Numerical simulation of gas flow in a magnetically stabilized coaxial laser discharge

The neutral gas flow profile within a magnetically stabilized coaxial laser gas discharge is analyzed by using a single fluid magnetogasdynamic model. Equations describing the rotational, radial and axial gas transport are solved by using an iterative alternating direction implicit method. Steady state rotational velocities of the order of 20 m/s are found.     

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.     

Numerical investigation of a fast-axial-flow CW CO2 laser

This paper presents the results of the calculation of the parameters of the active medium of a fast-axial-flow CO₂ laser using numerical methods in the framework of a one-dimensional approximation of the set of continuity equations, Bernoulli equation, equation of gas state, energy equation and multi-temperature rate equations with regard to diffusion for the gas flow in the cylindrical discharge tube. The spatial distribution of the small-signal gain and gas temperature along the gas flow direction have been calculated for a given set of initial conditions, namely, gas flow velocity, gas pressure and the tube diameter. In addition, the dependence of small-signal gain, the asymmetric stretch vibrational temperature of CO₂ (T₃) and the gas temperature on the discharge current were studied.     

沿面型介质阻挡放电喷枪的发光特性及气体温度研究

利用氩气作为工作气体,采用正弦电压驱动沿面型等离子体喷枪,在大气压空气环境中产生了均匀的等离子体羽。电学和光学测量结果表明,等离子体羽放电只存在于外加峰值电压的正半周期,并且正半周期的放电脉冲个数随气体流量的增加而增加。通过对正半周期不同位置的发光脉冲信号进行比较,发现等离子体羽均按子弹形式传播,其中每一个发光脉冲均对应一次等离子体子弹传播过程。通过对比放电电流和等离子体羽的发光信号,发现等离子体羽的发光脉冲滞后于放电电流脉冲,且该延迟时间基本服从正态分布。该延迟时间随着外加电压峰值及气体流量的增大而减小。利用光纤测温仪测量了等离子体羽的气体温度,发现气体温度随外加峰值电压的增大而升高,随工作气体流量的增大而降低。通过分析放电过程,对上述现象进行了定性解释。     

Supersonic flow about a body exposed to electric and magnetic fields

The feasibility of using nonmechanical (electrogasdynamic, EGD, and magnetohydrodynamic, MHD) methods to control shock-wave configurations emerging in supersonic flows is investigated. In the EGD method, the flow is heated by a gas discharge; in the MHD one, the flow is influenced by a Lorentz force arising in a gas discharge upon applying a magnetic field. The influence of the gas discharge and MHD interaction on the position of a detached shock wave appearing in a supersonic xenon flow about a semicylindrical body is studied. A discharge is initiated in the immediate vicinity of the leading edge of the body, and the variation of the shock wave position with the intensity of the discharge (discharge current density) is traced when the influence of the EGD action increases and/or an external magnetic field is applied (the influence of the MHD action increases). Preliminary data for a supersonic air flow about a body are presented.     

流动氩气介质阻挡放电特性及振动温度研究

采用双水电极介质阻挡放电装置,在流动氩气中通过改变气隙间距、驱动电源频率和气体流量等研究放电电学特性和振动温度的变化。电学测量结果发现如果固定其他实验条件而只改变某一参数,小气隙间距放电的电流峰值和功率比大气隙间距的高。同样,增大驱动电源频率也能够使放电的电流峰值和功率增加,而增加气体流量使得放电电流峰值和功率减小。最后利用光谱学方法,通过对放电发射光谱中氮分子振动带系的分析,发现振动温度随着放电气隙间距、电源频率和气体流量的变化关系与放电的电流峰值和功率的变化关系基本一致。这些结果对流动气体中大气压介质阻挡放电的应用具有重要意义。     

Interaction of a surface glow discharge with a gas flow

A surface glow discharge in a gas flow is of particular interest as a possible tool for controlling the flow past hypersonic aircrafts. Using a hydrodynamic model of glow discharge, two-dimensional calculations for a kilovolt surface discharge in nitrogen at a pressure of 0.5 Torr are carried out in a stationary gas, as well as in a flow with a velocity of 1000 m/s. The discharge structure and plasma parameters are investigated near a charged electrode. It is shown that the electron energy in a cathode layer reaches 250–300 eV. Discharge is sustained by secondary electron emission. The influence of a high-speed gas flow on the discharge is considered. It is shown that the cathode layer configuration is flow-resistant. The distributions of the electric field and electron energy, as well as the ionization rate profile in the cathode layer, do not change qualitatively under the action of the flow. The basic effect of the flow’s influence is a sharp decrease in the region of the quasineutral plasma surrounding the cathode layer due to fast convective transport of ions.     

空心针-板电极大气压氩气辉光放电的特性研究

大气压均匀放电等离子体在工业领域具有非常广泛的应用前景,它是利用直流电源激励的空心针-板放电装置,以氩气为工作气体在大气压空气中产生均匀稳定的放电。对氩气流量和气隙间距对辉光放电发光特性的关系进行了研究,结果表明放电所产生的等离子体柱连接两个电极,发光较为均匀(观察不到放电丝)。在板电极附近放电等离子体柱直径最大,最大直径随着电流和气流的增大而增大。放电伏安特性研究发现,与低气压辉光放电相类似,两电极间的电压随着电流的增大而减小,并且随气流和气隙间距的增大而增大。对该大气压直流均匀放电在扫描范围为330～450 nm的光学发射光谱进行分析,获得了放电等离子体的分子振动温度和谱线强度比I_391.4/I_337.1随氩气流量和气隙间距的变化关系。I_391.4/I_337.1均随流量和气隙间距的增大而降低。对等离子体柱的I_391.4/I_337.1沿气流方向(等离子体柱轴向)进行了空间分辨测量,并进行了定性分析,结果表明,振动温度及电子平均能量随着远离空心针口距离的增大而增大。这些结果对大气压辉光放电在工业中的应用具有重要意义。     

Dynamics of Ring-to-Volume Discharge Transition in H Mode in Inductively Coupled Plasma Torches at Atmospheric Pressure

The transition process in ring-to-volume discharge in H mode in inductively coupled plasma torches at atmospheric pressure is investigated by analyzing the time resolved image taken by a high speed camera. The effects of input power, plasma working gas flow rate, and its composition on the transition dynamics are also discussed.The results show that the discharge plasma has experienced ring discharge, and the development stage diffused from the boundary to the center in the confinement tube, and steady volume discharge after entering the H mode. Increasing input power, sheath gas flow rate and hydrogen contents in plasma working gas are all able to lessen the time consumed in the transition process in ring-to-volume discharge.     

离子推力器放电腔数值模拟

 为更好地理解放电腔内等离子体物理机制,对Kaufman型离子推力器放电腔进行了数值研究,其中初始电子采用粒子模拟的方法处理,二次电子和离子采用漂移-扩散流体近似描述。模拟结果与已有实验测量数据进行对比表明：所采用计算方法适用于放电腔内等离子体流动规律的数值研究;模拟得到的稳态下等离子体分布及变化规律与实验测量数据相吻合;磁场的设计对初始电子起到显著的约束作用,有效地提高了其与工质气体的电离碰撞几率;二次电子的精确描述还需在流体方程中耦合磁场效应。     

流动氩气放电系统中条纹斑图形成的实验研究

采用双水电极介质阻挡放电装置, 在大气压下流动氩气中产生了稳定的条纹斑图, 并采用拍照和电学方法对其产生机理进行了研究. 研究发现, 条纹斑图仅出现在外加电压较低的情况下, 在较高电压下放电会过渡到均匀模式. 低电压下的条纹斑图是由于放电丝沿着气流方向定向移动形成的, 该定向移动速度几乎与电压无关, 主要由气体流量决定. 分析发现放电空间中活性粒子的记忆效应对条纹斑图的形成起决定作用. 电学测量发现放电电流和放电的气隙起始电压都随着气流的增加而减小, 本文对这一现象进行了定性解释. 本文结果对斑图动力学研究和介质阻挡放电的工业应用都具有很重要的意义.     

Glow Discharge Characteristics of Hollow Needle-Plate Electrode in Atmospheric Pressure ArgonSCIEI北大核心CSCD

Atmosphere pressure uniform plasma has the broad application prospect in the industrial field. Using hollow needle cathode - plate anode device excited by direct-current voltage, a uniform and stable glow discharge is generated at atmospheric pressure in ambient air with argon used as working gas. The influence of the experimental parameters (including gas flow rate and the gas gap width) on discharge has been investigated by optical method. It can be found that a glow-discharge plasma column can bridge the two electrodes. The plasma column is uniform, and no filaments can be discerned. Near the plate electrode, the diameter of the plasma column is largest of all positions. The maximal diameter of the plasma column increases with increasing the discharge current or the gas flow rate. Through electrical method, the voltage-current characteristic has been investigated. It has been found that the discharge voltage decreases with increasing the current which is similar with the characteristic of glow discharge in low pressure. It increases with increasing the gas gap width or the gas flow rate. By analyzing the optical emission spectrum scanning from 330 to 450 nm emitted from the direct-current glow discharge, the molecular vibrational temperature and the intensity ratio of spectral lines I-391.4/I-337.1 have been investigated as functions of the gas flow rate and gas gap width. Results indicate that both the vibrational temperature and the intensity ratio of spectral lines I-391.4/I-337.1 decrease with increasing the gas flow rate or the gas gap width. In addition, the molecular vibrational temperature and the intensity ratio of spectral lines I-391.4/I-337.1 have been investigated in spatial resolution along the direction of gas flow(plasma column axial), and give a qualitative analysis as well. It is found that the vibrational temperature and the average electron energy increase with increasing the distance from the hollow needle cathode. These results are important to the industrial applications of glow discharge.     

气流对氮气介质阻挡放电气体温度及放电模式的影响

利用光谱测量和高速照相的方法,对大气压氮气介质阻挡放电进行了研究.在气流的帮助下,2mm气隙中的均匀放电可以长时间得以维持.根据放电电流波形和1μs曝光时间的放电图像,这种均匀放电被判定为汤森放电.用氦氖激光器对实验中所用的光谱仪带来的谱线轮廓展宽进行了标定,并将得到的仪器展宽数据输入Specair软件,计算了不同气体温度下氮分子二正系0—2谱带的谱线轮廓.通过用计算谱线轮廓去拟合实验谱线轮廓,确定了氮分子的转动温度并将其近似为气体温度.结果表明:大气压氮气介质阻挡汤森放电并不能使气体温度大幅上升(ΔTg≤50K),气体温度的小幅上升不会引起热不稳定性而导致放电发展成为细丝放电.气流确实可以降低放电气体温度,但这不是使汤森放电得以维持的原因.通过比较加入气流前后的放电光谱可知,气流降低了气隙中杂质氧的含量,使得更多的氮分子亚稳态N2(A3Σu+)的寿命延长到下一次放电的起始时刻,为汤森放电提供了必需的大量种子电子.     

Computational fluid dynamic modeling of gas flow characteristics of the high-power CW CO2 laser

To increase the photoelectronic conversion efficiency of the single discharge tube and to meet the requirements of the laser cutting system,optimization of the discharge tube structure and gas flow field is necessary.We present a computational fluid dynamic model to predict the gas flow characteristics of high-power fast-axial flow CO 2 laser.A set of differential equations is used to describe the operation of the laser.Gas flow characteristics,are calculated.The effects of gas velocity and turbulence intensity on discharge stability are studied.Computational results are compared with experimental values,and a good agreement is observed.The method presented and the results obtained can make the design process more efficient.     

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设计建立了同轴圆柱介质阻挡放电线状射流装置,并利用其实现了宽度为50mm的大尺度线状射流,并对射流长度随放电参数的变化进行了研究.研究发现,随气压、流量的增加,射流长度呈先增加后达到饱和;随激励电压的增加,射流长度增加.对氮气射流等离子体进行发射光谱诊断,表明氮气等离子体中主要是氮分子和少量氮原子,并利用光谱拟合得出射流的温度范围为290～350K.     

二极管激光吸收光谱法对低气压介质阻挡放电等离子体中氩的亚稳态的诊断

利用可调谐二极管激光吸收光谱技术对低气压氩气介质阻挡放电等离子体进行诊断,重点考察了Ar亚稳态1s₅和1s₃的数密度和气体温度随放电电压,气压,流量,极板间距,以及随N₂配比的变化情况。实验基于朗伯-比尔(Lambert-Beer)定律,通过计算吸收谱线的吸收峰面积求取Ar亚稳态的数密度,同时对谱线进行Voigt拟合得到多普勒展宽,进而求出气体温度。Ar亚稳态主要由电子碰撞产生,但同时电子也会碰撞亚稳态发生猝灭作用,从而使数密度减少;气体温度则与等离子体的实际功率、电子的状态以及粒子之间的碰撞有关。实验结果表明在本实验条件范围内,Ar亚稳态数密度和气体温度随放电电压和流量的增大都先增大,之后逐渐趋于平缓,但两者随流量的变化幅度都较之随放电电压的小,增长较缓慢。随气压的升高,Ar亚稳态数密度和气体温度先增加并达到一个极大值,而之后逐渐降低。实验数据表明,气压对谱线展宽有较明显的影响作用。适当增大极板间距,Ar亚稳态数密度明显降低,但气体温度却有所升高。N₂的加入对亚稳态有很强的猝灭作用,0.5%的N₂就会使数密度下降50%,但随着N₂浓度的进一步增大,其数密度不再明显降低。     

Effect of electrode configuration on plasma spatial distribution and gas temperature in multi-arc plasma generator with three pairs of electrodes

In this paper, a novel nonthermal multi-arc plasma generator with three pairs of electrodes is presented to obtain large-volume plasma. The discharge behaviour of multi-arc is investigated through high-speed photography. Statistical process of the photographic images of arc discharge is used for analysis of the effect of electrode configuration on arc spatial distribution and fluctuation of plasma flow. Besides, the gas temperature is diagnosed by diatomic molecular OH fitting method. Results show that the electrode configuration has vital effect on the spatial distribution of plasma in discharge area. A relatively stable region with high luminance is obtained in the centre of the discharge area by adjusting the electrode arrangements, in which the plasma gas temperature in swirl flow field is higher than that in straight flow field in multi-arc generator. Furthermore, the fluctuation of plasma flow weakens in multi-arc generator with electrode configurations capable of producing swirl flow field.     

Mechanisms controlling the transition from glow silent discharge tostreamer discharge in nitrogen

Low-energy dielectric-barrier controlled discharges in nitrogen are studied by undertaking electrical measurements to determine mechanisms controlling the transition from glow to streamer-like discharge. The highest and the lowest values of the frequency and the amplitude of power supply voltage leading to a glow discharge have been found dependent on the gas flow and the nature of the surface in contact with the discharge. These boundary values have been related to the criteria necessary for initiating a Townsend breakdown rather than a streamer breakdown commonly observed under such conditions. This implies: (1) that the seed electron density just before the breakdown is high enough to allow the development of numerous small avalanches under a low field avoiding the formation of only one large avalanche mechanism at the origin of the streamer formation; and (2) to let the time for ions issued from the first avalanches to reach the cathode before the electrical field becomes large enough to induce the formation of large avalanches. Practically, the transition from a Townsend breakdown to a streamer breakdown is analyzed from electrical measurements data coupled to the visual aspect of the discharge. Without any gas flow, the obtaining of an atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) is mainly limited by the species etched from the surface in contact with the gas. Indeed, these species can be quenchers of the nitrogen metastable molecules, which are the species at the origin of the formation of seed electrons via the Penning effect. This limitation can be overcome by the use of a laminar gas flow. However, this type of gas flow through the discharge induces a depletion of N₂ metastables and, consequently, influences the electron density at the entrance of the discharge, leading to a tendency on this part of the discharge to transit to a streamer-like one     

Effect of the gas dynamic structure of a flow on the parameters of a self-sustained discharge. I

A study is made of self-sustained glow discharges in transverse gas flows and jets. The distributions of the discharge current and voltage over the elements of a sectioned cathode array are measured along with the temperature of the cathode array. The limiting current and discharge voltage corresponding to the transition from a uniformly burning discharge to a contracted state are measured. Two-dimensional and one-dimensional systems of equations for the gas dynamics and vibrational kinetics are used for a numerical analysis of the experimental data, and the results are used to determine the character of the distribution of E/N in the discharge, where E is the electric field and N is the molecular density. The heat balance of the cathode array is calculated. A model is proposed for self-consistently calculating the parameters of the gas flow, the distribution of the current over the cathode array, and the discharge voltage, as well as the values of the ballast resistances. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 42–48 (November 1999)     

Operational characteristics and power scaling of a transverse flow transversely excited CW CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser

Transverse flow transversely excited (TFTE) CO₂ lasers are easily scalable to multikilowatt level. The laser power can be scaled up by increasing the volumetric gas flow and discharge volume. It was observed in a TFTE CW CO₂ laser having single row of pins as an anode and tubular cathode that the laser power was not increasing when the discharge volume and the gas volumetric flow were increased by increasing the electrode separation keeping the gas flow velocity constant. The discharge voltage too remained almost constant with the change of electrode separation at the same gas flow velocity. This necessitated revision of the scaling laws for designing this type of high power CO₂ laser. Experimental results of laser performance for different electrode separations are discussed and the modifications in the scaling laws are presented.