Cross-Field Diffusion by Charge Changing Processes

The particle transport induced by ionization, recombination and charge exchange processes in magnetically confined plasmas is analyzed. For ions with charge numbers Z ≧ 2 a random walk is caused by the fluttering of the gyro-radius as a result of successive recombination and ionization events. The corresponding diffusion coefficient, however, is very small and may be neglected even in the case of high-energy alpha particles being produced in fusion plasmas. Single and neutral particles are subjected to joint transport across the magnetic field due to their unimpeded motion during the short atomic phases. It is found that this mechanism is more important than classical transport over a wide temperature and density range. The corresponding diffusion coefficient D₁ = f(Te)Ti/mine is independent of the magnetic field strength and shows an electron temperature dependence which can be expressed in terms of the rate coefficients for ionization, recombination and charge exchange. The latter effect leads to a strong reduction of the diffusion process in hydrogen plasmas. Diffusion coefficients comparable with anomalous values of about 1m²/s are therefore reached only for cool (divertor) plasmas with T < 5eV.     

Kinetic analysis of the ionization ratio effects on a three‐species plasma

In partially ionized plasmas, the energy transferred to electrically charged species by the electromagnetic field can be partly channelized to the population of neutrals, due to interspecies collisional processes. Depending on the relative density of neutrals, these effects may govern the collective plasma dynamics by drastically modifying particle dynamics and energy‐transport processes with respect to the fully ionized plasma‐approximation models. In this work, the influence of the ionization ratio r_i on a partially ionized plasma is analysed by means of a three‐species one‐dimensional kinetic model to compute transient and steady state velocity‐dependent distribution functions. The conservative collision operators accounting for charge–charge and charge–neutral interactions allow studying several plasma scenarios with the same entire number of particles per unit of volume but for an increasing r_i parameter, in the presence of a modulated signal‐like electric field. For a sequence of plasma scenarios of fixed r_i, ranging from typical weakly ionized to highly ionized plasma values r_i ～ 10^?7–10^?4, the mass species flows are examined. These flows behave linearly with respect to r_i up to a value r_i ? 10^?5 from which the quasi‐linear dependence is critically altered. The convection–diffusion equations are solved with the semianalytical Propagator Integral Method, which behaves well to deal with conservative operators, density, and field discontinuities, allowing for the use of collision terms of disparate time and spatial characteristic scales. The results can be relevant to a wide class of plasma systems and to analyse the ionization ratio effects on transport coefficients.     

真空弧Ti-H等离子体热力学参数的原子发射光谱双温度研究北大核心CSCD

金属氢化物作阴极的真空弧离子源,假设其放电产生双温度的非平衡态Ti-H等离子体,其内部的气体解离过程和粒子电离过程分别由Culdberg-Waage解离方程和Saha电离方程进行描述,结合原子发射光谱以及电荷准中性条件,求出Ti-H等离子体的电子温度Te、重粒子温度Th和粒子数密度之后,可更进一步对等离子体的质量密度、焓、比热容等热力学参数进行描述。在不同的电子数密度下,研究各参数随变量θ(电子温度Te与重粒子温度Th的比值)变化的情况。计算结果显示:电子数密度已知,随θ值升高,除氢气分子数密度外,等离子体温度和单原子粒子数密度的计算结果均变化甚微。高电子数密度时,等离子体中单原子粒子占绝对优势,热力学参数由其控制;低电子数密度下,随θ值的升高,等离子体逐步由单原子粒子占优势转为氢气分子占绝对优势,热力学参数的变化情况表现出相同的规律。     

真空弧Ti-H等离子体热力学参数的原子发射光谱双温度研究

金属氢化物作阴极的真空弧离子源, 假设其放电产生双温度的非平衡态Ti-H等离子体, 其内部的气体解离过程和粒子电离过程分别由Culdberg-Waage解离方程和Saha电离方程进行描述, 结合原子发射光谱以及电荷准中性条件, 求出Ti-H等离子体的电子温度Te、重粒子温度Th和粒子数密度之后, 可更进一步对等离子体的质量密度、焓、比热容等热力学参数进行描述。在不同的电子数密度下, 研究各参数随变量（电子温度Te与重粒子温度Th的比值）变化的情况。计算结果显示：电子数密度已知, 随值升高, 除氢气分子数密度外, 等离子体温度和单原子粒子数密度的计算结果均变化甚微。高电子数密度时, 等离子体中单原子粒子占绝对优势, 热力学参数由其控制;低电子数密度下, 随值的升高, 等离子体逐步由单原子粒子占优势转为氢气分子占绝对优势, 热力学参数的变化情况表现出相同的规律。     

On the State of Ionization,Non-Ideality and Electric Conductivity of the Cathode Plasma of Vacuum Arcs

The cathode spot plasma of a metal vapour are in vacuum has a high density (10²⁵–10²⁸ m³) with a relatively low temperature (1–5 eV), therefore it is strongly non-ideal. The degree of ionization α and the electric conductivity σ of such plasmas are discussed, considering that non-ideality. The burning voltage of the arc U_B is estimated with the help of σ-values, obtained from theories and measurements for non-ideal copper plasmas. It is shown, that a high current density of the cathode spot of j = 10¹² A/m² is not in contradiction to a low burning voltage U_B = 20–30 V, but these values give a consistent picture of the spot processes.     

Density Modulation Experiments on HT-7 Tokamak

Density modulation experiments are successfully conducted on HT-7 ohmic discharge to investigate particle transport coefficients: diffusion coefficients D and convection velocity V. The particle transport is studied at low (1.5×10¹⁹m^-3) and high (3×10¹⁹ m^-3) density regimes. The clear differences are observed that D is 0.42m²/s and 0.17m²/s, V is 4.7m/s (outward) and 1.6 m/s (inward) for low and high density plasmas respectively, where spatially constant D and V(r) = (r/a)V₀ were assumed for the analysis.     

不同电离度下大气等离子体粒子行为的数值模拟

利用一个空间零维大气等离子体模型对其中的主要粒子在不同电离度情况下的变化规律进行了研究.得到放电后不同初始电子密度下的电子寿命,同时给出了主要带电粒子和中性粒子密度随时间的演化.结果表明,电子密度随时间快速衰减,电子寿命随电离度的增大而减小.对一些重要的中性粒子(如O,N,O₃和NO)随电离度增大的行为进行了分析. 关键词： 电离度 大气等离子体 数值模拟     

Power Consideration for Pulsed Discharges in Potassium Seeded Argon

Minimization of energy consumed in plasma generation is critical for applications, in which a large volume of plasmas is needed. We suggest that a high electron density atmospheric pressure plasmas can be generated by pulsed discharges in potassium seeded argon at an elevated temperature with a very small power input. The ionization efficiency and power budget of pulsed discharges in such plasmas are analytically studied. The results show that ionization efficiency of argon, especially at small reduced electric field E/N （the ratio of the electric field to the gas number density）, is improved effectively in the presence of small amount of potassium additives. Power input of pulsed discharge to sustain a prescribed average level of ionization in potassium seeded argon is three orders of magnitude lower than that in pure argon. Further, unlike in pure argon, it is found that very short high-voltage pulses with very high repetition rates are unnecessary in potassium seeded argon. A pulse with lOOns of pulse duration, 5kHz of repetition rate, and 2Td （1 Td = 1 × 10^-21 Vm^2） of E/N is enough to sustain an electron density of 10^19 m^-3 in 1 arm 1500K Ar＋0.1% K mixture, with a very small power input of about 0.08 × 10^4 W/m^3.     

Adaptive particle management in a particle-in-cell code

In particle-based plasma simulation, when dealing with source terms such as ionization, emission from boundaries, etc., the total number of particles can grow, at times, exponentially. Problems involving the spatial expansion of dynamic plasmas can result in statistical under representation of particle distributions in critical regions. Furthermore, when considering code optimization for massively parallel operation, it is useful to maintain a uniform number of particles per cell. Accordingly, we have developed an algorithm for coalescing or fissioning particles on 2D and 3D orthogonal grids that is based on a method of Assous et al. [F. Assous, T. Pougeard Dulimbert, J. Segre, J. Comput. Phys. 187 (2003) 550]. We present the algorithm and describe in detail its application to particle-in-cell simulations of gas ionization/streamer formation and dynamic, expanding plasmas.     

Influence of atom-atom collisions on the collisional-radiative ionization and recombination coefficients of helium plasmas

Coefficients for volume recombination and ionization have been calculated for a dense helium plasma of low degree of ionization. The calculations are based on a collisional-radiative model in which electron-atom, electron-electron-ion, atom-atom, and electron-atom-ion collisions intervene. Molecular species such as He ₂ ^* and He ₂ ⁺ have not been taken into account. The essential results are: At low temperatures and high neutral gas densities the recombination coefficient is proportional to the number density of neutral helium atoms. At high temperatures the presence of neutral particles practically does not influence the recombination process compared to pure ion-electron-electron recombination. At high neutral particle densities, high atom temperatures and low electron densities the ionization process is mainly due to atom-atom collisions. In this point our calculations are in relatively good agreement with recent shock tube measurements of Kalra and Measures (Phys. Fluids14, 2544 (1971)). It is emphasized that the simple two-step model for ionization by shock waves in the noble gases should be replaced by a more general collisional-radiative model in which the atomic level structure intervenes in more detail.     

GMAW电弧等离子体平衡成分计算及其在光谱学中的应用

计算了常压下3 000～25 000 K范围内熔化极气体保护焊(GMAW)保护气体Ar,CO₂,82%Ar-18%CO₂及其与Fe蒸汽的混合物的平衡成分。上述气体被看作一种Ar-CO₂-Fe等离子体,等离子体中的39种粒子被分为5种主元粒子和34种非主元粒子。根据化学方程,非主元粒子由主元粒子表示以减少未知数的个数和求解量,再利用牛顿迭代法对平衡方程进行求解,最终实现了成分求解。计算结果表明,Ar气随着温度升高依次发生一次电离和二次电离,CO₂气体除了在高温时发生原子电离外,在低温时(T<8 000 K)还存在CO₂,O₂,CO等分子的解离,82%Ar-18%CO₂混合气则既有解离又有电离。Fe的加入会增加等离子体的电子密度,特别是在15 000 K以下。等离子体成分的确定为GMAW电弧等离子体辐射属性计算以及电弧中Fe蒸汽浓度的光谱测定奠定了基础。     

Statistical description of ionization potentials in dense plasmas

The Thomas-Fermi model is used to investigate the influence of the density on the energies of ions in high-density plasmas (?10²¹?10²⁶ cm^?3). This model can be used to explain the two dominant high-density effects — continuum lowering and pressure ionization — by simple energy considerations. The result shows that only the outermost electrons are affected and that the inner region of the ion is hardly influenced by the density.     

Relationship between surface structure and morphology of Fe3O4/silica composite nanospheres and nucleic acid extraction

Fe₃O₄/silica composite nanospheres with different surface structure and morphology were synthesized by changing reaction conditions. As-synthesized nanospheres were characterized by high performance particle sizer (HPPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption and thermogravimetry (TGA). Besides thoroughly characterization, the particles were used for DNA extraction. We found that the particle surface structure and morphology affected the nucleic acid extraction efficiency. When comparing different samples with the same silanol density (10¹⁸), the one with a surface area of 60.37 m²/g extracted DNA most effectively. Also, with increasing silanol density per surface area, DNA extraction efficiency increased.     

New method for determining energies of cosmic-ray nuclei

A new procedure for determining the energies of particles of primary cosmic radiation is described. The procedure is based on measuring the spatial density of the flux of secondary particles originating from the first event of nuclear interaction that have traversed a thin-converter layer. The use of the proposed method makes it possible to create equipment of comparatively small mass and high sensitivity. The procedure can be applied in balloon-and satellite-borne cosmic-ray experiments with cosmic nuclei for all types of nuclei over a wide energy range between 10¹¹ and 10¹⁶ eV per particle. Physical foundations of the method, results of a simulation, and the applicability range are described.     

Investigation of potential laser-induced heating effects when using thermographic phosphors for gas-phase thermometry

The spectral emission from thermographic phosphors in free flow and its dependence of laser energy per cross section area (laser fluence [J/cm²]) has been investigated. Temperature measurements in gaseous flows using thermographic phosphors require higher laser energy than measurements performed on surfaces, due to lower particle density. A troublesome systematic error associated with high fluences would be introduced if the excitation laser heats the particles. In the presented work, three different types of the thermographic phosphor BaMg₂Al₁₀O₁₇:Eu (BAM) are investigated. Spectra of the phosphorescence are achieved for a range of laser fluences. The results show no indications of the laser heating the particles, making further development of phosphor thermography in free-flow applications feasible.     

Measurement of quasi-isentropic compressibility of helium and deuterium at pressures of 1500–2000 GPa

The quasi-isentropic compressibility of helium and deuterium plasmas at pressures of up to 1500?C2000 GPa has been measured using devices with spherical geometry and an X-ray diagnostic complex comprising three betatrons and a multichannel imaging system with electro-optic gamma detectors. A deuterium density of 4.5 g/cm³ and a helium density of 3.8 g/cm³ have been obtained at pressures of 2210 and 1580 GPa, respectively. The internal energy of a deuterium plasma at the indicated pressure is about 1 MJ/cm³, which is about 100 times greater than the specific energy of condensed chemical explosives. Analysis of the obtained data shows that the degree of helium ionization under the achieved plasma compression parameters is about 0.9.     

Nonexponential temperature dependence of the rate of threshold inelastic processes in dense media

The influence of the density of the medium on the temperature dependence of the rate constants of inelastic processes is investigated. It is shown that besides the effects like lowering of the ionization potential, which accelerate excitation and ionization processes in a nonideal plasma, there is a stronger mechanism for such acceleration, which is associated with the high frequency of collisions between particles and leads to destruction of the one-to-one relation between the energy and momentum of the particles in a dense medium. It is manifested by the presence of power-law tails in the equilibrium momentum distribution of the particles, which leads to a nonexponential temperature dependence of the rates of inelastic reactions in dense gases and nonideal plasmas. A kinetic equation for the generalized energy and momentum distribution function of electrons in an external electric field, which permits investigation of the effect under consideration under nonequilibrium conditions, is presented. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 1661–1674 (May 1998)     

Optimizing surface-enhanced Raman scattering by template guided assembling of closely spaced silver nanocluster arrays

We present an easy approach to synthesize closely spaced regular arrays of silver nanoclusters, which are self-assembled by depositing gas-phase synthesized metal nanoclusters onto pre-patterned triblock copolymer templates. The array has a high particle density of about 2 ×10³ particles per μm², and an average interparticle space of about 20 nm. The surface plasmon resonance wavelength of the array is tuned due to the interparticle plasmon coupling. High SERS sensitivity for less than one layer trans-1,2-bi-(4-pyridyl) ethylene (BPE) molecule detection, with an enhancement factor of 2.6 ×10⁶, has been demonstrated for a substrate with this array. The enhanced Raman signal was found to be 5 times higher than that measured from the substrate with randomly distributed silver nanoparticles.     

Nanoparticle production by UV irradiation of combustion generated soot particles

Laser ablation of surfaces normally produce high temperature plasmas that are difficult to control. By irradiating small particles in the gas phase, we can better control the size and concentration of the resulting particles when different materials are photofragmented. Here, we irradiate soot with 193 nm light from an ArF excimer laser. Irradiating the original agglomerated particles at fluences ranging from 0.07 to 0.26 J/cm² with repetition rates of 20 and 100 Hz produces a large number of small, unagglomerated particles, and a smaller number of spherical agglomerated particles. Mean particle diameters from 20 to 50 nm are produced from soot originally having a mean electric mobility diameter of 265 nm. We use a non-dimensional parameter, called the photon–atom ratio (PAR), to aid in understanding the photofragmentation process. This parameter is the ratio of the number of photons striking the soot particles to the number of the carbon atoms contained in the soot particles, and is a better metric than the laser fluence for analyzing laser–particle interactions. These results suggest that UV photofragmentation can be effective in controlling particle size and morphology, and can be a useful diagnostic for studying elements of the laser ablation process.     

Plasma–wall transition in the quasi‐neutral region of collisional and stationary plasmas in a magnetic field enclosed by totally absorbing walls

The structure of stationary electron–positive ion plasmas in spatially limited vessels is analysed with special emphasis on the plasma–wall transition using different physical models. Basic investigations are carried out in a two‐fluid model, which is supplemented by ionization and oblique magnetic fields. Collisions between the two particle species were taken into account, as well as the dependence of the collision frequency on the particle density. For the case of non‐vanishing magnetic fields, electrons are not assumed to be in Boltzmann equilibrium. The investigated one‐dimensional domain is limited by totally absorbing walls on each side. Stationary states are considered, in which ionization sources balance the wall losses. To also take into account kinetic effects, simulations in a quasi‐neutral hybrid model are performed. The hybrid model assumes the electrons as a fluid and treats the ions using a particle‐in‐cell (PIC) method. A new way of ensuring the Bohm criterion is used by removing those superparticles impeding the wall. When comparing the results, both models reveal differences, especially when ionization from a resting neutral gas or weakly magnetized plasmas is considered, causing a broadening of the ion distribution or anisotropy effects, respectively.