Theoretical investigation of ozone production in negative corona discharge

The purpose of this work is to highlight the chemical kinetics in plasma of pure oxygen. A comprehensive model of ozone generation in wire-to-cylinder negative corona discharge is presented. The model combines the physical processes in the discharge with the chemistry of ozone formation. It is based on an extensive reaction scheme including the major electronic and ionic processes. The importance of excited atomic and molecular states is demonstrated. The obtained results show clearly that the surface material affect quite well the ozone decomposition.     

DC corona ozone generation enhanced by TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> photocatalyst

Non-thermal electrical discharges, such as corona discharge are apart of the source of ozone, charged, and excited species and acoustic noise also the source of electromagnetic radiation of different wavelengths. The important component of this radiation from the standpoint of photocatalyst activation is the ultraviolet radiation. We studied the role of UV radiation on corona discharge ozone production by placing the titanium dioxide photocatalyst into the discharge region. We used hollow needle to mesh DC corona discharge at atmospheric pressure with TiO₂ globules on the mesh. The discharge was enhanced by the flow of air through the needle. We found that for the needle biased negatively addition of TiO₂ photocatalyst on the mesh electrode drastically increases discharge ozone production as well as the ozone production yield. These quantities are also influenced by the mass of the used photocatalyst and its distribution in the discharge chamber.     

Negative corona discharge from a water droplet under the pulsating DC field

Corona discharge from a fine water droplet always involves deformation of the droplet shape or Taylor-cone formation, emission of fine water jets or disruption of droplet. Therefore, corona discharge from a water droplet always manifests complicated aspects. In addition, disruption of Taylor cone simultaneously affects not only discharge current but also motion of water droplet. To confirm corona discharge phenomena from a water droplet protruded from a tip of a metal capillary tube with a diameter of 1 mm, negative corona discharge was investigated by using a water droplet located at a tip of grounded rod electrode facing a ring electrode with positive dc voltage superimposed by ac one. Since the droplet has inherent resonant vibrating frequency defined by the size or volume, the volume of water droplet was adjusted at 20 nL where the corresponding resonant frequency was 500 Hz. The period of the event of successive corona discharge is exactly consistent with resonant frequency defined by the size of the water droplet. As a result, corona pulse trains with a definite duration appeared intermittently corresponding to its resonant vibration. When dc voltage superimposed by ac voltage with resonant frequency of 500 Hz was applied to the water droplet, corona pulse trains appeared at the period corresponding to the frequency. The maximum value of corona current reasonably increased with the applied voltage. Even when the frequency of ac field superimposed on dc field was varied from the resonant frequency, corona pulse trains occur corresponding to not only the superimposed field frequency but also resonant frequency.     

The effect of the magnetic field on the positive corona discharge

Experimental results concerning the influence of the homogeneous magnetic field on the positive corona discharge between coaxial cylinders are presented. The change of the corona current due to axial magnetic field 0·6 T was observable at pressures below 4000 Pa in dry air. The influence on the initial and spark voltages has been investigated as well.     

Visualization of the local ionic wind profile in a DC corona discharge field by laser-induced phosphorescence emission

Experimental visualization for ionic wind motion originated from DC corona discharges in a needle-plate electrode system has been investigated. A vapor-phase biacetyl tracer with laser-induced phosphorescence emission is used for optically characterizing the ionic wind profile. The ionic wind blows the excited biacetyl molecules away in continuing the visible phosphorescence emission for a long radiative lifetime. The captured image with elapsing time from the excitation presents the shifting location of radiative tracer along the ionic wind direction. The experimental results show the ionic wind profile enhanced in the electric field direction corresponding to the corona discharge progress. Especially, the ionic wind near an initiating point of corona discharges is focused as an advantage of this optical technique. The ionic wind velocity along the electrode axis can be obtained at the location close enough to the corona discharge initiation point, and the velocity at 0.5 mm from the discharge point is figured out as 9.3 to 19.2 m/s under the condition of the EHD Reynolds number of 0.95×10³ to 2.1×10³.     

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas transfer process enhanced by corona discharge

The sulfur dioxide (SO₂) gas transfer process in a corona discharge field has been studied. The experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of voltage, length, and height of the discharge area on the electric transfer of SO₂ as well as on the desulphurization efficiency. Experimental results show that corona discharge can facilitate the SO₂ gas transfer process. The rate and efficiency of desulphurization increase with increasing voltage, length of discharge area, and input power. The addition of a uniform electric field to the corona-discharge field improves the electronic transfer of SO₂. Measured desulphurization efficiency was as high as 95%, and the augmentation of desulphurization efficiency due to corona discharge was nearly 50% under the conditions tested.     

Polarity reversal charging of polypropylene films under DC corona discharge

In this paper, a needle–plane electrode system and polypropylene (PP) films were used to study the DC corona charging of polymers. It was found that the charges injected into the PP films sometimes show different polarity to the applied DC voltage, called polarity reversal charging, which may results in invalidation charging. The pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) space charge measurement showed that charges of different polarities have been injected into the PP films’ bulk, simultaneously. From these results, a mechanism of two charging processes of high-field injection and return-stroke injection has been introduced here. We presumed that the return-stroke injection can be boosted with the increase of corona voltages and thus reduces the net charge as well as even change the polarity of charges injected.     

Effective corona discharge and ozone generation from a wire-plate discharge system with a slit dielectric barrier

A new wire-plate-type discharge system, with a slit dielectric barrier, has been proposed and investigated by focusing on the generation of ozone and the discharges on the slit barrier. This wire-plate-type discharge system, with a slit barrier, can generate a corona discharge twice, once from the corona wire electrode and again from the surface and the slits of the slit barrier. As a result, this proposed wire-plate-type discharge system, with the slit barrier, can produce much more ozone than without the slit barrier. The discharge mechanism of the wire-plate-type discharge system, with the slit barrier, would be hard to arc discharge and to break the system down directly because of the blocking action of the slit dielectric barrier. This proposed wire-plate-type discharge system, with the slit barrier, may be useful as an effective means for removing pollutant gases.     

A DC corona discharge on a flat plate to induce air movement

This paper describes a DC surface corona discharge designed to modify the airflow around a flat plate. The electrode configuration consisted of two thin copper layers placed on each side of the plate's attack edge. Discharge optical measurements with a photomultiplier tube indicated that the light emitted by the plasma is pulsating at a frequency that increases with applied voltage. Moreover, with voltage higher than a threshold value, the electric discharge changes regime with brighter pulses. This discharge also induced an “ionic wind” whose velocity was measured with a pressure sensing probe (up to 1 m/s). Experiments with the particle image velocimetry system in a subsonic wind tunnel showed that this discharge can reduce the separated airflow on the flat plate for a flow of 14 m/s (Reynolds number of 187,000).     

棒-板电极直流负电晕放电特里切尔脉冲的微观过程分析

本文基于流体动力学理论改进出一种新的棒-板电极负电晕放电混合数值模型, 模型中加入了27种主要碰撞反应, 并考虑了光电离和二次电子发射过程. 对棒-板间距3.3 mm, 施加电压-5.0 kV情况下进行数值计算, 得到负电晕放电的特里切尔脉冲. 重点分析了单个特里切尔脉冲持续过程中5个关键时刻的微观特征量发展规律, 丰富并量化描述了特里切尔脉冲的微观过程, 主要结论如下: 随着放电时间的发展, 电场集中分布区域向阳极移动且幅值变小, 这对电子崩的发展非常不利. 大部分放电区域都是电中性的, 只有在阴极鞘和阳极鞘附近有带正电的等离子体特性, 带负电的离子云随着放电时间的发展缓慢向阳极发散式移动. 整个特里切尔脉冲持续过程中, 阴极鞘内电子密度几乎为0; 特里切尔脉冲前期, 阴极鞘附近电子密度迅速增加至最大值并保持基本不变; 随着放电时间的增加, 放电间隙内电子密度整体增加, 并且向阳极发展. 在特里切尔脉冲后期, 电子的产生主要来自于N₂和O₂的碰撞电离, 电子的消失则主要由N₂⁺的复合决定, O₄⁺和O₂^-分别是数量最多的正离子和负离子. 关键词： 负电晕 混合模型 特里切尔脉冲 微观特征量     

Characterization of brush type discharge electrodes and impact of enhanced corona discharge on operation of electrostatic precipitators

This project presents the results of investigation of current/voltage characteristics of brush type discharge electrodes (BTDE) in tube type electrostatic precipitators and the effect on operation. Experimental investigations were conducted with discharge electrodes of different wire diameter and different brush diameter. The effect of electrode geometry on current/voltage behavior was recorded. Corona current with brush type discharge electrodes was modeled and compared with experimental data. Brush type discharge electrodes produce an enhanced corona current compared with wire type discharge electrodes. Limited enhanced corona has improving effect on collection efficiency. An adjusted correlation was therefore deduced from experimentally obtained current/voltage data with BTDE.     

Planar atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge for ozone production

Planar dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) has been designed for ozone synthesis using oxygen as working gas. Applied voltage, gas flow rate and gap space between electrodes have been found to be an important parameters affecting ozone concentration. Electrical characterization of the discharge cell including onset voltage, consumed power, and current voltage wave form have been studied. A maximum ozone concentration of 29 g/m³ and maximum efficiency of 14g/kWmin have been obtained for the designed system.     

Structure of soot clusters formed in a hydrocarbon flame under the action of the electric field of a DC corona discharge

Electron microscopy was used to study the structure of soot clusters formed is a natural gas diffusion flame in the presence of the electric field of a dc corona discharge. It was demonstrated that the structure of such clusters depends on the electric field strength E and temperature T. As E increases from 0 to 2.3 kV/cm, the specific surface area of soot does so from 90.2 to 347.2 m²/g. The adsorbability of soot with respect to toluene vapor also increases, by a factor of 3. As E and/or T increase, the mean size of soot clusters decreases. The dependence of the mass of soot deposited on the grounded electrode exhibits an extreme character, passing through a maximum at E = 0.8 kV/cm.     

Parameter optimization of excited OH radical in multi-needle to plate negative DC corona discharge

In this paper, the emission spectra of OH radical (A²Σ⁺→X²Π, 0-0) were successfully measured by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) in multi-needle to plate negative DC corona discharge at atmospheric pressure in humid ambient air. The influences of discharge power, distance between needlepoint and plate, and relative humidity on production and productive rate of OH radical have been investigated. The optimized parameters of excited OH radical under present experimental conditions were obtained from the analysis of experimental results.     

磁场引起的潘宁离子源阻抗变化研究

以11 MV回旋加速器潘宁离子源作为研究对象,通过调节磁场强度研究了磁场对工作在弧放电模式下的潘宁离子源的影响规律,深入分析了该放电模式下的放电自持机制、磁场引起的阻抗变化规律、异常发光现象。实验在6 mL/min氢气流量下,保持离子源弧流不变,调节磁场强度,记录磁场强度对弧压的影响。实验结果表明：二次电子发射机制与热电子发射机制在潘宁源自持放电过程中发挥了同样重要的作用;在强磁场情况下离子源阻抗受到磁场变化影响不大,在磁场小于0.15 T时磁场的作用才变得明显;当磁场减弱至等离子体进入阻抗增长区后,存在一段等离子体剧烈放电、光强突然增加的区域。在实验的基础上,得到了设计潘宁源的启发,并分析了磁场对等离子体电导率影响的微观物理机制,这些有助于研制或使用工作在弧放电模式下的潘宁离子源。     

磁场引起的潘宁离子源阻抗变化研究

以11 MV回旋加速器潘宁离子源作为研究对象,通过调节磁场强度研究了磁场对工作在弧放电模式下的潘宁离子源的影响规律,深入分析了该放电模式下的放电自持机制、磁场引起的阻抗变化规律、异常发光现象。实验在6 mL/min氢气流量下,保持离子源弧流不变,调节磁场强度,记录磁场强度对弧压的影响。实验结果表明:二次电子发射机制与热电子发射机制在潘宁源自持放电过程中发挥了同样重要的作用;在强磁场情况下离子源阻抗受到磁场变化影响不大,在磁场小于0.15 T时磁场的作用才变得明显;当磁场减弱至等离子体进入阻抗增长区后,存在一段等离子体剧烈放电、光强突然增加的区域。在实验的基础上,得到了设计潘宁源的启发,并分析了磁场对等离子体电导率影响的微观物理机制,这些有助于研制或使用工作在弧放电模式下的潘宁离子源。     

Magnetoelectric laminate based DC magnetic field sensor

We report on a DC magnetic field sensor that utilizes magnetoelectric (ME) laminate composites. It consists of a ring‐dot piezoelectric transformer laminated to a magnetostrictive disc. When a constant voltage is applied to the ring section of the piezoelectric layer at resonance, a stress is induced in the dot section. Then, if an external magnetic object is introduced in the vicinity of the dot section, the effective elastic stiffness is increased, altering the resonance frequency. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A one-dimensional fluid simulation of a magnetized DC discharge including the non-uniform effects of the magnetic field

A one-dimensional simulation of a magnetized DC discharge is conducted based on the fluid equations that consider the non-uniform effects of the magnetic field. We apply a dielectric relaxation scheme (DRS) as an efficient numerical algorithm that was recently developed for simulation of low-temperature process plasmas. The simulation results, such as the spatial profiles of ion densities, electron densities, electron fluxes, and electric fields, are compared with the simulation results for which the non-uniform effects of the magnetic field are neglected.     

Smoke triggered corona discharge sensor

This paper presents an ionic smoke sensor working without a radioactive ionization source. The presence of smoke particles reduces significantly the effective corona discharge threshold of air by a factor greater than 5. The smoke sensor consists of a wire under an intermediate continuous voltage which generates a current only in presence of smoke. The sensor electric consumption is therefore very low and can operate for a long time. Results of a prototype operating under 600 V with a 25-μm-diameter wire are shown.