Screening of the dust-particle charge in a plasma with an external ionization source

An asymptotic theory of the screening of the dust-particle charge in a plasma with an external ionization source has been developed. It has been shown analytically that the screening of the charge of a dust particle adsorbing the charge of charged plasma particles that fall on it is not generally described by the Debye theory. The screening radius is determined by the relation between the coefficients β_ei and β_L = 4πek _i (k _i is the ion mobility) of the electron-ion and Langevin recombinations, respectively. When β_L ? β _ei , the screening radius is much larger than the electron Debye radius. It has been shown that the contribution of the ion component of an isothermal plasma to screening is equal to the electron contribution if the coefficient of the electron-ion recombination is twice or more larger than the Langevin coefficient of the ion recombination, β_ei ≥ 2β_L.     

不同压力下介质阻挡放电等离子体诱导流场演化的实验研究

采用粒子图像测速技术, 获得了不同环境压力下介质阻挡放电等离子体诱导流场启动涡随时间的演化规律和诱导流场分布的变化规律. 实验表明: 不同环境压力下, 诱导流场都会出现启动涡, 压力较高, 启动涡逐渐向右即向植入电极一侧扩散并最终消失, 扩散速度随时间递减, 压力较小, 诱导漩涡不会随放电时间的增大而消失; 环境压力减小, 等离子体诱导流场的启动时间减小, 诱导流场的法向分量增强、横向分量减弱, 诱导流线形状的变化规律是:L→U→V, L 型流线没有诱导漩涡, U 型流线有两个诱导旋涡, 分别分布在U 型凹槽和右侧, V 型流线有一个诱导漩涡, 分布在V 中间. 关键词： 介质阻挡放电 诱导流场 启动涡 演化     

Wide-aperture high-current electron beam in a discharge with cathode plasma at elevated pressure

This work pursues investigations into the discharge with a cathode plasma in a cavity one wall of which is an insulating plate with a hole D in diameter (the cavity is 0.5 or 1.5 mm wide). This discharge is thoroughly analyzed in comparison with the high-voltage hollow-cathode discharge. Owing to the reduced emission of electrons from the cathode plasma, the discharge becomes more stable against transition to the low-voltage form, as a result of which an electron beam can be generated under higher gas pressures. Such a beam formed at the entrance to the cavity is used as an auxiliary one that propagates over the remaining (flat) surface of the cathode and adds to the gas ionization. Accordingly, the beam current from the main discharge to the anode rises (high-current regime). Wide-aperture (D = 22 mm) ≈1-μs-long pulsed beams with a current an order of magnitude higher than the total current of the equivalent anomalous discharge are obtained. Experiments are carried out at a helium pressure to 20 Torr and a voltage from 1 to 20 kV.     

Relaxation of the electron temperature in an inert-gas afterglow plasma at elevated pressures

The relaxation of the electron temperature T _e in helium and neon afterglow at elevated pressures is studied theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the processes in which fast electrons are produced are accompanied by the heating of thermal electrons. The high-energy part of the electron energy distribution function is studied in the intermediate regime (between the local and nonlocal regimes) of its formation. It is shown that, in this case, the calculated effective energy transferred from the fast electrons to the thermal electrons depends substantially on the wall potential of the discharge tube. Comparison of these calculations with experiments testifies to the reliability of the probe technique for measuring T _e in an afterglow at elevated pressures.     

Self-modulation processes in a low-current rare-gas discharge at low pressures

Experimental investigations were made of self-modulation processes in a striated rare-gas discharge at low pressures and currents. It was found that interrelated self-modulation oscillations of the discharge current and of the voltage across the tube can develop in the discharge circuit. Depending on the resistance in the external circuit, either current or voltage self-modulation occurred. An important factor is that the transition from one form of self-modulation to the other does not produce quantitative changes in the spatial modulation of the time-averaged plasma luminescence on the discharge axis. It is shown that a qualitative interpretation of the observed phenomena can be given in terms of an equivalent striation voltage source in the anode region which exists because of interaction between traveling kinetic ionization waves and the discharge region near the anode, and also in terms of processes of a capacitative nature near the electrodes. State University, St. Petersburg. Ukhtinskii Industrial Institute. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 103–108, January, 1997.     

Low-current helium discharge at low pressures

On the basis of good knowledge of the energy distribution function of electrons corresponding to the conditions of low-current discharge the electrons as well as the excited helium atoms are balanced. A model of helium atom possessing four excitation levels (2³S, 2¹S, 2³P, 2¹P) is assumed. The calculated volt-ampere characteristic is compared with an experiment and the relative densities of excited atoms are given. For these quantities approximate formulae are derived. The laws of similarity, ionization mechanism and energy balance of the electron gas are discussed.The authors gratefully acknowledge many valuable discussions with Dr. L. Pekárek, Mr. E. Vokatý and Mr. K. Rohlena. We wish to express our thanks to Mr. J. Moudrý for his help in the computation.     

Constraints of two-colour TiRe-LII at elevated pressures

The main objective of this work is to investigate the influence of high-pressure conditions on the determination of primary particle size distributions of laser-heated soot particles using pyrometrically determined temperature decays. The method is based on time-resolved laser-induced incandescence measurements carried out at two different wavelengths (two-colour TiRe-LII). The LII signals are transferred into a particle ensemble averaged (effective) temperature using Planck’s thermal radiation formula. Assuming that all particles within the size distribution possess a unique temperature at the end of the laser pulse, the size distribution can be determined by numerically simulating the measured temperature decay. From our investigations, for pressures up to a few bars it is obvious that this strategy can be successfully applied if standard laser pulses of nano-second duration are used as an LII-excitation source. At higher pressures the time scales of heat conduction are decreased to such an extent that a unique temperature for all particles within the ensemble cannot be assumed at the end of the nano-second laser pulse. However, further investigations show that the presented two-colour TiRe-LII technique can be successfully adopted under technical high-pressure conditions as well, if the pulse duration of the TiRe-LII-excitation source is reduced into the pico-second range.     

Study of a positive corona discharge in argon at different pressures

The corona discharge in argon at atmospheric pressure has been studied by means of a 2D model. The reduced characteristic derived from the experimental data has been described by linear regressions for the different pressures and the two studied inter-electrode distances thus confirming the validity of Townsend's approximation also in case of point to plane configuration and argon as process gas. The model validated this hypothesis which has been attributed to the minor influence of space charge in the ionization zone. Its effect is, on the other hand, more significant in the drift zone where the electric field is greatly enhanced, leading, for higher currents, to the formation of a spark gap. Electron and ion distributions allow the influence of structural (electrode configurations and distance) and operative (pressure and discharge current) parameters to be evaluated including the current loss due to diffusion through different confining boundaries.     

Thermoelectric properties of a plasma at megabar pressures

A nonideal hydrogen plasma is theoretically studied for the first time as the working medium of a thermoelectric generator. A method is proposed for the calculation of the electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity of the nonideal plasma in a wide range of densities and temperatures, including the region of strong degeneracy of electrons, which is achieved in experiments on the quasi-isentropic compression of deuterium and where a “plasma phase transition” (transition with a sharp change in the component composition) is possibly implemented. In this method, the kinetic coefficients are calculated together with the equation of states of the nonideal plasma. It is shown for the first time that the Seebeck coefficient in such a medium reaches 5500 μV/(K cm), which is an order of magnitude larger than that in currently available semiconductor materials used in thermoelectric generators. It is found that the figure of merit in hydrogen, which has a high thermal conductivity, at megabar pressures reaches 0.4, which is only slightly below that in currently available semiconductor materials.     

On the charge of dust particles in a low-pressure gas discharge plasma

Self-consistent molecular-dynamics calculations of the charge of micron-size particles in a low-pressure gas-discharge plasma are performed. It is shown that charge exchange of ions on neutrals starts to affect the charge of dust particles at pressures corresponding to ion mean free paths much greater than the Debye radius. The computational results show that the potential of a particle depends nonmonotonically on the pressure and on the particle size.     

Experimental determination of thermal expansivity of several alkali halides at high pressures

Unit-cell volumes of four alkali halides, LiF, NaF, KF and CSCl, were measured to 90 kbar and 800°C using X-ray powder diffraction techniques. NaCl was used as an internal pressure standard. Experimental results were analyzed based on Decker's equation of state for NaCl and thermal expansívities of these four materials were determined as a function of pressure. Volume dependence of thermal expansivity is different for the NaCl and CsCl structures. Comparisons of the present results with theoretical calculations by Birch and Anderson are presented.     

Surface microwave discharge at high air pressures

Microwave discharge on the surface of a quartz antenna at high air pressures is investigated. It is shown that the discharge formation is accompanied by the excitation of shock waves and that the longitudinal velocity of the discharge propagation reaches several kilometers per second. Owing to these circumstances, discharge of this type discharge may find applications in supersonic aerodynamics.     

Ultrasonic velocity of binary systems at elevated pressures

Various empirical theories of ultrasonic velocity have been applied to three binary liquid mixtures, under pressures up to 200 MPa and their validity have been tested. A pressure dependent study of ultrasonic velocities has been made at 303.15 K. The agreement between theory and experiment is found to be quite satisfactory.     

Electric and plasma characteristics of RF discharge plasma actuation under varying pressures

The electric and plasma characteristics of RF discharge plasma actuation under varying pressure have been investigated experimentally. As the pressure increases, the shapes of charge–voltage Lissajous curves vary, and the discharge energy increases. The emission spectra show significant difference as the pressure varies. When the pressure is 1000 Pa,the electron temperature is estimated to be 4.139 e V, the electron density and the vibrational temperature of plasma are peak4.71×10~(11)cm~(-3) and 1.27 e V, respectively. The ratio of spectral lines I391.4/peak I380.5which describes the electron temperature hardly changes when the pressure varies between 5000–30000 Pa, while it increases remarkably with the pressure below 5000 Pa, indicating a transition from filamentary discharge to glow discharge. The characteristics of emission spectrum are obviously influenced by the loading power. With more loading power, both of the illumination and emission spectrum intensity increase at 10000 Pa. The pin–pin electrode RF discharge is arc-like at power higher than 33 W, which results in a macroscopic air temperature increase.     

Experimental and computational investigation of autoignition of jet fuels and surrogates in nonpremixed flows at elevated pressures

Experimental and computational investigations are carried out to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of autoignition of surrogates of jet-fuels at elevated pressures up to 6 bar. The jet-fuels tested are JP-8, Jet-A, and JP-5, and the surrogates tested are the Aachen Surrogate made up of 80 % n-decane and 20 % 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene by mass, Surrogate C made up of 60 % n-dodecane, 20 % methylcyclohexane and 20 % o-xylene by volume, and the 2nd generation Princeton Surrogate made up of 40.4 % n-dodecane, 29.5 % 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, 7.3 % 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene and 22.8 % n-propylbenzene by mole. Using the counterflow configuration, an axisymmetric flow of a gaseous oxidizer stream, made up of a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, is directed over the surface of an evaporating pool of a liquid fuel. The experiments are conducted at a fixed value of mass fraction of oxygen in the oxidizer stream and at a fixed value of the strain rate. The temperature of the oxidizer stream at autoignition, T_ig, is measured as a function of pressure, p. Experimental results show that the critical conditions, of autoignition of the surrogates are close to that of the jet-fuels. Overall the critical conditions of autoignition of Surrogate C agree best with those of the jet-fuels. Computations were performed using skeletal mechanisms constructed from a detailed mechanism. Predictions of the critical conditions of autoignition of the surrogates are found to agree well with measurements. Computations show that low-temperature chemistry plays a significant role in promoting autoignition for all surrogates. The low-temperature chemistry, of the component of the surrogate with the greatest volatility, was found to have the most influence on the critical conditions of autoignition.     

Fluorescence spectroscopy of anisole at elevated temperatures and pressures

Laser-induced fluorescence of anisole as tracer of isooctane at an excitation wavelength of 266 nm was investigated for conditions relevant to rapid compression machine studies and for more general application of internal combustion engines regarding temperature, pressure, and ambient gas composition. An optically accessible high pressure and high temperature chamber was operated by using different ambient gases (Ar, N₂, CO₂, air, and gas mixtures). Fluorescence experiments were investigated at a large range of pressure and temperature (0.2–4 MPa and 473–823 K). Anisole fluorescence quantum yield decreases strongly with temperature for every considered ambient gas, due to efficient radiative mechanisms of intersystem crossing. Concerning the pressure effect, the fluorescence signal decreases with increasing pressure, because increasing the collisional rate leads to more important non-radiative collisional relaxation. The quenching effect is strongly efficient in oxygen, with a fluorescence evolution described by Stern–Volmer relation. The dependence of anisole fluorescence versus thermodynamic parameters suggests the use of this tracer for temperature imaging in specific conditions detailed in this paper. The calibration procedure for temperature measurements is established for the single-excitation wavelength and two-color detection technique.