A study of 1.74 MHz atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge for non-conventional treatments

The paper presents a study on the atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma, generated with Teflon covered electrodes in flowing helium at a driving frequency of 1.74 MHz. Besides generation techniques and running principle, an operating stability diagram is presented for the discharge. By means of optical emission techniques, characteristic temperatures were determined and the reactive species were identified. The applicability of generated discharge was tested by surface functionalization and bacterial inactivation. It was found that even for short treatment times the plasma is efficient for surface treatment and it can inactivate Escherichia coli with a D-time of 10 s.     

Generation and investigation of a parallel-plate DBD driven at 1.6 MHz with flowing helium

The development of a new driven circuit that can drive a parallel-plate dielectric barrier discharge with flowing helium at atmospheric pressure is presented. The operating principle is based on the capability of a Tesla coil to generate high voltages with high oscillating frequencies. The discharge is generated inside a one open end parallelepipedic plasma chamber made of glass, using two outside parallel-plate electrodes. Depending on the helium flow-rate the plasma has three developing stages. In the homogeneous developing stage (1 l/min helium flow-rate) the plasma is characterized by using an electric model and based on its emission spectrum.     

大气压介质阻挡辉光放电中放电电流的测量与分析

介质阻挡放电产生的低温等离子体具有广泛的应用前景而成为研究热点。文章利用平行平板介质阻挡放电装置,在流动的氦气中实现了大气压均匀辉光放电,得到了大气压下的均匀等离子体。利用电学方法将放电电流从总电流中分离出来,从而得到了辉光放电的放电电流。通过分析放电电流、外加电压、气隙上电压以及壁电荷电量之间的相互关系,可以研究气体放电过程中壁电荷积累的微观动力学行为。实验结果表明壁电荷主要是在放电电流脉冲持续期间积累的,但电流脉冲结束后,由于气隙电压没有改变极性,壁电荷还会逐渐积累,气隙电压改变极性后,壁电荷量随时间减小。这些结果对壁电荷在介质阻挡辉光放电中作用的深入研究和大气压介质阻挡辉光放电的工业应用具有重要意义。     

大气压介质阻挡放电的光谱研究

使用水电极介质阻挡放电装置,分别在大气压空气和氦气中实现了稳定的高气压放电。通过水电极观察两种气体的放电,发现大气压空气中放电为空间随机分布的微放电丝,等离子体是不均匀的,而在氦气中放电没有微放电丝,空间分布比较均匀。比较而言,这种均匀放电产生的等离子体具有更广泛的工业应用前景。对两种气体中放电的电流波形进行了比较,发现空气中放电的电流脉冲在时间上是随机出现的而氦气中放电的电流脉冲在时间上具有周期性,并且空气中放电脉冲宽度约为几十ns而氦气中放电的电流持续时间较长,脉冲宽度大约为1μs。文章还对两种气体中介质阻挡放电发射光谱进行了研究,结果表明大气压氦气中均匀放电的N+₂(B2Σ+_u→X2Σ+_g)谱线391.4nm很强而在大气压空气放电中此光谱线很弱。这些研究结果对高气压条件下均匀放电的实现和大气压辉光放电的工业应用具有重要意义。     

氦-氧等离子体针灭活肺癌A549细胞

研究了介质阻挡放电等离子体针对肺癌A549细胞的灭活机制, 探讨从不锈钢管注入到氦等离子体尾流区域的氧气含量对杀灭肺癌细胞A549的影响. 利用中性红吸收测试法定性观察了等离子体处理后死亡的细胞和活着的细胞的形态区别, 并且定量测定了不同条件下的细胞存活率. 在固定功率24 W的处理过程中, 氦-氧等离子体的灭活效率主要取决于等离子体曝光时间以及氦气中添加氧气的百分含量. 实验结果显示最好的处理参数为: 处理时间150 s, 800 mL/min的氦气添加3%氧气, 保持针距样品的距离为3 mm. 根据氦-氧等离子体发射光谱, 可以推断在细胞灭活过程中, 氦-氧等离子体中的活性粒子(如羟基和氧自由基)起主要作用.     

Influence of wire mesh electrodes on the volume and surface characteristics of dielectric barrier discharge of atmospheric pressure helium

The dielectric barrier discharge of helium in a 6 mm gap at atmospheric pressure was studied. In this paper, the influence of electric field distribution on the uniformity of DBD is analyzed theoretically and verified by experiments. The experimental results show that the mesh electrode produces a local enhancement effect by affecting the electric field and then produces corona discharge, which provides seed electrons for the subsequent discharge process. The effects of mesh diameter and size on discharge uniformity and stability are analyzed, the electrode structure parameters are optimized, the method of a segmented electrode is proposed, and the discharge process and charge distribution are studied. The electrical diagnosis results of plasma technology show that the segmented mesh electrode reduces the breakdown voltage of DBD and increases the charge deposition.     

Spatial Uniformity of Atmospheric Pressure Discharges: A Simulation Study

Spatial uniformity is important in most applications of dielectric barrier discharges operating at atmospheric pressure. However, such uniformity is not easily achieved. Under many conditions, a filamentary structure usually develops. In this paper, we employ a two‐dimensional self‐consistent fluid model to explore the influence of several factors on the evolution of spatial structure of dielectric barrier discharges. In particular, we contrast the behavior of discharges in pure helium and He‐N₂ gas mixture, which represent the reduction in breakdown voltage of gas during the evolvement of uniform glow discharge plasma. The transformation from filamentary to uniform mode of discharge plasma is analyzed by the phenomenon of coalescence of filaments and we investigate the effect of several external discharge parameters, such as driving frequency and effect of overvoltage, and the dielectric constant of the barrier material for the uniform and filamentary discharge plasmas. This simulation study is useful to describe the spatio‐temporal profiles of electron density in different phases of the filamentary, uniform Townsend and glow discharge regimes under various constraints. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Barrier Discharge in Helium at Medium Pressures. Afterglow Spectroscopy

Optics and Spectroscopy - The decaying plasma that is produced by the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in helium across a cylindrical tube at a pressure of helium 1–40 Тorr has been...     

Electrical characterization of dielectric barrier discharge driven by repetitive nanosecond pulses in atmospheric air

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is an important method to produce non-thermal plasma, which has been widely used in many fields. In the paper, a repetitive nanosecond-pulse generator is used for the excitation of DBD. Output positive pulse of the generator has a rise time of about 15 ns and a full width at half maximum of 30–40 ns, and pulse repetition frequency varies from single shot to 2 kHz. The purpose of this paper is to experiment the electrical characteristics of DBD driven by repetitive nanosecond pulses. The variables affecting discharge conditions, including air gap spacing, dielectric thickness, barrier fashion, and applied pulse repetition frequency, are investigated. The relationship between electric field, discharge current, instantaneous discharge power across air gap, and estimated electron density with the length of air gap, dielectric thickness, barrier fashion, and pulse repetition frequency is obtained respectively, and the experimental results are also discussed. In addition, two typical images exhibiting homogeneous and filamentary discharges are given with different experimental conditions.     

一种新型大气压毛细管介质阻挡放电冷等离子体射流技术

介绍一种结构设计简单、操作运行方便的新型毫米量级大气压冷等离子体射流发生技术.这种射流可以在大气压条件下，利用多种工作气体(如Ar,He,N₂)，通过毛细管介质阻挡放电(DBD)的方式实现.使用频率为33kHz，峰值电压为1—12kV的双向脉冲电源，利用Ar,He,N₂等工作气体，在毛细管内形成了稳定的冷等离子体射流.放电区域的光辐射空间分布利用商用CCD摄像机记录，从中研究放电形态和空间分布，观察到了在DBD区域的流动气体放电和在毛细管出口处形成的等离子体射流 关键词： 冷等离子体射流 毛细管介质阻挡放电 射流射程 射流激发温度     

Bactericidal Components in Helium and Air Plasma Jets of a Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Journal of Applied Spectroscopy - The component composition of plasma jets generated by a dielectric barrier discharge in helium and air at atmospheric pressure was studied by emission and...     

Influence of Gap Spacing between Dielectric Barriers in Atmospheric Pressure Discharges

The breakdown activity in helium atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma is strongly modified by introducing small impurities (nitrogen (N₂) and air in ppm), although its precise implications for the behavior of discharge plasma is not evident under several constraints. In this simulation study, we investigate the influence of gap spacing between the dielectric barriers to explore the dynamic modification in the structure of discharge plasma in distinct phases of the discharge current pulse using a two‐dimensional fluid model in He‐air gas mixture. Specifically, the impact of nitrogen and air impurities is contrasted by exploring the spatial distributions of electrons in the breakdown phase under similar operating conditions. The filamentary mode of DBD plasma in He‐N₂ is transformed into uniform glow discharge in He‐air gas mixture by the dominant effect of Penning ionization. Finally, the outcomes of two‐dimensional fluid model are validated by comparing with three‐dimensional fluid model to provide the reliability of numerical simulations. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

10-2～105 Pa气压范围的氦等离子体光谱分析

采用三种实验装置(介质阻挡放电装置、空心阴极放电装置和彭宁放电装置)分别测量了不同压强范围内氦等离子体的发射光谱.通过对氦等离子体发射光谱的分析,已观察到一个共同的特点,就是在三种放电条件下产生的氦等离子体中31P1→21S0的谱线强度总是最强,可以推测亚稳态氦原子的含量相当显著,但不同的装置也有不同的特点,介质阻挡放电装置能够产生准辉光放电,谱线中氦原子的谱线强度很低,而空心阴极放电与彭宁放电装置能够产生稳定均匀的等离子体,且发射足够强的光辐射.我们已对所拍摄的光谱的谱线都进行了辨认,所有结果表明原子发射光谱分析法是研究不同条件下氦等离子体状态的一种十分有效的手段.     

Active plasma grid for on-demand airflow mixing increase

The present paper concerns the electromechanical characterization of an actuator composed of a ceramic plate perforated by 121 holes housing embedded and printed electrodes between which a high voltage is applied. The electrode arrangement is such that the holes where the gas flows are surrounded by surface discharges. Electrical measurements and iCCD images show that the discharge behaves as a typical surface dielectric barrier discharge with streamer and glow regimes during one period of the AC sine voltage. Particle image velocimetry has been used to measure the jet flow produced by the discharge. The plasma discharge is at the origin of a wall jet with mean velocity of about 2.2 m/s, oriented from the active electrode to the grounded one. The capability of this discharge for promoting mixing by reducing the length of the jet core is demonstrated for flow velocities from 20 up to 60 m/s. In all the tested cases, the actuator can improve the mixing downstream of the perforated plate, when periodic perturbations are imposed at the jet column mode (St_D = 0.3).     

Nanoparticle production using atmospheric pressure cold plasma

A new technique is proposed for the production and coating of nanoparticles, based on the dissociation of a volatile precursor in an atmospheric pressure, non-equilibrium (cold) plasma. The plasma is produced by a dielectric barrier discharge. Using this technique, nanoparticles were successfully produced from acetylene, ferrocene and hexamethyldisiloxane, using argon and helium as carrier gasses. Carbon nanoparticles were formed from acetylene when argon was used as a carrier gas, while in helium no particles were observed. The difference between the gasses is most likely due to the plasma structure. The argon plasma is filamentary, whereas in helium a homogeneous glow is observed. Using ferrocene, iron particles were produced, which rapidly oxidized to form iron oxide when exposed to ambient air. Preliminary experiments on particle coating suggest that coating by a silicon-based compound is possible.     

Characterization of the single nanosecond pulsed surface dielectric barrier plasma actuator: Geometric and electric effects

The influence of the electrode length and the voltage pulses on the discharge characteristics of the surface dielectric barrier discharge actuators were investigated numerically by using the plasma kinetic model. The governing equations including the coupled continuity plasma discharge equation, drift-diffusion equation, electron energy equation, Poisson's equation, and Navier–Stokes equation were solved in quiescent air at atmospheric pressure. The results show that the shorter pulse rising time results in higher discharge characteristics, more intense discharge, and bigger discharge region. Differently, the compared discharge characteristics for the electrodes with different lengths prove that the length of the powered and ground electrodes has little effect on the surface dielectric barrier discharge driven by nanosecond pulsed voltage.     

Characteristics of parallel-plate and planar-surface dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure

Experiments are performed to investigate and compare the characteristics of stable parallel-plate and planar-surface dielectric barrier discharge in helium gas at atmospheric pressure. The evolution of applied electric field profile and the discharge initiation processes are found quite different for both electrode geometries. Further discharge voltage, discharge current, power densities etc. are compared. The differences of basic plasma properties are presented for both the electrode configurations.     

从大气压到超低气压范围的氦等离子体发射光谱的基本特性

采用三种实验装置(介质阻挡放电装置、空心阴极放电装置和彭宁放电装置)分别测量了不同压强范围内氦等离子体的发射光谱。通过对氦等离子体发射光谱的分析,已观察到一个共同的特点,就是在三种放电条件下产生的氦等离子体中31P1→21S0的谱线强度总是最强,可以推测亚稳态氦原子的含量相当显著,但不同的装置也有不同的特点,介质阻挡放电装置能够产生准辉光放电,谱线中氦原子的谱线强度很低,而空心阴极放电与彭宁放电装置能够产生稳定均匀的等离子体,且发射足够强的光辐射。我们已对所拍摄的光谱的谱线都进行了辨认,所有结果表明原子发射光谱分析法是研究不同条件下氦等离子体状态的一种十分有效的手段。     

Effects and mechanisms of cold atmospheric plasma on skin wound healing of rats

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been reported as a novel potential way to promote skin wound healing. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of an atmospheric‐pressure plasma generated in helium gas through dielectric barrier discharge on skin wound healing in rats and its mechanism. A total of 44 adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into the CAP group and the control group after a full‐thickness skin wound model was established. The animals in the CAP group received CAP treatment (driving frequency 17 kHz, root‐mean‐square [rms] values of the discharge voltage 1.33 kV, rms values of the discharge current 10.7 mA, helium flow rate 11 slpm [standard litres per minute]) for 1 min. After that, the size of the healed area of the wound, morphological changes in the wound, wound neovascularization, collagen deposition, and the level of inflammatory factors were recorded. The results showed that compared to that of the control group, the size of the wound area in the CAP group significantly decreased, the contraction and re‐epithelialization of the wounds were obviously speeded up, and the protein level of smooth muscle actin markedly increased. However, the levels of collagen type I A2, collagen type III, and the deposition of collagen bundles did not change. In addition, it was found that the level of inflammatory factors (such as tumour necrosis factor and interleukin‐1β) significantly increased at 24 hr after the creation of the wound. These results suggest that CAP treatment in this condition could promote skin wound healing by accelerating the contraction, re‐epithelialization, neovascularization, and inflammatory response.     

Triboelectrification of granular insulating materials as affected by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) treatment

The aim of this paper is to point out the influence of dielectric barrier discharge treatment on tribocharging of granular insulating materials. Particles of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Polypropylene (PP) were subjected to an AC dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment in ambient airprior to tribocharging in a vibratory device. The charge to mass ratio was measured for treated and untreated materials. Electrostatic separation of a mixture of granular materials (PVC and PP) to measure the effectiveness of DBD treatment was evaluated by processing treated and untreated PVC/PP granular mixtures in a free-fall electrostatic separator. The obtained results clearly indicate that DBD has the capability to influence surface charging proprieties of polymer granular materials. In case of short treatment time, typically less than 3 s, a marked increase in the charge to mass ratios was observed for both PVC (about 35%) and PP (roughly 45%). In the same way, the quantity of DBD-treated materials, recovered after electrostatic separation, was increased by about 104% and 30% for PVC and PP, respectively, as compared to untreated case. The DBD treatment time is a key factor to increase the tribo electric effect.