deduces from the height of the avalanche discharge the time necessary for the electrons to cross the gap and thus the drift velocity.     

Study on a New Ignition Method of the Spark Gap Based on Plasma Ejection in Air

A new ignition method of the spark gap based on plasma ejection is proposed in this paper, as the conventional trigatron spark gap performs poorly under the low working coefficient (the ratio of the charging voltage to the self‐breakdown voltage) in air. The plasma is generated by the capillary discharge, which has high pressure, high temperature and high velocity. The capillary discharge device is placed inside the low voltage electrode. As long as the triggering signal is sent to the device, a column of the plasma flow is ejected in axial direction and develops rapidly towards the high voltage electrode. Subsequently, the gap is broken down and a high resistive channel is formed, where the thermal ionization takes place and the arc across the whole gap is generated and develops into a well conductive channel. The process of the thermal ionization of the high resistive channel varies with the change of the spark gap distance. The breakdown delay and the delay jitter of the spark gap increase with the spark gap distance, as both parameters are mainly determined by the developing process of the plasma ejection. The characteristics of the plasma flow determine the possibility of the breakdown of the spark gap under the low working coefficient. The ignition method based on capillary plasma ejection has been proved by the preliminary experiments, which indicate that under the gap length of 8 cm and the working coefficient of less than 3%, the effective ignition is still achievable.