Analysis of Plasmadynamic Nanosecond-Range Processes in the Formation of Shock Waves from Pulsed Discharges

We have studied the dynamics of the plasma glow of pulsed discharges (sliding surface discharge and combined volume discharge with plasma electrodes) in the nanosecond range (100–12 000 ns) in stationary air and in the flow behind the front of a plane shock wave with Mach numbers 1.7–5.0 in the shock tube channel. The temporal characteristics of the flow, the radiation spectra, and the discharge currents in air are compared in the pressure range 5–150 Torr, a pulsed voltage of 20–30 kV, and a current of about 1 kA. It is shown that the time of current under various conditions does not exceed 400 ns, and the duration of the glow can reach a few microseconds. It is shown that as a result of energy supply near the planar shock wave front, the decay of discontinuities occurs with the formation of shock waves and contact surfaces. The positions of the plasma glow regions are compared with the positions of discontinuity surfaces of numerically calculated gasdynamic parameters in the flow.     

Investigation of the interaction of a shock wave with the zone of a pulsed surface discharge in a rectangular channel

This study concerns the effect of the zone of a plane surface energy deposition on a gas-dynamic flow with a shock wave of M = 2.3–2.7 in a channel with a rectangular cross section. The source of the pulsed energy is a distributed sliding nanosecond discharge that develops in an approximately 1-mm-thick layer on a surface of 100 × 30 mm². The results of a 3D numerical simulation of the problem on the basis of the Navier-Stokes equations for a compressed gas are presented and compared with the experimental shadow images.     

Model of pulsed electric discharge expansion in dense gas taking into account electron and radiative thermal conductivities. II. Energy balance and equation

Using an ionization sensor, it was found that weakly ionized plasma with an ionization degree larger than 10⁻⁶ is formed under exposure to UV radiation of a high-current pulsed electric discharge in gas (air, nitrogen, xenon, and krypton) at atmospheric pressure at a distance of ∼1.2–2.5 cm from the discharge boundary. It was shown that the structure of such discharge includes, in addition to the discharge channel, a dense shell and a shock wave, also a region of weakly ionized and excited gas before the shock wave front. The mechanism of discharge expansion in dense gas is ionization and heating of gas involved in the discharge due to absorption of the UV energy flux from the discharge channel and the flux of the thermal energy transferred from the discharge channel to the discharge shell due to electron thermal conductivity.     

Nanosecond volume gas discharge in a flow with gasdynamic discontinuities

Experimental results concerning the interaction of pulsed volume ionization with the supersonic gas flow in a shock tube are described. The spatiotemporal and spectral characteristics of a nanosecond volume discharge plasma with ultraviolet preionization from plasma electrodes are presented. It is shown that the ionization region can be localized using gasdynamic discontinuities. The coincidence of the glow region with the discharge energy release region is discussed.     

Model of pulsed electric discharge expansion in dense gas taking into account electron and radiative thermal conductivities. I. Expansion mechanism

Using an ionization sensor, it was found that weakly ionized plasma with an ionization degree larger than 10^?6 is formed under exposure to UV radiation of a high-current pulsed electric discharge in gas (air, nitrogen, xenon, and krypton) at atmospheric pressure at a distance of ～1.2–2.5 cm from the discharge boundary. It was shown that the structure of such discharge includes, in addition to the discharge channel, a dense shell and a shock wave, also a region of weakly ionized and excited gas before the shock wave front. The mechanism of discharge expansion in dense gas is ionization and heating of gas involved in the discharge due to absorption of the UV energy flux from the discharge channel and the flux of the thermal energy transferred from the discharge channel to the discharge shell due to electron thermal conductivity.     

Development of gas-dynamic perturbations propagating from a distributed sliding surface discharge

Results are presented from experimental studies of the plasma layer structure of a distributed sliding surface discharge excited in quiescent air and in a uniform gas flow behind a plane shock wave at gas densities of 0.03–0.30 kg/m³. The dynamics of weak shock waves generated after discharge initiation was studied. According to the experimental and simulation results, 40% of the discharge energy transforms into heat within a surface gas layer in the energy input stage, which lasts up to 200 ns.     

Development of nanosecond combined volume discharge with plasma electrodes in an air flow

The space-time characteristics of a nanosecond combined volume discharge with preionization from a plasma sheet with a nanosecond duration in air (～200 ns) are investigated. The integral discharge radiation, radiation spectrum, and discharge current under conditions within the discharge volume, including gas-dynamic flow with a planar shock wave, are analyzed. It is shown that the volume discharge glow is homogeneous in the master phase. The glow in the area of the shock-wave front increases and its duration may be more than 2 μs.     

Machining of transparent materials using an IR and UV nanosecond pulsed laser

Channels are traditionally machined in materials by drilling from the front side into the bulk. The processing rate can be increased by two orders of magnitude for transparent materials by growing the channel from the rear side. The process is demonstrated using nanosecond laser pulses to drill millimeter-sized channels through thick silica windows. Absorbing defects are introduced onto the rear surface to initiate the coupling of energy into the material. Laser drilling then takes place when the fluence exceeds a threshold. The drilling rate increases linearly with fluence above this threshold. While UV light drills about four times faster than IR light, the pulse length (in the nanosecond regime) and the pulse repetition rate (in the 0.1–10 Hz range) do not greatly influence the drilling rate per pulse. Drilling rates in excess of 100 μm per pulse are achieved by taking advantage of the propagation characteristics of the plasma created at the drilling front. The plasma during rear-side drilling generates a laser-supported detonation wave into the bulk material. The geometry also seems to increase the efficiency of the laser-induced plasma combustion and shock wave during the pulse by confining it in front of the channel tip. Received: 1 July 1999 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 20 September 2000     

Pulsed volume discharge with preionization in two-dimensional gasdynamic flow

The interaction between a pulsed volume discharge with preionization by ultraviolet radiation from plasma sheets and a gasdynamic flow with a known density distribution is studied experimentally. The complex quasi-two-dimensional flow that emerges after the diffraction of a plane shock wave by rectangular obstacles in the channel is experimentally studied and numerically simulated. The glow intensity fields for an unsteady gasdynamic flow are imaged for the first time when recording the plasma radiation from a pulsed discharge in the flow. Since the ionization duration is short (150–200 ns), the gas-flow structure does not change and the flow does not heat up in the glow time of the discharge plasma in the flow. Our images are compared with the reciprocal-density fields of the corresponding two-dimensional gas flow. The effects of gasdynamic structures on the discharge plasma redistribution in the flow are analyzed. The energy contribution is localized into low-density zones (vortices, rarefaction waves) and into regions of density jumps and significant density gradients. The discharge current from adjacent regions with low E/N is redistributed into these zones. Breakdown channels are formed along rarefaction waves, vortices, and discontinuity surfaces between high-electron-density regions.     

Interaction of an Optical Discharge with a Shock Wave

The results of an experimental study of the impact of the focused pulsed-periodic radiation from a CO₂ laser on a gas-dynamic structure in a supersonic jet are presented. The radiation of the CO₂ laser is propagated across the stream and focused by a lens on the axis of the supersonic jet. To register the flow structure, a shadow scheme with a slit and a flat knife located along the flow is used. The image is fixed by a speed camera with an exposure time of 1.5 μs and a frame rate of 1000 1/s. In the flow, the plasma initiated by the pulsedperiodic laser is visualized in order to identify and determine the period of plasma development, as well as the motion of the initial front of the shock wave. It is shown that at the transverse input of laser radiation into the stream the periodic structure of the thermal trace is created with the formation of an unsteady shock wave from the energy release zone. At small repetition rates of laser radiation pulses, the thermal spot interacts with the flow in the pulsed mode. It is shown that elliptic nonstationary shock waves are formed only at low subsonic flow velocities and in a stationary atmosphere. The process of nonstationary ignition by an optical discharge of a methane–air mixture during a subsonic outflow into a motionless atmosphere is shown experimentally. The results of optical visualization indicate burning in the trace behind the optical discharge region.     

Shadowgraph investigation of plasma shock wave evolution from Al target under 355-nm laser ablation

The propagation of a plasma shock wave generated from an Al target surface ablated by a nanosecond Nd:YAG laser operating at 355 nm in air is investigated at the different focusing positions of the laser beam by using a time-resolved shadowgraph imaging technique. The results show that in the case of a target surface set at the off-focus position, the condition of the focal point behind or in front of the target surface greatly influences the evolution of an Al plasma shock wave, and an ionization channel forms in the case of the focal point set in front of the target surface. Moreover, it is found that the shadowgraph with the evolution time around 100 ns shows that a protrusion appears at the front tip of the shock wave if the focal point is at the target surface. In addition, the calculated results of the expanding velocity of the shock wave front, the mass density, and pressure just behind the shock wave front are presented based on the shadowgraphs.     

Superspherical cumulation. Converging shock waves with amplitudes increasing faster than in spherical cumulation

Experimental, numerical, and theoretical investigations are made of a gas flow generated by a pulsed high-current discharge in an axisymmetric cavity bounded by a spherical lens adjacent to a flat plate. It is shown that the shock wave forming in the discharge and converging toward the axis is accelerated and amplified as it converges. The amplitude of the shock wave increases faster than does that of a spherical converging shock wave. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 10–18 (March 1999)     

Aerodynamic actuation characteristics of radio-frequency discharge plasma and control of supersonic flow

In this paper, aerodynamic actuation characteristics of radio-frequency(RF) discharge plasma are studied and a method is proposed for shock wave control based on RF discharge. Under the static condition, a RF diffuse glow discharge can be observed; under the supersonic inflow, the plasma is blown downstream but remains continuous and stable.Time-resolved schlieren is used for flow field visualization. It is found that RF discharge not only leads to continuous energy deposition on the electrode surface but also induces a compression wave. Under the supersonic inflow condition, a weak oblique shock wave is induced by discharge. Experimental results of the shock wave control indicate that the applied actuation can disperse the bottom structure of the ramp-induced oblique shock wave, which is also observed in the extracted shock wave structure after image processing. More importantly, this control effect can be maintained steadily due to the continuous high-frequency(MHz) discharge. Finally, correlations for schlieren images and numerical simulations are employed to further explore the flow control mechanism. It is observed that the vortex in the boundary layer increases after the application of actuation, meaning that the boundary layer in the downstream of the actuation position is thickened. This is equivalent to covering a layer of low-density smooth wall around the compression corner and on the ramp surface, thereby weakening the compressibility at the compression corner. Our results demonstrate the ability of RF plasma aerodynamic actuation to control the supersonic airflow.     

感应式脉冲推力器中等离子体加速数值研究

为了分析感应式脉冲放电等离子体推力器中时变电磁场作用下等离子体的放电参数分布及其随着磁场强度变化的影响,引入了利用双曲型散度清除方法的二维轴对称瞬态等离子体流动的磁流体力学数值模型.计算结果表明,随着输入能量的增加,等离子体团出现速度峰值的时刻提前,等离子体中同时存在的异号电流环对其加速具有阻滞作用.等离子体的加速效率随着磁场强度非线性增大,磁场大于某一临界值时(几何构型下峰值磁场强度大于0.45 T),有限空间情况下等离子体的加速效率获得显著提高.     

Pressure dynamics in a supersonic flow during initiation of pulse surface sliding discharges

The supersonic air flow at Mach numbers of 1.1–1.6 in a shock tube is experimentally investigated during initiation of nanosecond pulse surface sliding discharges. The shadow images of the flow field after discharge initiation, which characterize the dynamics of shock waves propagating from the discharge area, are obtained. Periodic pressure pulsations on the shock tube channel wall are recorded. The pressure dynamics is shown to correspond to both the motion of shock waves from the discharge area and a supersonic flow of the discharge-excited gas near the channel wall. The pressure increase on the shock tube channel wall was 6–18%, as compared to the pressure in an unperturbed flow. Original Russian Text ? D.F. Latfullin, I.V. Mursenkova, N.N. Sysoev, 2009, published in Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Fizika, 2009, No. 3, pp. 114–116.     

Supersonic flow of a nonequilibrium gas-discharge plasma around a body

The flow of a nonequilibrium gas-discharge plasma around a semicylindrical body is studied. The aim of the study is to see how a change in the degree of nonequilibrium of the incoming plasma changes the separation distance between a shock wave and the body. Experiments are carried out with a supersonic nozzle into which a semicylindrical body is placed. The inlet of the nozzle is connected to a shock tube. In the course of the experiment, electrodes built into the wall of the nozzle initiate a gas discharge in front of the body to produce an additional nonequilibrium ionization in the stationary incoming supersonic flow. The discharge parameters are selected such that the discharge raises the electron temperature and still minimizes heating of the gas. The degree of nonequilibrium of the flow varies with gas-discharge current. Diagnostics of the flow is carried out with a schlieren system based on a semiconductor laser. The system can record flow patterns at definite time instants after discharge initiation.     

Wind tunnel experiments on flow separation control of an Unmanned Air Vehicle by nanosecond discharge plasma aerodynamic actuation

Plasma flow control(PFC) is a new kind of active flow control technology, which can improve the aerodynamic performances of aircrafts remarkably. The flow separation control of an unmanned air vehicle(UAV) by nanosecond discharge plasma aerodynamic actuation(NDPAA) is investigated experimentally in this paper. Experimental results show that the applied voltages for both the nanosecond discharge and the millisecond discharge are nearly the same, but the current for nanosecond discharge(30 A) is much bigger than that for millisecond discharge(0.1 A). The flow field induced by the NDPAA is similar to a shock wave upward, and has a maximal velocity of less than 0.5 m/s. Fast heating effect for nanosecond discharge induces shock waves in the quiescent air. The lasting time of the shock waves is about 80 μs and its spread velocity is nearly 380 m/s. By using the NDPAA, the flow separation on the suction side of the UAV can be totally suppressed and the critical stall angle of attack increases from 20° to 27° with a maximal lift coefficient increment of 11.24%. The flow separation can be suppressed when the discharge voltage is larger than the threshold value, and the optimum operation frequency for the NDPAA is the one which makes the Strouhal number equal one. The NDPAA is more effective than the millisecond discharge plasma aerodynamic actuation(MDPAA) in boundary layer flow control. The main mechanism for nanosecond discharge is shock effect. Shock effect is more effective in flow control than momentum effect in high speed flow control.     

Computer simulation of perturbation of a shock wave in nitrogen by optical radiation

The possibility of a displacement of the front of a shock wave formed in a 1D nitrogen flow to the low gas pressure region (in front of the shock wave) upon absorption of the laser pulse energy in the region of the shock wave front is demonstrated using computer simulation based on the finite difference technique. The low-pressure region formed in the region of the initially high pressure under the action of a light pulse moves in the direction opposite to the direction of propagation of the shock wave front. Analysis is carried out for a typical experimental situation corresponding to the growth of carbon-nitride nanofilms.     

The damage mechanism of fused silica surface induced by 355 nm nanosecond laser

In order to understand the physical mechanism, time-resolved dynamics of 355 nm nanosecond laser induced entrance and exit surface damage on fused silica was investigated by using shadow graphic technique. The results show that the damage mechanism is different between the entrance and exit surface during nanosecond laser interaction with fused silica. The plasma and shock waves in air is relatively higher at the entrance surface. The entrance surface damage is reduced because plasma shielding limits energy deposition. Without plasma shielding, the exit surface damage is more serious for more laser energy deposition in material. And without the stress of plasma and shock waves, the material is ejected easily at rear surface. These are confirmed by damage micrograph at the entrance and exit surface.