Sample records for ac discharge plasma

  1. AC Glow Discharge Plasma in N2O

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yousif, F. B.; Martinez, H.; Robledo-Martinez, A.

    2006-12-04

    This paper considers the optical and electrical characterization of AC glow discharge plasma in the abnormal glow mode used for optical emission spectroscopy. The total discharge current and applied voltage are measured using conventional techniques. The electrical characteristics of the planer-cathode glow discharge confirmed that the plasma is operating at abnormal discharge mode characterized by the increases in the operating voltage as the current was raised under given pressure. Optical emission spectroscopy was used to determine the main emission lines of the glow discharge plasma of N2O at pressures between 0.5 and 4.0 Torr. It shows that the discharge emissionmore » range is mainly within 300-400 nm. The emission lines correspond to NO, O2, and O{sub 2}{sup +} are the dominant lines in the glow discharge plasma in the present study. Intensity of the emission lines show linear increase with the discharge current up to 0.4 A followed by saturation at higher currents. No emission lines were observed in this work corresponding to atomic oxygen or nitrogen.« less

  2. Plasma characteristics of argon glow discharge produced by AC power supply operating at low frequencies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kongpiboolkid, Watcharapon; Mongkolnavin, Rattachat; Plasma Technology and Nuclear Fusion Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

    2015-04-24

    Non-thermal properties of Argon glow discharge operating with various operating pressures were measured and presented in this work. The Argon plasma is produced by a parallel conducting electrodes coupling with a high voltage AC power supply. The power supply can generate high AC voltage at various frequencies. The frequencies for the operation are in the range of a few kHz. The system is capable of generating electric field between the two metal electrodes discharge system. The characteristics of plasma produced were measured by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) technique where electron temperature (T{sub e}) and electron number density (n{sub e}) canmore » be determined by line intensity ratio method. The value of electron number density was then determined from the Saha-Eggert equation. Our results show that the electron number density of the discharge obtained is of the order of 10{sup −17} − 10{sup −18} m{sup −3} where the electron temperature is between 1.00−2.00 eV for various operating frequencies used which are in good agreement with similar results published earlier.« less

  3. The Feasibility of Applying AC Driven Low-Temperature Plasma for Multi-Cycle Detonation Initiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Dianfeng

    2016-11-01

    Ignition is a key system in pulse detonation engines (PDE). As advanced ignition methods, nanosecond pulse discharge low-temperature plasma ignition is used in some combustion systems, and continuous alternating current (AC) driven low-temperature plasma using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is used for the combustion assistant. However, continuous AC driven plasmas cannot be used for ignition in pulse detonation engines. In this paper, experimental and numerical studies of pneumatic valve PDE using an AC driven low-temperature plasma igniter were described. The pneumatic valve was jointly designed with the low-temperature plasma igniter, and the numerical simulation of the cold-state flow field in the pneumatic valve showed that a complex flow in the discharge area, along with low speed, was beneficial for successful ignition. In the experiments ethylene was used as the fuel and air as oxidizing agent, ignition by an AC driven low-temperature plasma achieved multi-cycle intermittent detonation combustion on a PDE, the working frequency of the PDE reached 15 Hz and the peak pressure of the detonation wave was approximately 2.0 MPa. The experimental verifications of the feasibility in PDE ignition expanded the application field of AC driven low-temperature plasma. supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51176001)

  4. Investigation on discharge characteristics of a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge reactor driven by AC and ns power sources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qian, WANG; Feng, LIU; Chuanrun, MIAO; Bing, YAN; Zhi, FANG

    2018-03-01

    A coaxial dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with double layer dielectric barriers has been developed for exhaust gas treatment and excited either by AC power or nanosecond (ns) pulse to generate atmospheric pressure plasma. The comparative study on the discharge characteristics of the discharge uniformity, power deposition, energy efficiency, and operation temperature between AC and ns pulsed coaxial DBD is carried out in terms of optical and electrical characteristics and operation temperature for optimizing the coaxial DBD reactor performance. The voltages across the air gap and dielectric layer and the conduction and displacement currents are extracted from the applied voltages and measured currents of AC and ns pulsed coaxial DBDs for the calculation of the power depositions and energy efficiencies through an equivalent electrical model. The discharge uniformity and operating temperature of the coaxial DBD reactor are monitored and analyzed by optical images and infrared camera. A heat conduction model is used to calculate the temperature of the internal quartz tube. It is found that the ns pulsed coaxial DBD has a much higher instantaneous power deposition in plasma, a lower total power consumption, and a higher energy efficiency compared with that excited by AC power and is more homogeneous and stable. The temperature of the outside wall of the AC and ns pulse excited coaxial DBD reaches 158 °C and 64.3 °C after 900 s operation, respectively. The experimental results on the comparison of the discharge characteristics of coaxial DBDs excited by different powers are significant for understanding of the mechanism of DBDs, reducing energy loss, and optimizing the performance of coaxial DBD in industrial applications.

  5. Sterilization of Long Tube Inner Surface Using Oxygen and Water Vapor Plasmas Produced by AC HV Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kitazaki, Satoshi; Hayashi, Nobuya

    2009-10-01

    Oxygen and water vapor plasmas inside a narrow long tube were produced using an AC HV glow discharge at low pressure in order to sterilize the inner surface of a tube. In order to produce plasma inside a narrow tube, an AC high voltage was adopted. The material of the tube used in this experiment was silicon rubber. The length and diameter of the tubes ranged from 300 to 1,000 mm and from 1 to 4 mm, respectively. The tube was placed in a stainless steel vacuum chamber and was evacuated to 10 Pa using a rotary pump. The material gas for plasma and radical productions was pure oxygen or water vapor, which was introduced to the chamber from a gas cylinder or water reservoir. Light emission spectral lines of oxygen and OH radicals were observed at 777 nm and 306 nm, respectively. The chemical indicator was inserted into the tube and turned to a yellowish color (from the original red) after a treatment, which indicates the generation of sufficient oxygen on OH radicals for sterilization. A tube with the length of 500 mm and diameter of 4 mm is sterilized using oxygen plasma by 10 minutes treatment. Also a tube with the length of 300 mm and diameter of 2 mm is sterilized using water vapor plasma by 5 minutes treatment.

  6. Comparison of high-voltage ac and pulsed operation of a surface dielectric barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williamson, James M.; Trump, Darryl D.; Bletzinger, Peter; Ganguly, Biswa N.

    2006-10-01

    A surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in atmospheric pressure air was excited either by low frequency (0.3-2 kHz) high-voltage ac or by short, high-voltage pulses at repetition rates from 50 to 600 pulses s-1. The short-pulse excited discharge was more diffuse and did not have the pronounced bright multiple cathode spots observed in the ac excited discharge. The discharge voltage, current and average power deposited into the discharge were calculated for both types of excitation. As a measure of plasma-chemical efficiency, the ozone number density was measured by UV absorption as a function of average deposited power. The density of ozone produced by ac excitation did not increase so rapidly as that produced by short-pulse excitation as a function of average power, with a maximum measured density of ~3 × 1015 cm-3 at 25 W. The maximum ozone production achieved by short-pulse excitation was ~8.5 × 1015 cm-3 at 20 W, which was four times greater than that achieved by ac excitation at the same power level.

  7. Addressing Theory and Performance Enhancements for the Independent Sustain and Address AC Plasma Display

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Warren, Kevin Wilson

    The Independent Sustain and Address (ISA) AC plasma panel is a flat, flicker-free, gas discharge type of display device. This display technology promises to reduce both the cost of manufacturing and operation of AC plasma displays. The ISA technology uses a vastly different mechanism to change the state of the display pixels than the standard AC plasma technology. This addressing mechanism is an exploitation of some of the natural characteristics associated with the plasma that can form during strong gas discharges. This thesis presents detailed data from experiments that were designed to evaluate and test the effectiveness of this mechanism. Through these experiments, the theory that the addressing methodology is based upon is developed and evaluated. These experiments show that the address margin windows for this technology are very large, minimally two to three times larger than the address margins for the standard XY AC plasma addressing techniques. New capabilities are also described, such as global brightness control for the ISA technology and a technique for increasing the addressing rate. These advances were designed into working prototypes and transferred to industry where there are currently commercial products available based upon these advances. A technique for implementing gray scale using some of these advances is also proposed.

  8. Needle-array to Plate DBD Plasma Using Sine AC and Nanosecond Pulse Excitations for Purpose of Improving Indoor Air Quality

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Li; Yang, Dezheng; Wang, Wenchun; Wang, Sen; Yuan, Hao; Zhao, Zilu; Sang, Chaofeng; Jia, Li

    2016-01-01

    In this study, needle-array to plate electrode configuration was employed to generate an atmospheric air diffuse discharge using both nanosecond pulse and sine AC voltage as excitation voltage for the purpose of improving indoor air quality. Different types of voltage sources and electrode configurations are employed to optimize electrical field distribution and improve discharge stability. Discharge images, electrical characteristics, optical emission spectra, and plasma gas temperatures in both sine AC discharge and nanosecond pulse discharge were compared and the discharge stability during long operating time were discussed. Compared with the discharge excited by sine AC voltage, the nanosecond pulsed discharge is more homogenous and stable, besides, the plasma gas temperature of nanosecond pulse discharge is much lower. Using packed-bed structure, where γ- Al2O3 pellets are filled in the electrode gap, has obvious efficacy in the production of homogenous discharge. Furthermore, both sine AC discharge and nanosecond pulse discharge were used for removing formaldehyde from flowing air. It shows that nanosecond pulse discharge has a significant advantage in energy cost. And the main physiochemical processes for the generation of active species and the degradation of formaldehyde were discussed. PMID:27125663

  9. Laser-guided energetic discharges over large air gaps by electric-field enhanced plasma filaments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Théberge, Francis; Daigle, Jean-François; Kieffer, Jean-Claude; Vidal, François; Châteauneuf, Marc

    2017-01-01

    Recent works on plasma channels produced during the propagation of ultrashort and intense laser pulses in air demonstrated the guiding of electric discharges along the laser path. However, the short plasma lifetime limits the length of the laser-guided discharge. In this paper, the conductivity and lifetime of long plasma channels produced by ultrashort laser pulses is enhanced efficiently over many orders of magnitude by the electric field of a hybrid AC-DC high-voltage source. The AC electric pulse from a Tesla coil allowed to stimulate and maintain the highly conductive channel during few milliseconds in order to guide a subsequent 500 times more energetic discharge from a 30-kV DC source. This DC discharge was laser-guided over an air gap length of two metres, which is more than two orders of magnitude longer than the expected natural discharge length. Long plasma channel induced by laser pulses and stimulated by an external high-voltage source opens the way for wireless and efficient transportation of energetic current pulses over long air gaps and potentially for guiding lightning.

  10. Laser-guided energetic discharges over large air gaps by electric-field enhanced plasma filaments

    PubMed Central

    Théberge, Francis; Daigle, Jean-François; Kieffer, Jean-Claude; Vidal, François; Châteauneuf , Marc

    2017-01-01

    Recent works on plasma channels produced during the propagation of ultrashort and intense laser pulses in air demonstrated the guiding of electric discharges along the laser path. However, the short plasma lifetime limits the length of the laser-guided discharge. In this paper, the conductivity and lifetime of long plasma channels produced by ultrashort laser pulses is enhanced efficiently over many orders of magnitude by the electric field of a hybrid AC-DC high-voltage source. The AC electric pulse from a Tesla coil allowed to stimulate and maintain the highly conductive channel during few milliseconds in order to guide a subsequent 500 times more energetic discharge from a 30-kV DC source. This DC discharge was laser-guided over an air gap length of two metres, which is more than two orders of magnitude longer than the expected natural discharge length. Long plasma channel induced by laser pulses and stimulated by an external high-voltage source opens the way for wireless and efficient transportation of energetic current pulses over long air gaps and potentially for guiding lightning. PMID:28053312

  11. Water Treatment Using Plasma Discharge with Variation of Electrode Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chanan, N.; Kusumandari; Saraswati, T. E.

    2018-03-01

    This research studied water treatment using plasma discharge. Plasma generated in this study produced active species that played a role in organic compound decomposition. The plasma reactor consisted of two needle electrodes made from stainless steel, tungsten, aluminium and grafit. It placed approximately 2 mm above the solution and connected with high-AC voltage. A solution of methylene blue used as an organic solution model. Plasma treatment times were 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 min. The absorbance, temperature and pH of the solution were measured before and after treatment using various electrodes. The best electrode used in plasma discharging for methylene blue absorbance reduction was the graphite electrode, which provided the highest degradation efficiency of 98% at 6 min of treatment time.

  12. Plasma Discharge with Different Electrode Diameters for Reducing Methylene Blue Concentration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rasyidah, H.; Kusumandari; Saraswati, T. E.; Anwar, M.

    2018-03-01

    Recently, plasma technology has gained attention since it overcomes the shortcomings of water treatment. This research studies the effect of electrode diameter of plasma discharge reactors on the concentration reduction of methylene blue as an organic solution. The plasma discharge reactor was built from a pair of stainless needle electrodes connected with high-AC voltage. The electrodes were placed approximately 2 mm above the solution and stirred at 5.5 rpm. The diameters of the electrodes were 2, 3.2 and 4 mm. The times for plasma treatment were set at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 min. Absorbance, temperature and pH of the solution were measured to know the effects of electrode diameter of the plasma reactor. Absorbance and pH significantly decreased after plasma treatment. The best of the absorbance reduction were obtained when the sample was treated under plasma discharge using the smallest diameter electrodes for 8-10 min.

  13. Diagnostics of AC excited Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet with He for Biomedical Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hori, Masaru; Takeda, Keigo; Kumakura, Takumi; Ishikawa, Kenji; Tanaka, Hiromasa; Kondo, Hiroki; Sekine, Makoto; Nakai, Yoshihiro

    2014-10-01

    Atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJ) are frequently used for biomedical applications. Reactive species generated by the APPJ play important roles for treatments of biomedical samples. Therefore, high density APPJ sources are required to realize the high performance. Our group has developed AC excited Ar APPJ with electron density as high as 1015 cm-3, and realized the selective killing of cancer cells and the inactivate spores of Penicillium digitatum. Recently, a new spot-size AC excited APPJ with He gas have been developed. In this study, the He APPJ was characterized by using spectroscopy. The plasma was discharged at a He flow rate of 5 slm and a discharge voltage of AC 9 kV. Gas temperature and electron density of the APPJ were measured by optical emission spectroscopy. From theoretical fitting of 2nd positive system of N2 emission (380.4 nm) and Stark broadening of Balmer β line of H atom (486.1 nm), the gas temperature and the electron density was estimated to be 299 K and 3.4. × 1015 cm-3. The AC excited He APPJ has a potential to realize high density with room temperature and become a very powerful tool for biomedical applications.

  14. Plasma antennas driven by 5–20 kHz AC power supply

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhao, Jiansen, E-mail: 67093058@qq.com; Chen, Yuli; Sun, Yang

    2015-12-15

    The experiments described in this work were performed with the aim of introducing a new plasma antenna that was excited by a 5–20 kHz alternating current (AC) power supply, where the antenna was transformed into a U-shape. The results show that the impedance, voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR), radiation pattern and gain characteristics of the antenna can be controlled rapidly by varying not only the discharge power, but also by varying the discharge frequency in the range from 5 to 20 kHz. When the discharge frequency is adjusted from 10 to 12 kHz, the gain is higher within a relatively broadmore » frequency band and the switch-on time is less than 1 ms when the discharge power is less than 5 W, meaning that the plasma antenna can be turned on and off rapidly.« less

  15. Plasma Discharge Process in a Pulsed Diaphragm Discharge System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duan, Jianjin; Hu, Jue; Zhang, Chao; Wen, Yuanbin; Meng, Yuedong; Zhang, Chengxu

    2014-12-01

    As one of the most important steps in wastewater treatment, limited study on plasma discharge process is a key challenge in the development of plasma applications. In this study, we focus on the plasma discharge process of a pulsed diaphragm discharge system. According to the analysis, the pulsed diaphragm discharge proceeds in seven stages: (1) Joule heating and heat exchange stage; (2) nucleated site formation; (3) plasma generation (initiation of the breakdown stage); (4) avalanche growth and plasma expansion; (5) plasma contraction; (6) termination of the plasma discharge; and (7) heat exchange stage. From this analysis, a critical voltage criterion for breakdown is obtained. We anticipate this finding will provide guidance for a better application of plasma discharges, especially diaphragm plasma discharges.

  16. Note: A phase synchronization photography method for AC discharge.

    PubMed

    Wu, Zhicheng; Zhang, Qiaogen; Ma, Jingtan; Pang, Lei

    2018-05-01

    To research discharge physics under AC voltage, a phase synchronization photography method is presented. By using a permanent-magnet synchronous motor to drive a photography mask synchronized with a discharge power supply, discharge images in a specific phase window can be recorded. Some examples of discharges photographed by this method, including the corona discharge in SF 6 and the corona discharge along the air/epoxy surface, demonstrate the feasibility of this method. Therefore, this method provides an effective tool for discharge physics researchers.

  17. Note: A phase synchronization photography method for AC discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Zhicheng; Zhang, Qiaogen; Ma, Jingtan; Pang, Lei

    2018-05-01

    To research discharge physics under AC voltage, a phase synchronization photography method is presented. By using a permanent-magnet synchronous motor to drive a photography mask synchronized with a discharge power supply, discharge images in a specific phase window can be recorded. Some examples of discharges photographed by this method, including the corona discharge in SF6 and the corona discharge along the air/epoxy surface, demonstrate the feasibility of this method. Therefore, this method provides an effective tool for discharge physics researchers.

  18. Experimental investigation of SDBD plasma actuator driven by AC high voltage with a superimposed positive pulse bias voltage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Xiao-Hua; Yan, Hui-Jie; Yang, Liang; Hua, Yue; Ren, Chun-Sheng

    2017-08-01

    In this work, a driven voltage consisting of AC high voltage with a superimposed positive pulse bias voltage ("AC+ Positive pulse bias" voltage) is adopted to study the performance of a surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator under atmospheric conditions. To compare the performance of the actuator driven by single-AC voltage and "AC+ Positive pulse bias" voltage, the actuator-induced thrust force and power consumption are measured as a function of the applied AC voltage, and the measured results indicate that the thrust force can be promoted significantly after superimposing the positive pulse bias voltage. The physical mechanism behind the thrust force changes is analyzed by measuring the optical properties, electrical characteristics, and surface potential distribution. Experimental results indicate that the glow-like discharge in the AC voltage half-cycle, next to the cycle where a bias voltage pulse has been applied, is enhanced after applying the positive pulse bias voltage, and this perhaps is the main reason for the thrust force increase. Moreover, surface potential measurement results reveal that the spatial electric field formed by the surface charge accumulation after positive pulse discharge can significantly affect the applied external electric field, and this perhaps can be responsible for the experimental phenomenon that the decrease of thrust force is delayed by pulse bias voltage action after the filament discharge occurs in the glow-like discharge region. The schlieren images further verify that the actuator-induced airflow velocity increases with the positive pulse voltage.

  19. Control of Reactive Species Generated by Low-frequency Biased Nanosecond Pulse Discharge in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Effluent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takashima, Keisuke; Kaneko, Toshiro

    2016-09-01

    The control of hydroxyl radical and the other gas phase species generation in the ejected gas through air plasma (air plasma effluent) has been experimentally studied, which is a key to extend the range of plasma treatment. Nanosecond pulse discharge is known to produce high reduced electric field (E/N) discharge that leads to efficient generation of the reactive species than conventional low frequency discharge, while the charge-voltage cycle in the low frequency discharge is known to be well-controlled. In this study, the nanosecond pulse discharge biased with AC low frequency high voltage is used to take advantages of these discharges, which allows us to modulate the reactive species composition in the air plasma effluent. The utilization of the gas-liquid interface and the liquid phase chemical reactions between the modulated long-lived reactive species delivered from the air plasma effluent could realize efficient liquid phase chemical reactions leading to short-lived reactive species production far from the air plasma, which is crucial for some plasma agricultural applications.

  20. High voltage AC plasma torches with long electric arcs for plasma-chemical applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Surov, A. V.; Popov, S. D.; Serba, E. O.; Pavlov, A. V.; Nakonechny, Gh V.; Spodobin, V. A.; Nikonov, A. V.; Subbotin, D. I.; Borovskoy, A. M.

    2017-04-01

    Powerful AC plasma torches are in demand for a number of advanced plasma chemical applications, they can provide high enthalpy of the working gas. IEE RAS specialists have developed a number of models of stationary thermal plasma torches for continuous operation on air with the power from 5 to 500 kW, and on mixture of H2O, CO2 and CH4 up to 150 kW. AC plasma torches were tested on the pilot plasmachemical installations. Powerful AC plasma torch with hollow electrodes and the gas vortex stabilization of arc in cylindrical channels and its operation characteristics are presented. Lifetime of its continuous operation on air is 2000 hours and thermal efficiency is about 92%, the electric arc length between two electrodes of the plasma torch exceeds 2 m.

  1. Dynamic characteristics of corona discharge generated under rainfall condition on AC charged conductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Pengfei; Zhang, Bo; Wang, Zezhong; Chen, Shuiming; He, Jinliang

    2017-12-01

    By synchronous measurement of corona current and the water droplet deformation process on a conductor surface, different types of corona discharge are visualized when AC voltage is applied on a line-ground electrode system. The corona characteristics are closely related to the applied voltage and water supply rate. With the increase of AC voltage, the positive Taylor cone discharge firstly appears and then disappears, replaced by the dripping and crashing discharge. Furthermore, the number of pulses in each pulse train increases with the increase of applied voltage. The mechanism of the transfer from the positive Taylor cone discharge to the dripping and crashing discharge is found to be related to the oscillation process of the water droplet. The water supply rate also has a great influence on the characteristics of corona currents. The number of positive pulse trains increases linearly when the water supply rate gets larger, leading to a higher audible noise and radio interference level from the AC corona, which is quite different from that of the DC corona. The difference between the AC and DC coronas under rainfall conditions is analyzed finally.

  2. Investigation of the transition of multicycle AC operation in ISTTOK under edge electrode biasing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malaquias, A.; Henriques, R. B.; Silva, C.; Figueiredo, H.; Nedzelskiy, I. S.; Fernandes, H.; Sharma, R.; Plyusnin, V. V.

    2017-11-01

    In this paper we present recent results obtained on plasma edge electrode biasing during AC discharges. The goal is to obtain experimental evidence on a number of plasma parameters that can play a role during the AC transition on the repeatability and reproducibility of AC operation. The control of the plasma density in the quiescent phase is made just before the AC transition by means of positive edge biasing leading to a transitory improved of density (30%-40%). Gas puff experiments show that the increase of background gas pressure during discharge led to a better success of the AC transition. The experimental results indicate that the increase of density during the AC transition induced by edge biasing is followed by an electron temperature drop. The drop in electron temperature leads in most cases the formation of runaway electrons. It has been observed that the runaway population during discharge flattop depends on the interplay between gas content and plasma density and temperature. The results also confirm that the correct balance of external magnetic fields is crucial during the AC transition phase where drift electron currents are formed. The results from the heavy ion beam diagnostic show that the formation of plasma current during consecutive AC transitions is asymmetric. Numerical simulations indicate that for some particular conditions this result could be reproduced from assuming the presence of two counter-currents during AC transition.

  3. Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator for Flow Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Opaits, Dmitry, F.

    2012-01-01

    This report is Part II of the final report of NASA Cooperative Agreement contract no. NNX07AC02A. It includes a Ph.D. dissertation. The period of performance was January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2010. Part I of the final report is the overview published as NASA/CR-2012- 217654. Asymmetric dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators driven by nanosecond pulses superimposed on dc bias voltage are studied experimentally. This produces non-self-sustained discharge: the plasma is generated by repetitive short pulses, and the pushing of the gas occurs primarily due to the bias voltage. The parameters of ionizing pulses and the driving bias voltage can be varied independently, which adds flexibility to control and optimization of the actuators performance. The approach consisted of three elements coupled together: the Schlieren technique, burst mode of plasma actuator operation, and 2-D numerical fluid modeling. During the experiments, it was found that DBD performance is severely limited by surface charge accumulation on the dielectric. Several ways to mitigate the surface charge were found: using a reversing DC bias potential, three-electrode configuration, slightly conductive dielectrics, and semi conductive coatings. Force balance measurements proved the effectiveness of the suggested configurations and advantages of the new voltage profile (pulses+bias) over the traditional sinusoidal one at relatively low voltages. In view of practical applications certain questions have been also addressed, such as electrodynamic effects which accompany scaling of the actuators to real size models, and environmental effects of ozone production by the plasma actuators.

  4. Helicon plasma thruster discharge model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lafleur, T., E-mail: trevor.lafleur@lpp.polytechnique.fr

    2014-04-15

    By considering particle, momentum, and energy balance equations, we develop a semi-empirical quasi one-dimensional analytical discharge model of radio-frequency and helicon plasma thrusters. The model, which includes both the upstream plasma source region as well as the downstream diverging magnetic nozzle region, is compared with experimental measurements and confirms current performance levels. Analysis of the discharge model identifies plasma power losses on the radial and back wall of the thruster as the major performance reduction factors. These losses serve as sinks for the input power which do not contribute to the thrust, and which reduce the maximum plasma density andmore » hence propellant utilization. With significant radial plasma losses eliminated, the discharge model (with argon) predicts specific impulses in excess of 3000 s, propellant utilizations above 90%, and thruster efficiencies of about 30%.« less

  5. Review of the methods to form hydrogen peroxide in electrical discharge plasma with liquid water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Locke, Bruce R.; Shih, Kai-Yuan

    2011-06-01

    This paper presents a review of the literature dealing with the formation of hydrogen peroxide from plasma processes. Energy yields for hydrogen peroxide generation by plasma from water span approximately three orders of magnitude from 4 × 10-2 to 80 g kWh-1. A wide range of plasma processes from rf to pulsed, ac, and dc discharges directly in the liquid phase have similar energy yields and may thus be limited by radical quenching processes at the plasma-liquid interface. Reactor modification using discharges in bubbles and discharges over the liquid phase can provide modest improvements in energy yield over direct discharge in the liquid, but the interpretation is complicated by additional chemical reactions of gas phase components such as ozone and nitrogen oxides. The highest efficiency plasma process utilizes liquid water droplets that may enhance efficiency by sequestering hydrogen peroxide in the liquid and by suppressing decomposition reactions by radicals from the gas and at the interface. Kinetic simulations of water vapor reported in the literature suggest that plasma generation of hydrogen peroxide should approach 45% of the thermodynamics limit, and this fact coupled with experimental studies demonstrating improvements with the presence of the condensed liquid phase suggest that further improvements in energy yield may be possible. Plasma generation of hydrogen peroxide directly from water compares favorably with a number of other methods including electron beam, ultrasound, electrochemical and photochemical methods, and other chemical processes.

  6. Research and Development of Large Area Color AC Plasma Displays

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shinoda, Tsutae

    1998-10-01

    Plasma display is essentially a gas discharge device using discharges in small cavities about 0. 1 m. The color plasma displays utilize the visible light from phosphors excited by the ultra-violet by discharge in contrast to monochrome plasma displays utilizing visible light directly from gas discharges. At the early stage of the color plasma display development, the degradation of the phosphors and unstable operating voltage prevented to realize a practical color plasma display. The introduction of the three-electrode surface-discharge technology opened the way to solve the problems. Two key technologies of a simple panel structure with a stripe rib and phosphor alignment and a full color image driving method with an address-and-display-period-separated sub-field method have realized practically available full color plasma displays. A full color plasma display has been firstly developed in 1992 with a 21-in.-diagonal PDP and then a 42-in.-diagonal PDP in 1995 Currently a 50-in.-diagonal color plasma display has been developed. The large area color plasma displays have already been put into the market and are creating new markets, such as a wall hanging TV and multimedia displays for advertisement, information, etc. This paper will show the history of the surface-discharge color plasma display technologies and current status of the color plasma display.

  7. Plasma discharge elemental detector for a mass spectrometer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heppner, R. A.

    1983-06-01

    A material to be analyzed is injected into a mirowave-induced plasma discharge unit, in which the material is carried with a flow of buffer gas through an intense microwave energy field which produces a plasma discharge in the buffer gas. As the material exits from the plasma discharge, the material is sampled and conveyed along a capillary transfer tube to a mass spectrometer where it is analyzed. The plasma discharge causes dissociation of complex organic molecules into simpler molecules which return to the neutral ground state before they are analyzed in the mass spectrometer. The buffer gas is supplied to one end portion of the discharge tube and is withdrawn from the other end portion by a vacuum pump which maintains a subatmospheric pressure in the discharge tube. The sample material is injected by a capillary injection tube into the buffer gas flow as it enters the plasma discharge zone. The dissociated materials are sampled by an axial sampling tube having an entrance where the buffer gas exits from the plasma discharge zone. The sample material may be supplied by a gas chromatography having a capillary effluent line connected to the capillary injection tube, so that the effluent material is injected into the microwave induced plasma discharge. The microwave field is produced by a cavity resonator through which the discharge tube passes.

  8. Characteristics of long-gap AC streamer discharges under low pressure conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Yaqi; Li, Weiguo; Xia, Yu; Yuan, Chuangye

    2017-10-01

    The generation and propagation of a streamer is a significant physical process of air gap discharge. Research on the mechanism of streamers under low-pressure conditions is helpful for understanding the process of long-gap discharge in a high-altitude area. This paper describes laboratory investigations of streamer discharge under alternating current (AC) voltage in a low pressure test platform for a 60 cm rod-plane gap at 30 kPa, and analyzes the characteristics of streamer generation and propagation. The results show that the partial streamer and breakdown streamer all occur in the positive half-cycle of AC voltage near the peak voltage at 30 kPa. The partial streamer could cause the distortion of current and voltage waveform, and it appears as the branching characteristic at the initial stage. With the extension of the streamer, the branching and tortuosity phenomena become gradually obvious, but the branching is suppressed when the streamer crosses the gap. The low-pressure condition has little influence on the tortuosity length and the tortuosity number of the streamer, but affect the diameter of streamer obviously.

  9. Optimal In-Hospital and Discharge Medical Therapy in Acute Coronary Syndromes in Kerala: Results from the Kerala ACS Registry

    PubMed Central

    Huffman, Mark D; Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Abraham, AK; Krishnan, Mangalath Narayanan; Nambiar, C. Asokan; Mohanan, Padinhare Purayil

    2013-01-01

    Background In-hospital and post-discharge treatment rates for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remain low in India. However, little is known about the prevalence and predictors of the package of optimal ACS medical care in India. Our objective was to define the prevalence, predictors, and impact of optimal in-hospital and discharge medical therapy in the Kerala ACS Registry of 25,718 admissions. Methods and Results We defined optimal in-hospital ACS medical therapy as receiving the following five medications: aspirin, clopidogrel, heparin, beta-blocker, and statin. We defined optimal discharge ACS medical therapy as receiving all of the above therapies except heparin. Comparisons by optimal vs. non-optimal ACS care were made via Student’s t test for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables. We created random effects logistic regression models to evaluate the association between GRACE risk score variables and optimal in-hospital or discharge medical therapy. Optimal in-hospital and discharge medical care was delivered in 40% and 46% of admissions, respectively. Wide variability in both in-hospital and discharge medical care was present with few hospitals reaching consistently high (>90%) levels. Patients receiving optimal in-hospital medical therapy had an adjusted OR (95%CI)=0.93 (0.71, 1.22) for in-hospital death and an adjusted OR (95%CI)=0.79 (0.63, 0.99) for MACE. Patients who received optimal in-hospital medical care were far more likely to receive optimal discharge care (adjusted OR [95%CI]=10.48 [9.37, 11.72]). Conclusions Strategies to improve in-hospital and discharge medical therapy are needed to improve local process-of-care measures and improve ACS outcomes in Kerala. PMID:23800985

  10. The discharge characteristics in nitrogen helicon plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Gao; Wang, Huihui; Si, Xinlu; Ouyang, Jiting; Chen, Qiang; Tan, Chang

    2017-12-01

    Discharge characteristics of helicon plasma in nitrogen and argon-nitrogen mixtures were investigated experimentally by using a Langmuir probe, a B-dot probe, and an optical emission spectrum. Helicon wave discharge is confirmed by the changes of electron density and electromagnetic signal amplitude with the increasing RF power, which shows three discharge stages in nitrogen, corresponding to E-mode, H-mode, and W-mode discharges in helicon plasma, respectively. Discharge images in the radial cross section at different discharge modes through an intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) show a rapid increase in luminous intensity along with the RF power. When the nitrogen discharge is in the W-mode, the images show that the strongest luminance locates near the plasma boundary and no blue core appears in the axial center of tube, which is always observed in argon W-mode discharge. The "big blue" or blue core is a special character in helicon plasma, but it has not been observed in nitrogen helicon plasma. In nitrogen-argon mixtures, a weak blue core is observed in ICCD images since the nitrogen content is increased. The electric field turns to the periphery in the distribution of the radial field and the electron temperature decreases with the increasing nitrogen content, especially when the blue core disappears. The different behaviors of the electron impact and the energy consumption in nitrogen helicon plasma are suggested to be responsible for the decrease in electron energy and the change in the electric field distribution.

  11. Plasma spark discharge reactor and durable electrode

    DOEpatents

    Cho, Young I.; Cho, Daniel J.; Fridman, Alexander; Kim, Hyoungsup

    2017-01-10

    A plasma spark discharge reactor for treating water. The plasma spark discharge reactor comprises a HV electrode with a head and ground electrode that surrounds at least a portion of the HV electrode. A passage for gas may pass through the reactor to a location proximate to the head to provide controlled formation of gas bubbles in order to facilitate the plasma spark discharge in a liquid environment.

  12. Electric discharge during electrosurgery

    PubMed Central

    Shashurin, Alexey; Scott, David; Zhuang, Taisen; Canady, Jerome; Beilis, Isak I.; Keidar, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Electric discharge utilized for electrosurgery is studied by means of a recently developed method for the diagnostics of small-size atmospheric plasma objects based on Rayleigh scattering of microwaves on the plasma volume. Evolution of the plasma parameters in the near-electrode sheaths and in the positive column is measured and analyzed. It is found that the electrosurgical system produces a glow discharge of alternating current with strongly contracted positive column with current densities reaching 103 A/cm2. The plasma electron density and electrical conductivities in the channel were found be 1016 cm−3 and (1-2) Ohm−1cm−1, respectively. The discharge interrupts every instance when the discharge-driving AC voltage crosses zero and re-ignites again every next half-wave at the moment when the instant voltage exceeds the breakdown threshold. PMID:25880721

  13. Electric discharge during electrosurgery.

    PubMed

    Shashurin, Alexey; Scott, David; Zhuang, Taisen; Canady, Jerome; Beilis, Isak I; Keidar, Michael

    2015-04-16

    Electric discharge utilized for electrosurgery is studied by means of a recently developed method for the diagnostics of small-size atmospheric plasma objects based on Rayleigh scattering of microwaves on the plasma volume. Evolution of the plasma parameters in the near-electrode sheaths and in the positive column is measured and analyzed. It is found that the electrosurgical system produces a glow discharge of alternating current with strongly contracted positive column with current densities reaching 10(3) A/cm(2). The plasma electron density and electrical conductivities in the channel were found be 10(16) cm(-3) and (1-2) Ohm(-1) cm(-1), respectively. The discharge interrupts every instance when the discharge-driving AC voltage crosses zero and re-ignites again every next half-wave at the moment when the instant voltage exceeds the breakdown threshold.

  14. Investigation of the AC Plasma Torch Working Conditions for the Plasma Chemical Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Safronov, A. A.; Vasilieva, O. B.; Dudnik, J. D.; E Kuznetsov, V.; Shiryaev, V. N.; Subbotin, D. I.; Pavlov, A. V.

    2017-04-01

    The presented design and parameters of a three-phase AC plasma torch with the power up to 500 kW, flow rate of air 30-50 g/s (temperature up to 5000 K) could be used in different plasma chemical processes. Range of measured plasma temperature is 3500-5000 K. The paper presents investigations of the plasma torch operation modes for its application in plasma chemical technologies. Plasma chemical technologies for various purposes (processing, destruction of various wastes, including technological and hazardous waste, conversion or production of chemicals to obtain nanoscale materials, etc.) are very promising in terms of the process efficiency. Their industrial use is difficult due to the lack of inexpensive and reliable plasma torches providing the desired level of temperature, enthalpy of the working gas and other necessary conditions for the process. This problem can be solved using a considered design of a three-phase alternating current plasma torch with power of 150-500 kW with working gas flow rate of 30-50 g/s with mass average temperature up to 5000K on the basis of which an industrial plasma chemical plant can be created. The basis of the plasma torch operation is a railgun effect that is the principle of arc movement in the field of its own current field. Thanks to single supply of power to the arc, arcs forming in the discharge chamber of the plasma torch move along the electrodes under the action of electrodynamic forces resulting from the interaction of the arc current with its own magnetic field. Under the condition of the three-phase supply voltage, arc transits from the electrode to the electrode with change in the anodic and cathodic phases with frequency of 300 Hz. A special feature of this design is the ability to organize the movement of the arc attachment along the electrode, thus ensuring an even distribution of the thermal load and thus achieve long time of continuous operation of the plasma torch. The parameters of the plasma jet of the

  15. Constricted glow discharge plasma source

    DOEpatents

    Anders, Andre; Anders, Simone; Dickinson, Michael; Rubin, Michael; Newman, Nathan

    2000-01-01

    A constricted glow discharge chamber and method are disclosed. The polarity and geometry of the constricted glow discharge plasma source is set so that the contamination and energy of the ions discharged from the source are minimized. The several sources can be mounted in parallel and in series to provide a sustained ultra low source of ions in a plasma with contamination below practical detection limits. The source is suitable for applying films of nitrides such as gallium nitride and oxides such as tungsten oxide and for enriching other substances in material surfaces such as oxygen and water vapor, which are difficult process as plasma in any known devices and methods. The source can also be used to assist the deposition of films such as metal films by providing low-energy ions such as argon ions.

  16. Ozone and dinitrogen monoxide production in atmospheric pressure air dielectric barrier discharge plasma effluent generated by nanosecond pulse superimposed alternating current voltage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takashima, Keisuke; Kaneko, Toshiro

    2017-06-01

    The effects of nanosecond pulse superposition to alternating current voltage (NS + AC) on the generation of an air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma and reactive species are experimentally studied, along with measurements of ozone (O3) and dinitrogen monoxide (N2O) in the exhausted gas through the air DBD plasma (air plasma effluent). The charge-voltage cycle measurement indicates that the role of nanosecond pulse superposition is to induce electrical charge transport and excess charge accumulation on the dielectric surface following the nanosecond pulses. The densities of O3 and N2O in NS + AC DBD are found to be significantly increased in the plasma effluent, compared to the sum of those densities generated in NS DBD and AC DBD operated individually. The production of O3 and N2O is modulated significantly by the phase in which the nanosecond pulse is superimposed. The density increase and modulation effects by the nanosecond pulse are found to correspond with the electrical charge transport and the excess electrical charge accumulation induced by the nanosecond pulse. It is suggested that the electrical charge transport by the nanosecond pulse might result in the enhancement of the nanosecond pulse current, which may lead to more efficient molecular dissociation, and the excess electrical charge accumulation induced by the nanosecond pulse increases the discharge coupling power which would enhance molecular dissociation.

  17. Plasma in a Pulsed Discharge Environment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Remy, J.; Bienier, L.; Salama, F.

    2005-01-01

    The plasma generated in a pulsed slit discharge nozzle is used to form molecular ions in an astrophysically relevant environment. The plasma has been characterized as a glow discharge in the abnormal regime. Laboratory studies help understand the formation processes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) ions that are thought to be the source of the ubiquitous unidentified infrared bands.

  18. Plasma discharge self-cleaning filtration system

    DOEpatents

    Cho, Young I.; Fridman, Alexander; Gutsol, Alexander F.; Yang, Yong

    2014-07-22

    The present invention is directed to a novel method for cleaning a filter surface using a plasma discharge self-cleaning filtration system. The method involves utilizing plasma discharges to induce short electric pulses of nanoseconds duration at high voltages. These electrical pulses generate strong Shockwaves that disintegrate and dislodge particulate matter located on the surface of the filter.

  19. Radio frequency discharge with control of plasma potential distribution.

    PubMed

    Dudnikov, Vadim; Dudnikov, A

    2012-02-01

    A RF discharge plasma generator with additional electrodes for independent control of plasma potential distribution is proposed. With positive biasing of this ring electrode relative end flanges and longitudinal magnetic field a confinement of fast electrons in the discharge will be improved for reliable triggering of pulsed RF discharge at low gas density and rate of ion generation will be enhanced. In the proposed discharge combination, the electron energy is enhanced by RF field and the fast electron confinement is improved by enhanced positive plasma potential which improves the efficiency of plasma generation significantly. This combination creates a synergetic effect with a significantly improving the plasma generation performance at low gas density. The discharge parameters can be optimized for enhance plasma generation with acceptable electrode sputtering.

  20. Degradation of Acid Orange 7 Dye in Two Hybrid Plasma Discharge Reactors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Yongjun; Lei, Lecheng; Zhang, Xingwang; Ding, Jiandong

    2014-11-01

    To get an optimized pulsed electrical plasma discharge reactor and to increase the energy utilization efficiency in the removal of pollutants, two hybrid plasma discharge reactors were designed and optimized. The reactors were compared via the discharge characteristics, energy transfer efficiency, the yields of the active species and the energy utilization in dye wastewater degradation. The results showed that under the same AC input power, the characteristics of the discharge waveform of the point-to-plate reactor were better. Under the same AC input power, the two reactors both had almost the same peak voltage of 22 kV. The peak current of the point-to-plate reactor was 146 A, while that of the wire-to-cylinder reactor was only 48.8 A. The peak powers of the point-to-plate reactor and the wire-to-cylinder reactor were 1.38 MW and 1.01 MW, respectively. The energy per pulse of the point-to-plate reactor was 0.2221 J, which was about 29.4% higher than that of the wire-to-cylinder reactor (0.1716 J). To remove 50% Acid Orange 7 (AO7), the energy utilizations of the point-to-plate reactor and the wire-to-cylinder reactor were 1.02 × 10-9 mol/L and 0.61 × 10-9 mol/L, respectively. In the point-to-plate reactor, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in pure water was 3.6 mmol/L after 40 min of discharge, which was higher than that of the wire-to-cylinder reactor (2.5 mmol/L). The concentration of liquid phase ozone in the point-to-plate reactor (5.7 × 10-2 mmol/L) was about 26.7% higher than that in the wire-to-cylinder reactor (4.5 × 10-2 mmol/L). The analysis results of the variance showed that the type of reactor and reaction time had significant impacts on the yields of the hydrogen peroxide and ozone. The main degradation intermediates of AO7 identified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GCMS) were acetic acid, maleic anhydride, p-benzoquinone, phenol, benzoic acid, phthalic anhydride, coumarin and 2-naphthol. Proposed degradation pathways were

  1. Sustained diffusive alternating current gliding arc discharge in atmospheric pressure air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Jiajian; Gao, Jinlong; Li, Zhongshan; Ehn, Andreas; Aldén, Marcus; Larsson, Anders; Kusano, Yukihiro

    2014-12-01

    Rapid transition from glow discharge to thermal arc has been a common problem in generating stable high-power non-thermal plasmas especially at ambient conditions. A sustained diffusive gliding arc discharge was generated in a large volume in atmospheric pressure air, driven by an alternating current (AC) power source. The plasma column extended beyond the water-cooled stainless steel electrodes and was stabilized by matching the flow speed of the turbulent air jet with the rated output power. Comprehensive investigations were performed using high-speed movies measured over the plasma column, synchronized with simultaneously recorded current and voltage waveforms. Dynamic details of the novel non-equilibrium discharge are revealed, which is characterized by a sinusoidal current waveform with amplitude stabilized at around 200 mA intermediate between thermal arc and glow discharge, shedding light to the governing mechanism of the sustained spark-suppressed AC gliding arc discharge.

  2. Modeling electronegative plasma discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lichtenberg, A.J.; Lieberman, M.A.

    Macroscopic analytic models for a three-component electronegative gas discharge are developed. Assuming the negative ions to be in Boltzmann equilibrium, a positive ion ambipolar diffusion equation is derived. The discharge consists of an electronegative core and electropositive edges. The electron density in the core is nearly uniform, allowing a parabolic approximation to the plasma profile to be employed. The resulting equilibrium equations are solved analytically and matched to a constant mobility transport model of an electropositive edge plasma. The solutions are compared to a simulation of a parallel-plane r.f. driven oxygen plasma for p = 50 mTorr and n{sub eo}=more » 2.4 x 10{sup 15} m{sup -3}. The ratio {alpha}{sub o} of central negative ion density to electron density, and the electron temperature T{sub e}, found in the simulation, are in reasonable agreement with the values calculated from the model. The model is extended to: (1) low pressures, where a variable mobility model is used in the electropositive edge region; and (2) high {alpha}{sub o} in which the edge region disappears. The inclusion of a second positive ion species, which can be very important in describing electronegative discharges used for materials processing, is a possible extension of the model.« less

  3. Plasma Discharges in Gas Bubbles in Liquid Water: Breakdown Mechanisms and Resultant Chemistry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gucker, Sarah M. N.

    is created either through flowing gas around the high voltage electrode in the discharge tube or self-generated by the plasma as in the steam discharge. This second method allows for large scale processing of contaminated water and for bulk chemical and optical analysis. Breakdown mechanisms of attached and unattached gas bubbles in liquid water were investigated using the first device. The breakdown scaling relation between breakdown voltage, pressure and dimensions of the discharge was studied. A Paschen-like voltage dependence for air bubbles in liquid water was discovered. The results of high-speed photography suggest the physical charging of the bubble due to a high voltage pulse; this charging can be significant enough to produce rapid kinetic motion of the bubble about the electrode region as the applied electric field changes over a voltage pulse. Physical deformation of the bubble is observed. This charging can also prevent breakdown from occurring, necessitating higher applied voltages to overcome the phenomenon. This dissertation also examines the resulting chemistry from plasma interacting with the bubble-liquid system. Through the use of optical emission spectroscopy, plasma parameters such as electron density, gas temperature, and molecular species production and intensity are found to have a time-dependence over the ac voltage cycle. This dependence is also source gas type dependent. These dependencies afford effective control over plasma-driven decomposition. The effect of plasma-produced radicals on various wastewater simulants is studied. Various organic dyes, halogenated compounds, and algae water are decomposed and assessed. Toxicology studies with melanoma cells exposed to plasma-treated dye solutions are completed, demonstrating the non-cytotoxic quality of the decomposition process. Thirdly, this dissertation examines the steam plasma system, developed through this research to circumvent the acidification associated with gas-feed discharges

  4. Transition Control with Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasmas

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-10-01

    AFRL-AFOSR-UK-TR-2011-0007 Transition Control with Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasmas Cameron Tropea Technische...Discharge Plasmas 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8655-08-1-3032 5b. GRANT NUMBER Grant 08-3032 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 61102F 6. AUTHOR(S...is to control natural boundary-layer transition through the use of plasma actuators. Transition delay or even suppression has its merits not only in

  5. Plasma Processing with a One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reece Roth, J.

    2000-10-01

    The vast majority of all industrial plasma processing is conducted with glow discharges at pressures below 10 torr. This has limited applications to high value workpieces as a result of the large capital cost of vacuum systems and the production constraints of batch processing. It has long been recognized that glow discharges would play a much larger industrial role if they could be operated at one atmosphere. The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP) has been developed at the University of Tennessee Plasma Sciences Laboratory. The OAUGDP is non-thermal RF plasma with the time-resolved characteristics of a classical low pressure DC normal glow discharge. An interdisciplinary team was formed to conduct exploratory investigations of the physics and applications of the OAUGDP. This team includes collaborators from the UTK Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC) and the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Microbiology, Food Science and Technology, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Science. Exploratory tests were conducted on a variety of potential plasma processing and other applications. These include the use of OAUGDP to sterilize medical and dental equipment and air filters; diesel soot removal; plasma aerodynamic effects; electrohydrodynamic (EDH) flow control of the neutral working gas; increasing the surface energy of materials; increasing the wettability and wickability of fabrics; and plasma deposition and directional etching. A general overview of these topics will be presented.

  6. 2D Thermoluminescence imaging of dielectric surface long term charge memory of plasma surface interaction in DBD discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ambrico, Paolo F.; Ambrico, Marianna; Schiavulli, Luigi; De Benedictis, Santolo

    2014-07-01

    The charge trapping effect due to the exposure of alumina surfaces to plasma has been studied in a volume dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in Ar and He noble gases. The long lasting charge trapping of alumina dielectric plates, used as barriers in DBDs, is evidenced by an ex situ thermoluminescence (TL) experiment performed with a standard and a custom two-dimensional (2D)-TL apparatus. The spatial density of trapped surface charges is found to be strongly correlated to the plasma morphology, and the surface spatial memory lasted for several minutes to hours after plasma exposure. In the case of Ar, the plasma channel impact signature on the surface shows a higher equivalent radiation dose with respect to the surface plasma wave and the post-discharge species signature. As a consequence, for the development of discharges, inside the dielectric surface the availability of lower energy trapped electrons is larger in the first region of plasma impact. The reported spatial memory increases the likelihood of the occurrence of plasma filaments in the same position in different runs. In He plasmas, the dielectric barrier shows an almost uniform distribution of trapped charges, meaning that there is no preferred region for the development of the discharge. In all cases a slight asymmetry was shown in the direction of the gas flow. This can be interpreted as being due to the long-living species moving in the direction of the gas flow, corresponding with the TL side experiment on the sample exposed to the plasma afterglow. The maximum values and the integral of the 2D-TL images showed a linear relation with the total charge per ac cycle, corresponding with findings for the TL glow curve. In conclusion, 2D-TL images allow the retrieval of information regarding the plasma surface interaction such as the plasma morphology, trap sites and their activation temperature.

  7. Investigation on the mode of AC discharge in H2O affected by temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siyuan, DONG; Shaomeng, GUO; Dan, WEN; Xiaoliang, TANG; Gao, QIU

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, some experimental equipment has been set up for kHz frequency AC liquid phase discharge, and the temperature of the deionized water was regulated during discharge. The electrical characteristics and spectra of liquid phase H2O discharge have been investigated. Two discharge modes, high temperature and low temperature, were both found. The results show that there are two mechanisms in liquid phase discharge: the field ionization mechanism and the breakdown mechanism of bubbles, and these two mechanisms are always developed simultaneously; the temperature is the key factor determining the discharge type. At high temperature, the breakdown of bubbles is the main discharge mechanism, and the field ionization mechanism occurs mainly at low temperature.

  8. Analysis of partial discharge activity by a conducting particle in liquid nitrogen under AC voltages adopting UHF technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sarathi, R.; Giridhar, A. V.; Sethupathi, K.

    2010-01-01

    Liquid nitrogen (LN 2) is used as an insulant as well as coolant in high temperature superconducting power equipments. Particle contamination in liquid nitrogen is one of the major cause for formation of partial discharges during operation. An attempt has been made in the present study to understand the feasibility of using Ultra High Frequency (UHF) sensors for identification of partial discharge (PD) formed due to particle movement in liquid nitrogen under AC voltages. It is observed that the partial discharge formed in LN 2 radiates UHF signal. The results of the study indicate that the conventional partial discharge measurement and UHF peak amplitude measurement have direct correlation. The Phase Resolved Partial Discharge (PRPD) analysis indicates that the partial discharge formed due to particle movement occurs in the entire phase windows of the AC voltage. The PD magnitude increases with increase in applied voltage. The frequency content of UHF signal generated due to particle movement in liquid nitrogen under AC voltages lies in the range of 0.5-1.5 GHz. The UHF sensor output signal analyzed using spectrum analyzer by operating it in zero-span mode, indicates that burst type PD occurs due to particle movement.

  9. Effect of turbulent flow on an atmospheric-pressure AC powered gliding arc discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kong, Chengdong; Gao, Jinlong; Zhu, Jiajian; Ehn, Andreas; Aldén, Marcus; Li, Zhongshan

    2018-06-01

    A high-power gliding arc (GA) discharge was generated in a turbulent air flow driven by a 35 kHz alternating current electric power supply. The effects of the flow rate on the characteristics of the GA discharge were investigated using combined optical and electrical diagnostics. Phenomenologically, the GA discharge exhibits two types of discharge, i.e., glow type and spark type, depending on the flow rates and input powers. The glow-type discharge, which has peak currents of hundreds of milliamperes, is sustained at low flow rates. The spark-type discharge, which is characterized by a sharp current spike of several amperes with duration of less than 1 μs, occurs more frequently as the flow rate increases. Higher input power can suppress spark-type discharges in moderate turbulence, but this effect becomes weak under high turbulent conditions. Physically, the transition between glow- and spark-type is initiated by the short cutting events and the local re-ignition events. Short cutting events occur owing to the twisting, wrinkling, and stretching of the plasma columns that are governed by the relatively large vortexes in the flow. Local re-ignition events, which are defined as re-ignition along plasma columns, are detected in strong turbulence due to increment of the impedance of the plasma column and consequently the internal electric field strength. It is suggested that the vortexes with length scales smaller than the size of the plasma can penetrate into the plasma column and promote mixing with surroundings to accelerate the energy dissipation. Therefore, the turbulent flow influences the GA discharges by ruling the short cutting events with relatively large vortexes and the local re-ignition events with small vortexes.

  10. Alfvén cascades in JET discharges with NBI-heating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharapov, S. E.; Alper, B.; Baranov, Yu. F.; Berk, H. L.; Borba, D.; Boswell, C.; Breizman, B. N.; Challis, C. D.; de Baar, M.; DeLa Luna, E.; Evangelidis, E. A.; Hacquin, S.; Hawkes, N. C.; Kiptily, V. G.; Pinches, S. D.; Sandquist, P.; Voitsekhovich, I.; Young, N. P.; Contributors, JET-EFDA

    2006-10-01

    Alfvén cascade (AC) eigenmodes excited by energetic ions accelerated with ion-cyclotron resonance heating in JET reversed-shear discharges are studied experimentally in high-density plasmas fuelled by neutral beam injection (NBI) and by deuterium pellets. The recently developed O-mode interferometry technique and Mirnov coils are employed for detecting ACs. The spontaneous improvements in plasma confinement (internal transport barrier (ITB) triggering events) and grand ACs are found to correlate within 0.2 s in JET plasmas with densities up to ~5 × 1019 m-3. Measurements with high time resolution show that ITB triggering events happen before 'grand' ACs in the majority of JET discharges, indicating that this improvement in confinement is likely to be associated with the decrease in the density of rational magnetic surfaces just before qmin(t) passes an integer value. Experimentally observed ACs excited by sub-Alfvénic NBI-produced ions with parallel velocities as low as V||NBI ap 0.2 · VA are found to be most likely associated with the geodesic acoustic effect that significantly modifies the shear-Alfvén dispersion relation at low frequency. Experiments were performed with a tritium NBI-blip (short time pulse) into JET plasmas with NBI-driven ACs. Although considerable NBI-driven AC activity was present, good agreement was found both in the radial profile and in the time evolution of DT neutrons between the neutron measurements and the TRANSP code modelling based on the Coulomb collision model, indicating the ACs have at most a small effect on fast particle confinement in this case.

  11. DC response of dust to low frequency AC signals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McKinlay, Michael; Konopka, Uwe; Thomas, Edward

    2017-10-01

    Macroscopic changes in the shape and equilibrium position of clouds of charged microparticles suspended in a plasma have been observed in response to low frequency AC signals. In these experiments, dusty plasmas consisting of 2-micron diameter silica microspheres suspended between an anode and cathode in an argon, DC glow discharge plasma are produced in a grounded, 6-way cross vacuum chamber. An AC signal, produced by a function generator and amplified by a bipolar op-amp, is superimposed onto the potential from the cathode. The frequencies of the applied AC signals, ranging from tens to hundreds of kHz, are comparable to the ion-neutral collision frequency; well below the ion/electron plasma frequencies, but also considerably higher than the dust plasma frequency. This presentation will detail the experimental setup, present documentation and categorization of observations of the dust response, and present an initial model of the response. This work is supported by funding from the US Dept. of Energy, Grant Number DE-SC0016330, and by the National Science Foundation, Grant Number PHY-1613087.

  12. Characterization of microwave discharge plasmas for surface processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nikolic, Milka

    We have developed several diagnostic techniques to characterize two types of microwave (MW) discharge plasmas: a supersonic flowing argon MW discharge maintained in a cylindrical quartz cavity at frequency ƒ = 2.45 GHz and a pulse repetitive MW discharge in air at ƒ = 9.5 GHz. Low temperature MW discharges have been proven to posses attractive properties for plasma cleaning and etching of niobium surfaces of superconductive radio frequency (SRF) cavities. Plasma based surface modification technologies offer a promising alternative for etching and cleaning of SRF cavities. These technologies are low cost, environmentally friendly and easily controllable, and present a possible alternative to currently used acid based wet technologies, such as buffered chemical polishing (BCP), or electrochemical polishing (EP). In fact, weakly ionized. non-equilibrium, and low temperature gas discharges represent a powerful tool for surface processing due to the strong chemical reactivity of plasma radicals. Therefore, characterizing these discharges by applying non-perturbing, in situ measurement techniques is of vital importance. Optical emission spectroscopy has been employed to analyze the molecular structure and evaluate rotational and vibrational temperatures in these discharges. The internal plasma structure was studied by applying a tomographic numerical method based on the two-dimensional Radon formula. An automated optical measurement system has been developed for reconstruction of local plasma parameters. It was found that excited argon states are concentrated near the tube walls, thus confirming the assumption that the post discharge plasma is dominantly sustained by a travelling surface wave. Employing a laser induced fluorescence technique in combination with the time synchronization device allowed us to obtain time-resolved population densities of some excited atomic levels in argon. We have developed a technique for absolute measurements of electron density based

  13. Direct current dielectric barrier assistant discharge to get homogeneous plasma in capacitive coupled discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Du, Yinchang, E-mail: ycdu@mail.ustc.edu.cn; Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, D-85748 Garching; Li, Yangfang

    In this paper, we propose a method to get more homogeneous plasma in the geometrically asymmetric capacitive coupled plasma (CCP) discharge. The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is used for the auxiliary discharge system to improve the homogeneity of the geometrically asymmetric CCP discharge. The single Langmuir probe measurement shows that the DBD can increase the electron density in the low density volume, where the DBD electrodes are mounted, when the pressure is higher than 5 Pa. By this manner, we are able to improve the homogeneity of the plasma production and increase the overall density in the target volume. At last,more » the finite element simulation results show that the DC bias, applied to the DBD electrodes, can increase the homogeneity of the electron density in the CCP discharge. The simulation results show a good agreement with the experiment results.« less

  14. Autonomous Method and System for Minimizing the Magnitude of Plasma Discharge Current Oscillations in a Hall Effect Plasma Device

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hruby, Vladimir (Inventor); Demmons, Nathaniel (Inventor); Ehrbar, Eric (Inventor); Pote, Bruce (Inventor); Rosenblad, Nathan (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    An autonomous method for minimizing the magnitude of plasma discharge current oscillations in a Hall effect plasma device includes iteratively measuring plasma discharge current oscillations of the plasma device and iteratively adjusting the magnet current delivered to the plasma device in response to measured plasma discharge current oscillations to reduce the magnitude of the plasma discharge current oscillations.

  15. Experimental investigation on a vectorized aerodynamic dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator array

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neretti, Gabriele; Cristofolini, Andrea; Borghi, Carlo A.

    2014-04-01

    The Electro-Hydro-Dynamics (EHD) interaction, induced in atmospheric pressure still air by a surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) actuator, had been experimentally studied. A plasma aerodynamic actuator array, able to produce a vectorized jet, with the induced airflow oriented toward the desired direction, had been developed. The array was constituted by a sequence of single surface DBD actuators with kapton as dielectric material. An ac voltage in the range of 0-6 kV peak at 15 kHz had been used. The vectorization had been obtained by feeding the upper electrodes with different voltages and by varying the electrical connections. The lower electrodes had been connected either to ground or to the high voltage source, to produce the desired jet orientation and to avoid plasma formation acting in an undesired direction. Voltage and current measurements had been carried out to evaluate waveforms and to estimate the active power delivered to the discharge. Schlieren imaging allowed to visualize the induced jet and to estimate its orientation. Pitot measurements had been performed to obtain velocity profiles for all jet configurations. A proportional relation between the jet deflection angle and the applied voltage had been found. Moreover, a linear relation had been obtained between the maximum speed in the jet direction and the applied voltage. The active power of the discharge is approximated by both a power law function and an exponential function of the applied voltage.

  16. Dynamics of the plasma current sheath in plasma focus discharges in different gases

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vinogradov, V. P.; Krauz, V. I., E-mail: krauz-vi@nrcki.ru; Mokeev, A. N.

    2016-12-15

    The shape of the plasma current sheath (PCS) in the final stage of its radial compression, the dynamics of pinching, and the subsequent pinch decay in plasma focus (PF) discharges in different gases are studied using an improved multichannel system of electron-optical plasma photography and a newly elaborated synchronization system. The PCS structure in discharges in heavy gases (Ne, Ar) is found to differ significantly from that in discharges in hydrogen and deuterium. The influence of a heavy gas (Xe) additive to hydrogen and deuterium on the structure and compression dynamics of the PCS is investigated.

  17. Investigation of the helicon discharge plasma parameters in a hybrid RF plasma system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Aleksandrov, A. F.; Petrov, A. K., E-mail: alpetrov57@gmail.com; Vavilin, K. V.

    2016-03-15

    Results of an experimental study of the helicon discharge plasma parameters in a prototype of a hybrid RF plasma system equipped with a solenoidal antenna are described. It is shown that an increase in the external magnetic field leads to the formation of a plasma column and a shift of the maximum ion current along the discharge axis toward the bottom flange of the system. The shape of the plasma column can be controlled via varying the configuration of the magnetic field.

  18. Comparison of fungicidal properties of non-thermal plasma produced by corona discharge and dielectric barrier discharge.

    PubMed

    Julák, J; Soušková, H; Scholtz, V; Kvasničková, E; Savická, D; Kříha, V

    2018-01-01

    The inactivation of four micromycete species by action of non-thermal plasma was followed. Two sources of plasma were compared, namely, positive corona discharge and dielectric barrier discharge. The corona discharge appeared as suitable for fungal spore inactivation in water suspension, whereas the barrier discharge inactivated spores on the surface of cultivation agar. Cladosporium sphaerospermum was the most sensitive, being inactivated within 10 min of exposure to plasma, whereas Aspergillus oryzae displayed decrease in viable cell count only, the complete inactivation was not achieved even after 40 min of exposure. Intermediate sensitivity was found for Alternaria sp. and Byssochlamys nivea. The significant delay of growth was observed for all fungi after exposure to sublethal dose of plasma, but we failed to express this effect quantitatively.

  19. Water treatment by the AC gliding arc air plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gharagozalian, Mehrnaz; Dorranian, Davoud; Ghoranneviss, Mahmood

    2017-09-01

    In this study, the effects of gliding arc (G Arc) plasma system on the treatment of water have been investigated experimentally. An AC power supply of 15 kV potential difference at 50 Hz frequency was employed to generate plasma. Plasma density and temperature were measured using spectroscopic method. The water was contaminated with staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and salmonella bacteria (Gram-negative), and Penicillium (mold fungus) individually. pH, hydrogen peroxide, and nitride contents of treated water were measured after plasma treatment. Decontamination of treated water was determined using colony counting method. Results indicate that G Arc plasma is a powerful and green tool to decontaminate water without producing any byproducts.

  20. Process Performances of 2 ns Pulsed Discharge Plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsumoto, Takao; Wang, Douyan; Namihira, Takao; Akiyama, Hidenori

    2011-08-01

    Pulsed discharge plasmas have been used to treat exhaust gases. Since pulse duration and the rise time of applied voltage to the discharge electrode has a strong influence on the energy efficiency of pollutant removal, the development of a short-pulse generator is of paramount importance for practical applications. In this work, it is demonstrated that the non thermal plasma produced by the 2 ns pulsed discharge has a higher energy efficiency than the 5 ns pulsed discharge plasma for NO removal and ozone generation. Typically, the NO removal efficiency was 1.0 mol kW-1 h-1 for 70% NO removal (initial NO concentration = 200 ppm, gas flow = 10 L/min). Meanwhile, the ozone yield was 500 g kW-1 h-1 for 20 g/m3 ozone concentration in the case of oxygen feeding. These energy efficiencies are the highest in the literature.

  1. Plasma Structure and Behavior of Miniature Ring-Cusp Discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Hann-Shin

    Miniature ring-cusp ion thrusters provide a unique blend of high efficiencies and millinewton level thrust for future spacecraft. These thrusters are attractive as a primary propulsion for small satellites that require a high delta V, and as a secondary propulsion for larger spacecraft that require precision formation flying, disturbance rejection, or attitude control. To ensure desirable performance throughout the life of such missions, an advancement in the understanding of the plasma structure and behavior of miniature ring-cusp discharges is required. A research model was fabricated to provide a simplified experimental test bed for the analysis of the plasma discharge chamber of a miniature ion thruster. The plasma source allowed for spatially resolved measurements with a Langmuir probe along a meridian plane. Probe measurements yielded plasma density, electron temperature, and plasma potential data. The magnetic field strength was varied along with the discharge current to determine the plasma behavior under various conditions. The structure of the plasma properties were found to be independent of the discharge power under the proper scaling. It was concluded that weaker magnetic fields can improve the overall performance for ion thruster operation. To further analyze the experimental measurements, a framework was developed based on the magnetic field. A flux aligned coordinate system was developed to decouple the perpendicular and parallel plasma motion with respect to the magnetic field. This was done using the stream function and magnetic scalar potential. Magnetic formulae provided intuition on the field profiles dependence on magnet dimensions. The flux aligned coordinate system showed that the plasma was isopycnic along constant stream function values. This was used to develop an empirical relation suitable for estimating the spatial behavior and to determine the plasma volume and loss areas. The plasma geometry estimates were applied to a control volume

  2. Introduction of Nano-seconds Pulsed Discharge Plasma and its Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Namihira, Takao; Wang, Douyan; Matsumoto, Takao; Okada, Sho; Akiyama, Hidenori

    During the decades, the developments of high power semiconductor switch, magnetic core and etc have allowed us to manufacture the pulsed power source having higher energy transfer efficiency. As the results, the pulsed discharge has been recognized as one of the promised non-thermal plasma to practical use. In this paper, a generation process, electron energy, impedance and a temperature of the pulsed discharge plasma would be explained. In addition, a nano-seconds pulsed discharge plasma would be introduced as the non-thermal plasma processing giving us the highest energy efficiency and be demonstrated it.

  3. Analysis of radiofrequency discharges in plasma

    DOEpatents

    Kumar, D.; McGlynn, S.P.

    1992-08-04

    Separation of laser optogalvanic signals in plasma into two components: (1) an ionization rate change component, and (2) a photoacoustic mediated component. This separation of components may be performed even when the two components overlap in time, by measuring time-resolved laser optogalvanic signals in an rf discharge plasma as the rf frequency is varied near the electrical resonance peak of the plasma and associated driving/detecting circuits. A novel spectrometer may be constructed to make these measurements. Such a spectrometer would be useful in better understanding and controlling such processes as plasma etching and plasma deposition. 15 figs.

  4. Analysis of radiofrequency discharges in plasma

    DOEpatents

    Kumar, Devendra; McGlynn, Sean P.

    1992-01-01

    Separation of laser optogalvanic signals in plasma into two components: (1) an ionization rate change component, and (2) a photoacoustic mediated component. This separation of components may be performed even when the two components overlap in time, by measuring time-resolved laser optogalvanic signals in an rf discharge plasma as the rf frequency is varied near the electrical resonance peak of the plasma and associated driving/detecting circuits. A novel spectrometer may be constructed to make these measurements. Such a spectrometer would be useful in better understanding and controlling such processes as plasma etching and plasma deposition.

  5. Vane Separation Control in a Linear Cascade with Area Expansion using AC DBD Plasma Actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kleven, Christopher; Corke, Thomas

    2013-11-01

    Experiments are presented on the use of AC dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators to prevent flow separation on vanes in a linear cascade with area expansion. The inlet Mach number to the cascade ranged from 0.3 to 0.5, and the vane chord Reynolds numbers ranged from 0 . 9 ×106 to 1 . 5 ×106 . Three cascade designs with different amounts of area expansion, providing different degrees of adverse pressure gradients, were examined. Surface flow visualization revealed a 3-D separation bubble with strong recirculation that formed on the suction side of the vanes. The pattern agreed well with CFD simulations. Plasma actuators were placed on the suction sides of the vanes, just upstream of the flow separation location. Quantitative measurements were performed in the wakes of the vanes using a 5-hole Pitot probe. The measurements were used to determine the effect of the plasma actuator separation control on the pressure loss coefficient, and flow turning angle through the cascades. Overall, the plasma actuators separation control increased the velocity magnitude and dynamic pressure in the passage between the vanes, resulted in a more spanwise-uniform flow turning angle in the vane passage, and significantly lowered the loss coefficient compared to the baseline.

  6. High-frequency underwater plasma discharge application in antibacterial activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahmed, M. W.; Choi, S.; Lyakhov, K.; Shaislamov, U.; Mongre, R. K.; Jeong, D. K.; Suresh, R.; Lee, H. J.

    2017-03-01

    Plasma discharge is a novel disinfection and effectual inactivation approach to treat microorganisms in aqueous systems. Inactivation of Gram-negative Escherichia coli ( E. coli) by generating high-frequency, high-voltage, oxygen (O2) injected and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) added discharge in water was achieved. The effect of H2O2 dose and oxygen injection rate on electrical characteristics of discharge and E. coli disinfection has been reported. Microbial log reduction dependent on H2O2 addition with O2 injection was observed. The time variation of the inactivation efficiency quantified by the log reduction of the initial E. coli population on the basis of optical density measurement was reported. The analysis of emission spectrum recorded after discharge occurrence illustrated the formation of oxidant species (OH•, H, and O). Interestingly, the results demonstrated that O2 injected and H2O2 added, underwater plasma discharge had fabulous impact on the E. coli sterilization. The oxygen injection notably reduced the voltage needed for generating breakdown in flowing water and escalated the power of discharge pulses. No impact of hydrogen peroxide addition on breakdown voltage was observed. A significant role of oxidant species in bacterial inactivation also has been identified. Furthermore the E. coli survivability in plasma treated water with oxygen injection and hydrogen peroxide addition drastically reduced to zero. The time course study also showed that the retardant effect on E. coli colony multiplication in plasma treated water was favorable, observed after long time. High-frequency underwater plasma discharge based biological applications is technically relevant and would act as baseline data for the development of novel antibacterial processing strategies.

  7. Dielectric barrier discharge-based plasma actuator operation in artificial atmospheres for validation of modeling and simulation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mangina, R. S.; Enloe, C. L.; Font, G. I.

    2015-11-15

    We present an experimental case study of time-resolved force production by an aerodynamic plasma actuator immersed in various mixtures of electropositive (N{sub 2}) and electronegative gases (O{sub 2} and SF{sub 6}) at atmospheric pressure using a fixed AC high-voltage input of 16 kV peak amplitude at 200 Hz frequency. We have observed distinct changes in the discharge structures during both negative- and positive-going voltage half-cycles, with corresponding variations in the actuator's force production: a ratio of 4:1 in the impulse produced by the negative-going half-cycle of the discharge among the various gas mixtures we explored, 2:1 in the impulse produced by themore » positive-going half-cycle, and cases in which the negative-going half-cycle dominates force production (by a ratio of 1.5:1), where the half-cycles produce identical force levels, and where the positive-going half cycle dominates (by a ratio of 1:5). We also present time-resolved experimental evidence for the first time that shows electrons do play a significant role in the momentum coupling to surrounding neutrals during the negative going voltage half-cycle of the N{sub 2} discharge. We show that there is sufficient macroscopic variation in the plasma that the predictions of numerical models at the microscopic level can be validated even though the plasma itself cannot be measured directly on those spatial and temporal scales.« less

  8. Role of plasma electrons in the generation of a gas discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gruzdev, V. A.; Zalesski, V. G.; Rusetski, I. S.

    2012-12-01

    The role of different ionization mechanisms in penning-type gas discharges used to generate an emitting plasma in plasma electron sources is considered. It is shown that, under certain conditions, a substantial contribution to the process of gas ionization is provided by plasma electrons.

  9. Plasma instability in fast spherical discharge induced by a preionization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Antsiferov, P. S.; Dorokhin, L. A.

    2015-04-01

    As it was shown earlier, fast discharge (dI/dt ˜ 1012 A/s and Imax ≈ 40 kA) in a spherical cavity (Al2O3, inner diameter 11 mm, 4 mm apertures for the current supply) filled with working gas (Ar and Xe, pressure 80 Pa), results in the formation of a plasma with the form close to spherical. The physical mechanism can be the cumulation of a convergent shock wave, which was originated near the inner surface of the discharge cavity. It was also shown for the cylindrical fast discharge that the preionization influences the dynamics of the cylindrical convergent shock wave, its evolutions becomes faster. The present work is devoted to the study of the influence of the preionization on the plasma formation in the fast discharge with spherical geometry (Ar, 80 Pa). The inductive storage with plasma erosion opening switch was used as a current driver. The spatial structure of the discharge plasma was studied by means of a pin-hole camera with the microchannel plate (MCP) detector with time gate of 5 ns. The extreme ultra violet spectra were studied by means of the grazing incidence spectrometer with the same MCP detector with time gate of 20 ns. Beside the expected effects (reduction of the spherical plasma formation time and some increase of the electron temperature), the preionization of the discharge by the current 500 A results also in the development of the plasma instabilities and destruction of the compact plasma ball in several tens of nanoseconds. Possible mechanism of the instability is discussed.

  10. Parallel 3-D numerical simulation of dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Houba, Tomas

    Dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators have shown promise in a range of applications including flow control, sterilization and ozone generation. Developing numerical models of plasma actuators is of great importance, because a high-fidelity parallel numerical model allows new design configurations to be tested rapidly. Additionally, it provides a better understanding of the plasma actuator physics which is useful for further innovation. The physics of plasma actuators is studied numerically. A loosely coupled approach is utilized for the coupling of the plasma to the neutral fluid. The state of the art in numerical plasma modeling is advanced by the development of a parallel, three-dimensional, first-principles model with detailed air chemistry. The model incorporates 7 charged species and 18 reactions, along with a solution of the electron energy equation. To the author's knowledge, a parallel three-dimensional model of a gas discharge with a detailed air chemistry model and the solution of electron energy is unique. Three representative geometries are studied using the gas discharge model. The discharge of gas between two parallel electrodes is used to validate the air chemistry model developed for the gas discharge code. The gas discharge model is then applied to the discharge produced by placing a dc powered wire and grounded plate electrodes in a channel. Finally, a three-dimensional simulation of gas discharge produced by electrodes placed inside a riblet is carried out. The body force calculated with the gas discharge model is loosely coupled with a fluid model to predict the induced flow inside the riblet.

  11. Physicochemical properties of the AC-excited helium discharges using a water electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hafiz, Imran Ahmad QAZI; Yiying, XIN; Muhammad Ajmal, KHAN; Heping, LI; Lu, ZHOU; Chengyu, BAO

    2018-07-01

    In this paper, the AC-excited helium discharges generated between the powered needle electrode enclosed in a conical quartz tube and the grounded de-ionized water electrode are investigated. The current and voltage waveforms exhibit a transition from the glow-like to streamer-like mode discharges, which forms a stable cone-shaped structure at the gas–liquid interface. In this region, the air and water vapor diffusion initiate various physical–chemical processes leading to substantial changes of the primary species emission intensities (e.g., OH, N2, NO, and O) and the rotational temperatures. The experimentally measured rotational temperature at the gas–liquid interface is 870 K from the N2(C–B) band with a power input of 26 W. With the prolongation of the discharge time, significant changes in the discharge voltage and current, discharge emission patterns, instantaneous concentrations of the secondary species (e.g., H2O2, {{{NO}}}2-, and {{{NO}}}3-) in the liquid phase, pH values and electrical conductivities of the liquids are observed experimentally. The present study is helpful for deepening the understandings to the basic physical–chemical processes in the discharges in contact with liquids, especially to those occurring in the vicinity of the gas–liquid interface, and also for promoting existing and potential applications of such type of discharges in the fields of environmental protection, biomedicine, agriculture, and so on.

  12. Portable rotating discharge plasma device

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dwyer, B. L.; Brooks, N. H.; Lee, R. L.

    2011-10-01

    We constructed two devices for the purpose of educational demonstration: a rotating tube containing media of two densities to demonstrate axial confinement and a similar device that uses pressure variation to convert a long plasma glow discharge into a long straight arc. In the first device, the buoyant force is countered by the centripetal force, which confines less dense materials to the center of the column. Similarly, a plasma arc heats the gas through which it passes, creating a hot gaseous bubble that is less dense than the surrounding medium. Rotating its containment envelope stabilizes this gas bubble in an analogous manner to an air bubble in a rotating tube of water. In addition to stabilization, the rotating discharge also exhibits a decrease in buoyancy-driven convection currents. This limits the power loss to the walls, which decreases the field strength requirement for maintaining the arc. These devices demonstrate principles of electrodynamics, plasma physics, and fluid mechanics. They are portable and safe for classroom use. Work supported by US DOE under DE-FC02-04ER54698 and the National Undergraduate Fellowship in Fusion Science and Engineering.

  13. High-frequency underwater plasma discharge application in antibacterial activity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ahmed, M. W.; Choi, S.; Lyakhov, K.

    Plasma discharge is a novel disinfection and effectual inactivation approach to treat microorganisms in aqueous systems. Inactivation of Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) by generating high-frequency, high-voltage, oxygen (O{sub 2}) injected and hydrogen peroxide (H{sub 2}O{sub 2}) added discharge in water was achieved. The effect of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} dose and oxygen injection rate on electrical characteristics of discharge and E. coli disinfection has been reported. Microbial log reduction dependent on H{sub 2}O{sub 2} addition with O{sub 2} injection was observed. The time variation of the inactivation efficiency quantified by the log reduction of the initial E. coli population onmore » the basis of optical density measurement was reported. The analysis of emission spectrum recorded after discharge occurrence illustrated the formation of oxidant species (OH{sup •}, H, and O). Interestingly, the results demonstrated that O{sub 2} injected and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} added, underwater plasma discharge had fabulous impact on the E. coli sterilization. The oxygen injection notably reduced the voltage needed for generating breakdown in flowing water and escalated the power of discharge pulses. No impact of hydrogen peroxide addition on breakdown voltage was observed. A significant role of oxidant species in bacterial inactivation also has been identified. Furthermore the E. coli survivability in plasma treated water with oxygen injection and hydrogen peroxide addition drastically reduced to zero. The time course study also showed that the retardant effect on E. coli colony multiplication in plasma treated water was favorable, observed after long time. High-frequency underwater plasma discharge based biological applications is technically relevant and would act as baseline data for the development of novel antibacterial processing strategies.« less

  14. Rydberg gas theory of a glow discharge plasma: I. Application to the electrical behaviour of a fast flowing glow discharge plasma.

    PubMed

    Mason, Rod S; Mitchell, David J; Dickinson, Paul M

    2010-04-21

    Current-voltage (I-V) curves have been measured, independent of the main discharge, for electricity passing through the steady state fast flowing 'afterglow' plasma of a low power dc glow discharge in Ar. Voltage profiles along the axial line of conduction have been mapped using fixed probes and potentiometry, and the mass spectra of cations emerging from the downstream sampling Cone, also acting as a probe anode, were recorded simultaneously. Floating double probe experiments were also carried out. The electrical behavior is consistent with the well established I-V characteristics of such discharges, but does not comply with classical plasma theory predictions. The plasma decays along the line of conduction, with a lifetime of approximately 1 ms, despite carrying a steady state current, and its potential is below that of the large surface area anode voltage; a situation which cannot exist in the presence of a conventional free ion-electron plasma, unless the electron temperature is super cold. Currents, large by comparison with the main discharge current, and independent of it, are induced to flow through the downstream plasma, from the Anode (acting as a cathode) to the anodic ion exit Cone, induced by electron impact ionisation at the anode, but without necessarily increasing the plasma density. It appears to be conducted by direct charge transfer between a part of the anode surface (acting as cathode to the auxiliary circuit) and the plasma, without secondary electron emission or heating, which suggests the direct involvement of Rydberg atom intermediates. The reaction energy defect (= the work function of the electrode surface) fits with the plasma potential threshold observed for the cathodic reaction to occur. A true free ion-electron plasma is readily detected by the observation of cations at the anode surface, when induced at the downstream anode, at high bias voltages, by the electron impact ionisation in the boundary region. In contrast to the classical

  15. Mode transition of a Hall thruster discharge plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hara, Kentaro, E-mail: kenhara@umich.edu; Sekerak, Michael J., E-mail: msekerak@umich.edu; Boyd, Iain D.

    2014-05-28

    A Hall thruster is a cross-field plasma device used for spacecraft propulsion. An important unresolved issue in the development of Hall thrusters concerns the effect of discharge oscillations in the range of 10–30 kHz on their performance. The use of a high speed Langmuir probe system and ultra-fast imaging of the discharge plasma of a Hall thruster suggests that the discharge oscillation mode, often called the breathing mode, is strongly correlated to an axial global ionization mode. Stabilization of the global oscillation mode is achieved as the magnetic field is increased and azimuthally rotating spokes are observed. A hybrid-direct kinetic simulationmore » that takes into account the transport of electronically excited atoms is used to model the discharge plasma of a Hall thruster. The predicted mode transition agrees with experiments in terms of the mean discharge current, the amplitude of discharge current oscillation, and the breathing mode frequency. It is observed that the stabilization of the global oscillation mode is associated with reduced electron transport that suppresses the ionization process inside the channel. As the Joule heating balances the other loss terms including the effects of wall loss and inelastic collisions, the ionization oscillation is damped, and the discharge oscillation stabilizes. A wide range of the stable operation is supported by the formation of a space charge saturated sheath that stabilizes the electron axial drift and balances the Joule heating as the magnetic field increases. Finally, it is indicated from the numerical results that there is a strong correlation between the emitted light intensity and the discharge current.« less

  16. Experimental visualization of the cathode layer in AC surface dielectric barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Sang-You; Lho, Taihyeop; Chung, Kyu-Sun

    2018-06-01

    A narrow etched polyimide line at the bottom edge of a biased electrode (BE) and a non-etched dielectric surface near the biased electrode were observed in an atmospheric AC flexible surface dielectric barrier discharge of polyimide dielectric. These findings are attributed to the bombardment of positive oxygen ions on the bottom edge of the BE and the electron breakdown trajectory not contacting the polyimide surface following the electric field lines formed between the BE edge and the surface charge layer on the dielectric. The length of the non-etched dielectric surface during the first micro-discharge was observed as 22 μm. This occurred, regardless of three different operating durations, which is in good agreement with the length of the cathode layer according to Paschen's law.

  17. Theory of beam plasma discharge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Papadopoulos, K.

    1982-01-01

    The general theory of beam plasma discharge (BPD) is discussed in relation to space and laboratory beam injection situations. An important concept introduced is that even when beam plasma instabilities are excited, there are two regime of BPD with radically different observational properties. They are described here as BPD with either classical or anomalous energy depositions. For high pressures or low altitudes, the classical is expected to dominate. For high altitudes and laboratory experiments, where the axial system size is less than lambda sub en, no BPD will be triggered unless the unstable waves are near the ambient plasma frequency and their amplitudes at saturation are large enough to create suprathermal tails by collapsing.

  18. Dusty waves and vortices in rf magnetron discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filippov, A. V.; Pal, A. F.; Ryabinkin, A. N.; Serov, A. O.; Shugaev, F. V.

    2018-01-01

    The appearance and subsequent growth of metallic particles in plasma of planar rf magnetron sputter were observed. The origin of the particles is sputtering of the rf electrode by ion flux from the plasma. In some regions of formed dust cloud the particles were involved in the horizontal or vertical circular movement. The horizontal rotation along the sputtered track in the cyclotron drift direction was observed close to the main magnetron plasma. The torus-shaped dust vortex ring engirdled the secondary plasma of the discharge at height of a few centimeters over the electrode. Close to this region particle density waves propagated through the cloud. The possible role of discharge plasma azimuthal inhomogeneity and gas dynamics effects in the forming the observed structures was considered.

  19. Plasma discharge and time-dependence of its effect to bacteria.

    PubMed

    Justan, I; Cernohorska, L; Dvorak, Z; Slavicek, P

    2014-07-01

    Several types of plasma discharge have been proven to have a capacity for sterilization. Our goal is to introduce new nonthermal plasma pencil. We used it to sterilize different microbial populations with differing ages. We used a plasma discharge of the following characteristics: radio frequency barrier discharger at atmospheric pressure with a working frequency of 13.56 MHz, and the working gas used was argon. We performed 110 tests with the following microbial populations: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus species, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. All populations were inoculated on the previous day and also on the day of our experiment. We made our evaluations the following day and also after 5 days, with all our microbial populations. Eradication of microbial populations is dependent on the plasma discharge exposure time in all cases. With regard to freshly inoculated microbes, we were able to sterilize agar with intensive exposure lasting for 10 s of colonies Pseudomonas, Proteus, and Klebsiella. The most resistant microbe seems to be S. aureus, which survives 5 s of coherent exposure in half of the cases. Using the lightest plasma discharge exposure, we achieved a maximum of 10(4)-10(5) CFU/mL (colony-forming unit - CFU). Regarding older microbial populations inoculated the day before the experiment, we can only decrease population growth to 10(5) CFU/mL approximately, but never completely sterilize. The plasma discharge with our characteristics could be used for the sterilization of the aforementioned superficially growing microbes, but does not sufficiently affect deeper layers and thus seems to be a limitation for eradication of the already erupted colonies.

  20. Design of a Microwave Assisted Discharge Inductive Plasma Accelerator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hallock, Ashley K.; Polzin, Kurt A.

    2010-01-01

    A new plasma accelerator concept that employs electrodeless plasma preionization and pulsed inductive acceleration is presented. Preionization is achieved through an electron cyclotron resonance discharge that produces a weakly-ionized plasma at the face of a conical theta pinch-shaped inductive coil. The presence of the preionized plasma allows for current sheet formation at lower discharge voltages than those found in other pulsed inductive accelerators. The location of an electron cyclotron resonance discharge can be controlled through the design of the applied magnetic field in the thruster. A finite-element model of the magnetic field was used as a design tool, allowing for the implementation of an arrangement of permanent magnets that yields a small volume of preionized propellant at the coil face. This allows for current sheet formation at the face of the inductive coil, minimizing the initial inductance of the pulse circuit and maximizing the potential efficiency of the new accelerator.

  1. Characteristics of 2-heptanone decomposition using nanosecond pulsed discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakase, Yuki; Fukuchi, Yuichi; Wang, Douyan; Namihira, Takao; Akiyama, Hidenori; Kumamoto University Collaboration

    2015-09-01

    Volatile organic compounds (VOC) evaporate at room temperature. VOCs typically consist of toluene, benzene and ethyl acetate, which are used in cosmetics, dry cleaning products and paints. Exposure to elevated levels of VOCs may cause headaches, dizziness and irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat; they may also cause environmental problems such as air pollution, acid rain and photochemical smog. As such, they require prompt removal. Nanosecond pulsed discharge is a kind of non-thermal plasma consisting of a streamer discharge. Several advantages of nanosecond pulsed discharge plasma have been demonstrated by studies of our research group, including low heat loss, highly energetic electron generation, and the production of highly active radicals. These advantages have shown ns pulsed discharge plasma capable of higher energy efficiency for processes, such as air purification, wastewater treatment and ozone generation. In this research, nanosecond pulsed discharge plasma was employed to treat 2-heptanone, which is a volatile organic compound type and presents several harmful effects. Characteristics of treatment dependent on applied voltage, gas flow rate and input energy density were investigated. Furthermore, byproducts generated by treatment were also investigated.

  2. Exploration to generate atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma in air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wenzheng, LIU; Chuanlong, MA; Shuai, ZHAO; Xiaozhong, CHEN; Tahan, WANG; Luxiang, ZHAO; Zhiyi, LI; Jiangqi, NIU; Liying, ZHU; Maolin, CHAI

    2018-03-01

    Atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) plasma in air has high application value. In this paper, the methods of generating APGD plasma in air are discussed, and the characteristics of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in non-uniform electric field are studied. It makes sure that APGD in air is formed by DBD in alternating current electric field with using the absorbing electron capacity of electret materials to provide initial electrons and to end the discharge progress. Through designing electric field to form two-dimensional space varying electric field and three-dimensional space varying electric field, the development of electron avalanches in air-gap is suppressed effectively and a large space of APGD plasma in air is generated. Further, through combining electrode structures, a large area of APGD plasma in air is generated. On the other hand, by using the method of increasing the density of initial electrons, millimeter-gap glow discharge in atmospheric pressure air is formed, and a maximum gap distance between electrodes is 8 mm. By using the APGD plasma surface treatment device composed of contact electrodes, the surface modification of high polymer materials such as aramid fiber and polyester are studied and good effect of modifications is obtained. The present paper provides references for the researchers of industrial applications of plasma.

  3. Enhanced Discharge Performance in a Ring Cusp Plasma Source

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foster, John E.; Patterson, Michael J.

    2000-01-01

    There is a need for a lightweight, low power ion thruster for space science missions. Such an ion thruster is under development at NASA Glenn Research Center. In an effort to better understand the discharge performance of this thruster, a thruster discharge chamber with an anode containing electrically isolated electrodes at the cusps was fabricated and tested. Characteristics of this ring cusp ion discharge were measured without ion beam extraction. Discharge current was measured at collection electrodes located at the magnetic cusps and at the anode body itself. Discharge performance and plasma properties were measured as a function of power, which was varied between 20 and 50 W. It was found that ion production costs decreased by as much as 20 percent when the two most downstream cusp electrodes were allowed to float. Floating the electrodes did not give rise to a significant increase in discharge power even though the plasma density increased markedly. The improved performance is attributed to enhanced electron containment.

  4. Discharge Characteristics of DC Arc Water Plasma for Environmental Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Tianming; Sooseok, Choi; Takayuki, Watanabe

    2012-12-01

    A water plasma was generated by DC arc discharge with a hafnium embedded rod-type cathode and a nozzle-type anode. The discharge characteristics were examined by changing the operation parameter of the arc current. The dynamic behavior of the arc discharge led to significant fluctuations in the arc voltage and its frequency. Analyses of the high speed image and the arc voltage waveform showed that the arc discharge was in the restrike mode and its frequency varied within several tens of kilohertz according to the operating conditions. The larger thermal plasma volume was generated by the higher flow from the forming steam with a higher restrike frequency in the higher arc current conditions. In addition, the characteristics of the water plasma jet were investigated by means of optical emission spectroscopy to identify the abundant radicals required in an efficient waste treatment process.

  5. Measurement of ion density in an atmospheric pressure argon with pin-to-plate dielectric barrier discharge by resonance of plasma radiation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Qi, Bing, E-mail: qibing@szu.edu.cn; Pan, Lizhu; Zhou, Qiujiao

    2014-12-15

    The measurements of the ion densities in the atmospheric AC barrier corona argon discharge are carried out by receiving and analyzing the frequencies of the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the plasma. An auxiliary excitation source composed of a pin-to-pin discharge system is introduced to excite the oscillations of the main discharge. To analyze the resonance mechanism, a complemented model based on a one-dimensional description of forced vibrations is given. Calculations indicate that Ar{sub 2}{sup +} is the dominant ion (∼89% in number density). By analyzing resonance frequencies, the ion densities of Ar{sub 2}{sup +} are in the order of 10{supmore » 19}∼10{sup 20}m{sup −3} and increase slowly as the applied voltage increases.« less

  6. Atomic oxygen behavior at downstream of AC excited atmospheric pressure He plasma jet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takeda, Keigo; Ishikawa, Kenji; Tanaka, Hiromasa; Sekine, Makoto; Hori, Masaru

    2016-09-01

    Applications of atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJ) have been investigated in the plasma medical fields such as cancer therapy, blood coagulation, etc. Reactive species generated by the plasma jet interacts with the biological surface. Therefore, the issue attracts much attentions to investigate the plasma effects on targets. In our group, a spot-size AC excited He APPJ have been used for the plasma medicine. From diagnostics of the APPJ using optical emission spectroscopy, the gas temperature and the electron density was estimated to be 299 K and 3.4 ×1015 cm-3. The AC excited He APPJ which affords high density plasma at room temperature is considered to be a powerful tool for the medical applications. In this study, by using vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, the density of atomic oxygen on a floating copper as a target irradiated by the He APPJ was measured as a function of the distance between the plasma source and the copper wire. The measured density became a maximum value around 8 ×1013 cm-3 at 12 mm distance, and then decreased over the distance. It is considered that the behavior was due to the changes in the plasma density on the copper wire and influence of ambient air.

  7. Flush-mounted probe diagnostics for argon glow discharge plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xu, Liang, E-mail: xld02345@mail.ustc.edu.cn; Cao, Jinxiang; Liu, Yu

    2014-09-15

    A comparison is made between plasma parameters measured by a flush-mounted probe (FP) and a cylindrical probe (CP) in argon glow discharge plasma. Parameters compared include the space potential, the plasma density, and the effective electron temperature. It is found that the ion density determined by the FP agrees well with the electron density determined by the CP in the quasi-neutral plasma to better than 10%. Moreover, the space potential and effective electron temperature calculated from electron energy distribution function measured by the FP is consistent with that measured by the CP over the operated discharge current and pressure ranges.more » These results present the FP can be used as a reliable diagnostic tool in the stable laboratory plasma and also be anticipated to be applied in other complicated plasmas, such as tokamaks, the region of boundary-layer, and so on.« less

  8. How does a probe inserted into the discharge influence the plasma structure?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yordanov, D.; Lishev, St.; Shivarova, A.

    2016-05-01

    Shielding the bias applied to the probe by the sheath formed around it and determination of parameters of unperturbed plasmas are in the basis of the probe diagnostics. The results from a two-dimensional model of a discharge with a probe inserted in it show that the probe influences the spatial distribution of the plasma parameters in the entire discharge. The increase (although slight) in the electron temperature, due to the increased losses of charged particles on the additional wall in the discharge (mainly the probe holder), leads to redistribution of the plasma density and plasma potential, as shown by the results obtained at the floating potential of the probe. The deviations due to the bias applied to the probe tip are stronger in the ion saturation region of the probe characteristics. The pattern of the spatial redistribution of the plasma parameters advances together with the movement of the probe deeper in the discharge. Although probe sheaths and probe characteristics resulting from the model are shown, the study does not aim at discussions on the theories for determination of the plasma density from the ion saturation current. Regardless of the modifications in the plasma behavior in the entire discharge, the deviations of the plasma parameters at the position of the probe tip and, respectively, the uncertainty which should be added as an error when the accuracy of the probe diagnostics is estimated do not exceed 10%. Consequently, the electron density and temperature obtained, respectively, at the position of the plasma potential on the probe characteristics and from its transition region are in reasonable agreement with the results from the model of the discharge without a probe. Being in the scope of research on a source of negative hydrogen ions with the design of a matrix of small radius inductive discharges, the model is specified for a low-pressure hydrogen discharge sustained in a small-radius tube.

  9. Plasma processes in water under effect of short duration pulse discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gurbanov, Elchin

    2013-09-01

    It is very important to get a clear water without any impurities and bacteria by methods, that don't change the physical and chemical indicators of water now. In this article the plasma processes during the water treatment by strong electric fields and short duration pulse discharges are considered. The crown discharge around an electrode with a small radius of curvature consists of plasma leader channels with a high conductivity, where the thermo ionization processes and UV-radiation are taken place. Simultaneously the partial discharges around potential electrode lead to formation of atomic oxygen and ozone. The spark discharge arises, when plasma leader channels cross the all interelectrode gap, where the temperature and pressure are strongly grown. As a result the shock waves and dispersing liquid streams in all discharge gap are formed. The plasma channels extend, pressure inside it becomes less than hydrostatic one and the collapse and UV-radiation processes are started. The considered physical processes can be successfully used as a basis for development of pilot-industrial installations for conditioning of drinking water and to disinfecting of sewage.

  10. Measurement of activated species generated by AC power excited non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure Ar plasma jet with air engulfment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takeda, Keigo; Ishikawa, Kenji; Tanaka, Hiromasa; Kano, Hiroyuki; Sekine, Makoto; Hori, Masaru

    2013-09-01

    Non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jet (NEAPPJ) is very attractive tool for bio and medical applications. In the plasma treatments, samples are typically located at a far region from main discharge, and treated in open air without purge gases. Influence of air engulfment on generation of activated species in the NEAPPJ in open air is a large issue for the application. In this study, the AC excited argon NEAPPJ with the gas flow rate of 2 slm was generated under the open air condition. The densities of the grand state nitrogen monoxide (NO) and the ground state O atom generated by the NEAPPJ were measured by laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy and vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy. The length of the plasma jet was around 10 mm. Up to 10 mm, the NO density increased with increasing the distance from plasma head, and then saturated in remote region of plasma. On the other hand, the O atom density decreased from 1014 to 1013 cm-3 with increasing the distance. Especially, the amount of decrease in O atom density became the largest at the plasma edge. We will discuss the generation and loss processes of activated species generated in the NEAPPJ with the measurement results using spectroscopic methods.

  11. Plasma rotation by electric and magnetic fields in a discharge cylinder

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilhelm, H. E.; Hong, S. H.

    1977-01-01

    A theoretical model for an electric discharge consisting of a spatially diverging plasma sustained electrically between a small ring cathode and a larger ring anode in a cylindrical chamber with an axial magnetic field is developed to study the rotation of the discharge plasma in the crossed electric and magnetic fields. The associated boundary-value problem for the coupled partial differential equations which describe the electric potential and the plasma velocity fields is solved in closed form. The electric field, current density, and velocity distributions are discussed in terms of the Hartmann number and the Hall coefficient. As a result of Lorentz forces, the plasma rotates with speeds as high as 1 million cm/sec around its axis of symmetry at typical conditions. As an application, it is noted that rotating discharges of this type could be used to develop a high-density plasma-ultracentrifuge driven by j x B forces, in which the lighter (heavier) ion and atom components would be enriched in (off) the center of the discharge cylinder.

  12. Discharge reliability in ablative pulsed plasma thrusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Zhiwen; Sun, Guorui; Yuan, Shiyue; Huang, Tiankun; Liu, Xiangyang; Xie, Kan; Wang, Ningfei

    2017-08-01

    Discharge reliability is typically neglected in low-ignition-cycle ablative pulsed plasma thrusters (APPTs). In this study, the discharge reliability of an APPT is assessed analytically and experimentally. The goals of this study are to better understand the ignition characteristics and to assess the accuracy of the analytical method. For each of six sets of operating conditions, 500 tests of a parallel-plate APPT with a coaxial semiconductor spark plug are conducted. The discharge voltage and current are measured with a high-voltage probe and a Rogowski coil, respectively, to determine whether the discharge is successful. Generally, the discharge success rate increases as the discharge voltage increases, and it decreases as the electrode gap and the number of ignitions increases. The theoretical analysis and the experimental results are reasonably consistent. This approach provides a reference for designing APPTs and improving their stability.

  13. Luminescent Characteristics of a Pulsed Discharge Plasma in Xe-KBr Mixture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heneral, A. A.; Zhmenyak, Y. V.

    2018-03-01

    A mixture of xenon with a nontoxic halogen carrier Xe-KBr is used to create a plasma radiation source at the 282-nm transition of the XeBr* molecule excited by a high-voltage pulsed-periodic discharge. The luminescence spectra of the plasma of a longitudinal pulsed-periodic discharge in the Xe-KBr mixture at low pressures are studied experimentally. The most intense UV bands of exciplex XeBr* molecules are recorded in the spectral range of 250-350 nm. The spectral, temporal, and energetic characteristics of the radiation source are presented, as well as the dependence of the XeBr* exciplex molecule formation efficiency on the discharge excitation conditions. The optimal conditions for the excitation of UV radiation in the pulsed-periodic discharge plasma are determined.

  14. Magnetic tearing of plasma discharges due to nonuniform resistivity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hassam, A. B.

    1988-01-01

    The rearrangement of current in a plasma discharge in response to resistivity nonuniformities within a magnetic surface is studied. It is shown that macroscopic magnetic islands develop about those surfaces where the nonuniformity is aligned with the magnetic field. If the nonuniformity and the field are not aligned anywhere, there is no current rearrangement; instead, relatively large plasma flows are set up. Such resistivity inhomogeneities can obtain in solar coronal loops and, in some circumstances, in tokamak discharges.

  15. Measurement of low temperature plasma properties using non-invasive impedance measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gillman, Eric; Amatucci, Bill; Tejero, Erik; Blackwell, David

    2017-10-01

    A plasma discharge can be modeled electrically as a combination of capacitors, resistors, and inductors. The plasma, much like an RLC circuit, will have resonances at particular frequencies. The location in frequency space of these resonances provides information about the plasma parameters. These resonances can be detected using impedance measurements, where the AC impedance of the plasma is measured by sweeping the frequency of an AC voltage applied to a sensor and determining the magnitude and phase of the measured current. In this work, an electrode used to sustain a glow discharge is also used as an impedance probe. The novelty of this method is that insertion of a physical probe, which can introduce perturbation and/or contamination, is not necessary. This non-invasive impedance probe method is used to measure the plasma discharge density in various regimes of plasma operation. Experimental results are compared to the basic circuit model results. The potential applications of this diagnostic method and regimes over which this measurement method is valid will be discussed.

  16. Schlieren optical visualization for transient EHD induced flow in a stratified dielectric liquid under gas-phase ac corona discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ohyama, R.; Inoue, K.; Chang, J. S.

    2007-01-01

    A flow pattern characterization of electrohydrodynamically (EHD) induced flow phenomena of a stratified dielectric fluid situated in an ac corona discharge field is conducted by a Schlieren optical system. A high voltage application to a needle-plate electrode arrangement in gas-phase normally initiates a conductive type EHD gas flow. Although the EHD gas flow motion initiated from the corona discharge electrode has been well known as corona wind, no comprehensive study has been conducted for an EHD fluid flow motion of the stratified dielectric liquid that is exposed to the gas-phase ac corona discharge. The experimentally observed result clearly presents the liquid-phase EHD flow phenomenon induced from the gas-phase EHD flow via an interfacial momentum transfer. The flow phenomenon is also discussed in terms of the gas-phase EHD number under the reduced gas pressure (reduced interfacial momentum transfer) conditions.

  17. Temperature and Nitric Oxide Generation in a Pulsed Arc Discharge Plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Namihira, T.; Sakai, S.; Matsuda, M.; D., Wang; Kiyan, T.; Akiyama, H.; Okamoto, K.; Toda, K.

    2007-12-01

    Nitric oxide (NO) is increasingly being used in medical treatments of high blood pressure, acute respiratory distress syndrome and other illnesses related to the lungs. Currently a NO inhalation system consists of a gas cylinder of N2 mixed with a high concentration of NO. This arrangement is potentially risky due to the possibility of an accidental leak of NO from the cylinder. The presence of NO in the air leads to the formation of nitric dioxide (NO2), which is toxic to the lungs. Therefore, an on-site generator of NO would be highly desirable for medical doctors to use with patients with lung disease. To develop the NO inhalation system without a gas cylinder, which would include a high concentration of NO, NAMIHIRA et al have recently reported on the production of NO from room air using a pulsed arc discharge. In the present work, the temperature of the pulsed arc discharge plasma used to generate NO was measured to optimize the discharge condition. The results of the temperature measurements showed the temperature of the pulsed arc discharge plasma reached about 10,000 K immediately after discharge initiation and gradually decreased over tens of microseconds. In addition, it was found that NO was formed in a discharge plasma having temperatures higher than 9,000 K and a smaller input energy into the discharge plasma generates NO more efficiently than a larger one.

  18. Pulsed plasma thruster by applied a high current hollow cathode discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watanabe, Masayuki; N. Nogera Team; T. Kamada Team

    2013-09-01

    The pulsed plasma thruster applied by a high current hollow cathode discharge has been investigated. In this research, the pseudo-spark discharge (PSD), which is a one of a pulsed high current hollow cathode discharge, is applied to the plasma thruster. In PSD, the opposite surfaces of the anode and cathode have a small circular hole and the cathode has a cylindrical cavity behind the circular hole. To generate the high speed plasma flow, the diameter of the anode hole is enlarged as compared with that of the cathode hole. As a result, the plasma is accelerated by a combination of an electro-magnetic force and a thermo-dynamic force inside a cathode cavity. For the improvement of the plasma jet characteristic, the magnetic field is also applied to the plasma jet. To magnetize the plasma jet, the external magnetic field is directly induced nearby the electrode holes. Consequently, the plasma jet is accelerated with the self-azimuthal magnetic field. With the magnetic field, the temperature and the density of the plasma jet were around 5 eV and in the order of 10 19 m-3. The density increased several times as compared with that without the magnetic field.

  19. The effect of ethanol gas impurity on the discharge mode and discharge products of argon plasma jet at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xia, Wenjie; Liu, Dingxin; Xu, Han; Wang, Xiaohua; Liu, Zhijie; Rong, Mingzhe; Kong, Michael G.

    2018-05-01

    Argon is a widely used working gas of plasmas, which is much cheaper than helium but on the other hand much more difficult to generate diffuse discharge at atmospheric pressure. In order to meet the application requirements, plenty of researches have been reported to facilitate the diffuse discharge happening for argon plasmas, and in this paper an approach of using ethanol gas (EtOH) impurity is investigated. The discharge characteristics of Ar + EtOH plasma jet are studied as a function of the applied voltage and the concentration of EtOH, from which the concentration of EtOH between ∼200 and ∼3300 parts per million (ppm) is determined necessary for the generation of diffuse discharge. Compared with the helium plasma jet in literature, it is deduced that the diffuse discharge is probably caused by the Penning ionization happening between the metastable argon and EtOH. The discharge products of Ar + EtOH (672 ppm) plasma jet are measured and the corresponding chemistry pathways are analyzed. About 20% of EtOH is decomposed via complex chemical reactions to form more than a dozen of neutral species, such as CH3CHO, CH3COOH, CO, H2O, and C n H2n+2 (n ≥ 3), and various kinds of ionic species, including C+, CH+, ArH+, {{{{O}}}2}-, CH3CH2O‑, etc.

  20. Negative ion source with hollow cathode discharge plasma

    DOEpatents

    Hershcovitch, Ady; Prelec, Krsto

    1983-01-01

    A negative ion source of the type where negative ions are formed by bombarding a low-work-function surface with positive ions and neutral particles from a plasma, wherein a highly ionized plasma is injected into an anode space containing the low-work-function surface. The plasma is formed by hollow cathode discharge and injected into the anode space along the magnetic field lines. Preferably, the negative ion source is of the magnetron type.

  1. Effect of a direct current bias on the electrohydrodynamic performance of a surface dielectric barrier discharge actuator for airflow control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Huijie; Yang, Liang; Qi, Xiaohua; Ren, Chunsheng

    2015-02-01

    The effect of a DC bias on the electrohydrodynamics (EHD) force induced by a surface dielectric barrier AC discharge actuator for airflow control at the atmospheric pressure is investigated. The measurement of the surface potential due to charge deposition at different DC biases is carried out by using a special designed corona like discharge potential probe. From the surface potential data, the plasma electromotive force is shown not affected much by the DC biases except for some reduction of the DC bias near the exposed electrode edge for the sheath-like configuration. The total thrust is measured by an analytical balance, and an almost linear relationship to the potential voltage at the exposed electrode edge is found for the direct thrust force. The temporally averaged ionic wind characteristics are investigated by Pitot tube sensor and schlieren visualization system. It is found that the ionic wind velocity profiles with different DC biases are almost the same in the AC discharge plasma area but gradually diversified in the further downstream area as well as the upper space away from the discharge plasma area. Also, the DC bias can significantly modify the topology of the ionic wind produced by the AC discharge actuator. These results can provide an insight into how the DC biases to affect the force generation.

  2. Glow discharge plasma deposition of thin films

    DOEpatents

    Weakliem, Herbert A.; Vossen, Jr., John L.

    1984-05-29

    A glow discharge plasma reactor for deposition of thin films from a reactive RF glow discharge is provided with a screen positioned between the walls of the chamber and the cathode to confine the glow discharge region to within the region defined by the screen and the cathode. A substrate for receiving deposition material from a reactive gas is positioned outside the screened region. The screen is electrically connected to the system ground to thereby serve as the anode of the system. The energy of the reactive gas species is reduced as they diffuse through the screen to the substrate. Reactive gas is conducted directly into the glow discharge region through a centrally positioned distribution head to reduce contamination effects otherwise caused by secondary reaction products and impurities deposited on the reactor walls.

  3. Note: Characterization of the plasma parameters of a capillary discharge-produced plasma channel waveguide to guide an intense laser pulse

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Higashiguchi, Takeshi; Yugami, Noboru; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kanagawa, Saitama 332-0012

    2010-04-15

    We demonstrated the production of an optical waveguide in a capillary discharge-produced plasma using a cylindrical capillary. Plasma parameters of its waveguide were characterized by use of both a Nomarski laser interferometer and a hydrogen plasma line spectrum. A space-averaged maximum temperature of 3.3 eV with electron densities of the order of 10{sup 17} cm{sup -3} was observed at a discharge time of 150 ns and a maximum discharge current of 400 A. An ultrashort, intense laser pulse was guided by use of this plasma channel.

  4. Efficiency of surface cleaning by a glow discharge for plasma spraying coating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kadyrmetov, A. M.; Kashapov, N. F.; Sharifullin, S. N.; Saifutdinov, A. I.; Fadeev, S. A.

    2016-06-01

    The article presents the results of experimental studies of the quality of cleaning steel surfaces by a glow discharge for plasma spraying. Shows the results of measurements of the angle of surface wetting and bond strength of the plasma coating to the surface treated. The dependence of the influence of the glow discharge power, chamber pressure, distance between the electrodes and the processing time of the surface on cleaning efficiency. Optimal fields of factors is found. It is shown increase joint strength coating and base by 30-80% as a result of cleaning the substrate surface by a glow discharge plasma spraying.

  5. Negative ion source with hollow cathode discharge plasma

    DOEpatents

    Hershcovitch, A.; Prelec, K.

    1980-12-12

    A negative ion source of the type where negative ions are formed by bombarding a low-work-function surface with positive ions and neutral particles from a plasma, wherein a highly ionized plasma is injected into an anode space containing the low-work-function surface is described. The plasma is formed by hollow cathode discharge and injected into the anode space along the magnetic field lines. Preferably, the negative ion source is of the magnetron type.

  6. Effect of Electric Discharge on Properties of Nano-Particulate Catalyst for Plasma-Catalysis.

    PubMed

    Lee, Chung Jun; Kim, Jip; Kim, Taegyu

    2016-02-01

    Heterogeneous catalytic processes have been used to produce hydrogen from hydrocarbons. However, high reforming temperature caused serious catalyst deteriorations and low energy efficiency. Recently, a plasma-catalyst hybrid process was used to reduce the reforming temperature and to improve the stability and durability of reforming catalysts. Effect of electric discharges on properties of nanoparticulate catalysts for plasma-catalysis was investigated in the present study. Catalyst-bed porosity was varied by packing catalyst beads with the different size in a reactor. Discharge power and onset voltage of the plasma were measured as the catalyst-bed porosity was varied. The effect of discharge voltage, frequency and voltage waveforms such as the sine, pulse and square was investigated. We found that the optimal porosity of the catalyst-bed exists to maximize the electric discharge. At a low porosity, the electric discharge was unstable to be sustained because the space between catalysts got narrow nearly close to the sheath region. On the other hand, at a high porosity, the electric discharge became weak because the plasma was not sufficient to interact with the surface of catalysts. The discharge power increased as the discharge voltage and frequency increased. The square waveform was more efficient than the sine and pulse one. At a high porosity, however, the effect of the voltage waveform was not considerable because the space between catalysts was too large for plasma to interact with the surface of catalysts.

  7. Chemical waste disposal in space by plasma discharge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baird, James K.

    1991-01-01

    An inductively coupled plasma discharge apparatus operating at 13.56 MHz and with electrical power up to 2.5 kW was constructed. The efficiency of this device to destroy various gases expected to be carried aboard the Space Station was tested. By expressing the efficiency of the device in terms of G-value (the number of molecules decomposed per 100 eV of energy absorbed), the results are compared with known efficiencies of ionizing radiation to destroy these same gases. In the case of ammonia, it was found that in the inductively coupled device, the destruction efficiency, G(-NH3) varied from 6.0 to 32.0 molecules/100 eV, depending on conditions. It was also found that capacitatively coupled discharges were less efficient in destroying NH2 than the inductively coupled discharge. In the case NH2 destruction, it was found that the G(-NH3) was a qualitative guide to the efficiencies of plasmas. The plasma device was also used to destroy nitrous oxide and methane. It is shown how the G-value for the destruction of any gas can be computed theoretically from a knowledge of the electron velocity distribution, the various electron molecule scattering cross sections, and the rate constants for the reactions of secondary species.

  8. Observation of Quartz Cathode-Luminescence in a Low Pressure Plasma Discharge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foster, John E.

    2004-01-01

    Intense, steady-state cathode-luminescence has been observed from exposure of quartz powder to a low pressure rf-excited argon plasma discharge. The emission spectra (400 to 850 nm) associated with the powder luminescence were documented as a function of bias voltage using a spectrometer. The emission was broad-band, essentially washing out the line spectra features of the argon plasma discharge.

  9. Measurements and Simulations of Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharges Used as Plasma Actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hoskinson, Alan R.

    2012-01-01

    This report is a Ph.D. dissertation performed under NRA cooperative agreement and submitted as part of the final report. Asymmetric surface dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) have shown promise for use as aerodynamic actuators for active flow control. In this project we studied DBD actuators experimentally and numerically. Our DBDs used a symmetric triangular high voltage waveform to generate plasma in atmospheric pressure air. Time-averaged measurements indicated that the induced force of a single barrier actuator design (one electrode insulated from the plasma) can be increased exponentially above the results of previous studies by decreasing both the length and thickness of the electrode exposed to the plasma. This increased force may allow these devices to control flow separation in a wider range of flow environments. Experiments using an intensified digital camera to examine the plasma on time scales of a few nanoseconds showed that, in addition to the previously-observed filamentary and jet-like plasma structures, discharges with very thin exposed electrodes exhibited a weak but constant plasma immediately adjacent to those electrodes. In double-barrier actuators (both electrodes insulated), decreasing the diameter of the narrower electrode lead to increasing forces, and recorded images showed the simultaneous existence of both filamentary and jet-like plasma structures. The development and application of a time-dependent, two-dimensional computational fluid plasma model has aided in understanding the detailed physics of surface DBDs at all-time scales. For simulated single-barrier discharges, the model qualitatively reproduced the filamentary and jet-like micro-discharge structures. The model was somewhat successful in reproducing the observed characteristics of double-barrier actuators. For both actuator geometries, the model indicated that the majority of the forces induced on the neutral gas occur in between micro-discharges as the plasmas decay.

  10. Characterization of pulsed metallic hydride vacuum arc discharge plasmas by optical emission spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Jian; Deng, Chunfeng; Wu, Chunlei; Lu, Biao; Hu, Yonghong

    2017-12-01

    The characteristics of plasmas in a titanium hydride vacuum arc ion source were experimentally investigated by a temporally- and spatially-integrated optical emission spectroscopy method. A plasma emission spectral fitting model was developed to calculate the plasmas temperature and relative density of each particle component, assuming plasmas were in local thermodynamic equilibrium state and optical thin in this study. The good agreement was founded between the predicted and measured spectra in the interesting regions of 330-340 nm and 498-503 nm for Ti+ ion and Ti atom respectively, while varying the plasma temperature and density. Compared with conventional Boltzmann plot method, this method, therefore, made a significant improvement on the plasma diagnosis in dealing with the spectral profile with many lines overlapped. At the same time, to understand the mechanism of the occluded-gas vacuum arc discharge plasmas, the plasmas emission spectra, ion relative density, and temperature with different discharge conditions were studied. The results indicated that the rate of Ti metal evaporation and H desorption from the electrode would be enhanced with arc current, and the ionization temperature increased with the feed-in power of arc discharge, leading more H+ and Ti+ ions, but reducing the H+ proportion in arc discharged plasmas.

  11. Reproducing continuous radio blackout using glow discharge plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xie, Kai; Li, Xiaoping; Liu, Donglin

    2013-10-15

    A novel plasma generator is described that offers large-scale, continuous, non-magnetized plasma with a 30-cm-diameter hollow structure, which provides a path for an electromagnetic wave. The plasma is excited by a low-pressure glow discharge, with varying electron densities ranging from 10{sup 9} to 2.5 × 10{sup 11} cm{sup −3}. An electromagnetic wave propagation experiment reproduced a continuous radio blackout in UHF-, L-, and S-bands. The results are consistent with theoretical expectations. The proposed method is suitable in simulating a plasma sheath, and in researching communications, navigation, electromagnetic mitigations, and antenna compensation in plasma sheaths.

  12. Investigation of operating parameters on CO2 splitting by dielectric barrier discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pan, CHEN; Jun, SHEN; Tangchun, RAN; Tao, YANG; Yongxiang, YIN

    2017-12-01

    Experiments of CO2 splitting by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma were carried out, and the influence of CO2 flow rate, plasma power, discharge voltage, discharge frequency on CO2 conversion and process energy efficiency were investigated. It was shown that the absolute quantity of CO2 decomposed was only proportional to the amount of conductive electrons across the discharge gap, and the electron amount was proportional to the discharge power; the energy efficiency of CO2 conversion was almost a constant at a lower level, which was limited by CO2 inherent discharge character that determined a constant gap electric field strength. This was the main reason why CO2 conversion rate decreased as the CO2 flow rate increase and process energy efficiency was decreased a little as applied frequency increased. Therefore, one can improve the CO2 conversion by less feed flow rate or larger discharge power in DBD plasma, but the energy efficiency is difficult to improve.

  13. Rotating plasma structures in the cross-field discharge of Hall thrusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mazouffre, Stephane; Grimaud, Lou; Tsikata, Sedina; Matyash, Konstantin

    2016-09-01

    Rotating plasma structures, also termed rotating spokes, are observed in various types of low-pressure discharges with crossed electric and magnetic field configurations, such as Penning sources, magnetron discharges, negative ion sources and Hall thrusters. Such structures correspond to large-scale high-density plasma blocks that rotate in the E×B drift direction with a typical frequency on the order of a few kHz. Although such structures have been extensively studied in many communities, the mechanism at their origin and their role in electron transport across the magnetic field remain unknown. Here, we will present insights into the nature of spokes, gained from a combination of experiments and advanced particle-in-cell numerical simulations that aim at better understanding the physics and the impact of rotating plasma structures in the ExB discharge of the Hall thruster. As rotating spokes appear in the ionization region of such thrusters, and are therefore difficult to probe with diagnostics, experiments have been performed with a wall-less Hall thruster. In this configuration, the entire plasma discharge is pushed outside the dielectric cavity, through which the gas is injected, using the combination of specific magnetic field topology with appropriate anode geometry.

  14. Utilization of Evidence-Based Secondary Prevention Medications at the Time of Discharge in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) in Qatar.

    PubMed

    El-Hajj, Maguy S; Saad, Ahned; Al-Suwaidi, Jassim; Al-Marridi, Wafa Z; Elkhalifa, Dana H; Mohamed, Alaa A; Mahfoud, Ziyad R

    2016-01-01

    In Qatar, ACS (Acute Coronary Syndrome) has become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Guidelines recommend that ACS patients should receive indefinite treatment with antiplatelets, β-blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and statins. The study objectives were to assess the use of evidence-based secondary prevention medication at discharge among ACS patients in Qatar and to determine the clinical and demographic characteristics associated with the use of these medications. A retrospective medical record review was conducted at the Heart Hospital in Qatar. A random sample of 1068 ACS patients was selected. Patient characteristics were summarized. Prevalence of medications at discharge were computed for each medication as well as for medication combinations. Multiple logistic regression was used to detect patient variables that were associated with the outcomes. A p≤0.05 was considered significant. -Percentage of ACS patients discharged on each of the following medications: antiplatelets (aspirin, clopidogrel), β-blockers, ACEI or ARBs and statins and on the combination of these medications-Association between the use of these medications and patient characteristics. In total, 1064 records were reviewed. The majority were males (85.3%) and about 1 in 5 (18.7%) were Qatari. At discharge, patients were prescribed the following: aspirin (96.0%), clopidogrel (92.0%), β-blockers (90.6%) and statins (97.7%). ACEI and ARBs were prescribed to 63.5 and 11.3%, respectively. The concurrent 4 medications (aspirin or clopidogrel, statins or other lowering cholesterol medication, β-blockers and ACEI or ARB) were prescribed to 773 patients (77.8%; 95% confidence interval: 75.2-80.4%). Being overweight or obese, and having PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) or hypertension were associated with higher prescription of the concurrent medications. Those with diabetes had a 52% increase in the odds of

  15. Irregular-regular mode oscillations inside plasma bubble and its fractal analysis in glow discharge magnetized plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Megalingam, Mariammal; Hari Prakash, N.; Solomon, Infant; Sarma, Arun; Sarma, Bornali

    2017-04-01

    Experimental evidence of different kinds of oscillations in floating potential fluctuations of glow discharge magnetized plasma is being reported. A spherical gridded cage is inserted into the ambient plasma volume for creating plasma bubbles. Plasma is produced between a spherical mesh grid and chamber. The spherical mesh grid of 80% optical transparency is connected to the positive terminal of power supply and considered as anode. Two Langmuir probes are kept in the ambient plasma to measure the floating potential fluctuations in different positions within the system, viz., inside and outside the spherical mesh grid. At certain conditions of discharge voltage (Vd) and magnetic field, irregular to regular mode appears, and it shows chronological changes with respect to magnetic field. Further various nonlinear analyses such as Recurrence Plot, Hurst exponent, and Lyapunov exponent have been carried out to investigate the dynamics of oscillation at a range of discharge voltages and external magnetic fields. Determinism, entropy, and Lmax are important measures of Recurrence Quantification Analysis which indicate an irregular to regular transition in the dynamics of the fluctuations. Furthermore, behavior of the plasma oscillation is characterized by the technique called multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis to explore the nature of the fluctuations. It reveals that it has a multifractal nature and behaves as a long range correlated process.

  16. Study of ultrasound-assisted radio-frequency plasma discharges in n-dodecane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Camerotto, Elisabeth; De Schepper, Peter; Nikiforov, Anton Y.; Brems, Steven; Shamiryan, Denis; Boullart, Werner; Leys, Christophe; De Gendt, Stefan

    2012-10-01

    This paper investigates the generation of a stable plasma phase in a liquid hydrocarbon (n-dodecane) by means of ultrasound (US) and radio-frequency (RF) or electromagnetic radiation. It is demonstrated for the first time that ultrasonic aided RF plasma discharges can be generated in a liquid. Plasma discharges are obtained for different gas mixtures at a pressure of 12 kPa and at low ignition powers (100 W for RF and 2.4 W cm-2 for US). Direct carbon deposition from the liquid precursor on Cu, Ni, SiO2 and Si substrates has been obtained and no apparent compositional or structural difference among the substrate materials was observed. Characterization of the deposited solid phase revealed an amorphous structure. In addition, structural changes in the liquid precursor after plasma treatment have been analysed. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) allowed the estimation of several plasma characteristic temperatures. The plasma excitation temperature was estimated to be about 2.3-2.4 eV. The rotational and vibrational temperatures of the discharge in n-dodecane with Ar as a feed gas were 1400 K and 6500 K, respectively. In Ar/O2 plasma, an increased rotational (1630 K) and vibrational temperature (7200 K) were obtained.

  17. Plasma Diagnostics For The Investigation of Silane Based Glow Discharge Deposition Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mataras, Dimitrios

    2001-10-01

    In this work is presented the study of microcrystalline silicon PECVD process through highly diluted silane in hydrogen discharges. The investigation is performed by applying different non intrusive plasma diagnostics (electrical, optical, mass spectrometric and laser interferometric measurements). Each of these measurements is related to different plasma sub-processes (gas physics, plasma chemistry and plasma surface interaction) and compose a complete set, proper for the investigation of the effect of external discharge parameters on the deposition processes. In the specific case these plasma diagnostics are applied for prospecting the optimal experimental conditions from the ic-Si:H deposition rate point of view. Namely, the main characteristics of the effect of frequency, discharge geometry, power consumption and total gas pressure on the deposition process are presented successively. Special attention is given to the study of the frequency effect (13.56 MHz 50 MHz) indicating that the correct way to compare results of different driving frequency discharges is by maintaining constant the total power dissipation in the discharge. The important role of frequency in the achievement of high deposition rates and on the optimization of all other parameters is underlined. Finally, the proper combination of experimental conditions that result from the optimal choice of each of the above-mentioned discharge parameters and lead to high microcrystalline silicon deposition rates (7.5 Å/sec) is presented. The increase of silane dissociation rate towards neutral radicals (frequency effect), the contribution of highly sticking to the surface radicals (discharge geometry optimum) and the controlled production of higher radicals through secondary gas phase reactions (total gas pressure), are presented as prerequisites for the achievement of high deposition rates.

  18. Correlation between audible noise and corona current generated by AC corona discharge in time and frequency domains

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xuebao; Wang, Jing; Li, Yinfei; Zhang, Qian; Lu, Tiebing; Cui, Xiang

    2018-06-01

    Corona-generated audible noise is induced by the collisions between space charges and air molecules. It has been proven that there is a close correlation between audible noise and corona current from DC corona discharge. Analysis on the correlation between audible noise and corona current can promote the cognition of the generation mechanism of corona discharge. In this paper, time-domain waveforms of AC corona-generated audible noise and corona current are measured simultaneously. The one-to-one relationship between sound pressure pulses and corona current pulses can be found and is used to remove the interferences from background noise. After the interferences are removed, the linear correlated relationships between sound pressure pulse amplitude and corona current pulse amplitude are obtained through statistical analysis. Besides, frequency components at the harmonics of power frequency (50 Hz) can be found both in the frequency spectrums of audible noise and corona current through frequency analysis. Furthermore, the self-correlation relationships between harmonic components below 400 Hz with the 50 Hz component are analyzed for audible noise and corona current and corresponding empirical formulas are proposed to calculate the harmonic components based on the 50 Hz component. Finally, based on the AC corona discharge process and generation mechanism of audible noise and corona current, the correlation between audible noise and corona current in time domain and frequency domain are interpreted qualitatively. Besides, with the aid of analytical expressions of periodic square waves, sound pressure pulses, and corona current pulses, the modulation effects from the AC voltage on the pulse trains are used to interpret the generation of the harmonic components of audible noise and corona current.

  19. A Self Consistent RF Discharge, Plasma Chemistry and Surface Model for Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-06-30

    consists of three submodels for the electron kinetics, plasma chemistry , and surface deposition kinetics for a-Si:H deposited from radio frequency...properties. Plasma enhanced, Chemical vapor deposition, amorphous silicon, Modeling, Electron kinetics, Plasma chemistry , Deposition kinetics, Rf discharge, Silane, Film properties, Silicon.

  20. Control of plasma-liquid interaction of atmospheric DC glow discharge using liquid electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shirai, Naoki; Aoki, Ryuta; Nito, Aihito; Aoki, Takuya; Uchida, Satoshi; Tochikubo, Fumiyoshi

    2014-10-01

    Atmospheric plasma in contact with liquid have a variety of interesting phenomena and applications. Previously, we investigated the fundamental characteristics of an atmospheric dc glow discharge using a liquid electrode with a miniature helium flow. We tried to control the plasma-liquid interaction by changing the plasma parameter such as gas species, liquid, and applied voltage. Sheath flow system enables another gas (N2, O2, Ar) flow to around the helium core flow. It can control the gas species around the discharge. When liquid (NaCl aq.) cathode DC discharge is generated, Na emission (588 nm) can be observed from liquid surface with increasing discharge current. Na emission strongly depends on the discharge current and liquid temperature. However, when Ar sheath flow is used, the intensity of Na becomes weak. When liquid anode DC discharge is generated, self-organized luminous pattern formation can be observed at the liquid surface. The pattern depends on existence of oxygen gas in gap. By changing the oxygen gas ratio in the gap, variety of pattern formation can be observed. The discharge in contact with liquid also can be used for synthesis of metal nanoparticles at plasma-liquid interface. Size and shape of nanoparticles depend on discharge gases. This work was supported financially in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (No 21110007) from MEXT, Japan.

  1. Time-delayed transition of normal-to-abnormal glow in pin-to-water discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yoon, S.-Y.; Byeon, Y.-S.; Yoo, S.

    2016-08-15

    Time-delayed transition of normal-to-abnormal glow was investigated in discharge between spoke-like pins and ultrapure water by applying AC-driven power at a frequency of 14.3 kHz at atmospheric pressure. The normal-to-abnormal transition can be recognized from the slope changes of current density, gas temperature, electrode temperature, and OH density. The slope changes took place in tens of minutes rather than just after discharge, in other words, the transition was delayed. The time-delay of the transition was caused by the interaction between the plasma and water. The plasma affected water properties, and then the water affected plasma properties.

  2. Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Induced Sterilization and Chemical Neutralization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garate, Eusebio; Evans, Kirk; Gornostaeva, Olga; Alexeff, Igor; Lock Kang, Weng; Wood, Thomas K.

    1998-11-01

    We are studying chemical neutralization and surface decontamination using atmospheric pressure plasma discharges. The plasma is produced by corona discharge from an array of pins and a ground plane. The array is constructed so that various gases, like argon or helium, can be flowed past the pins where the discharge is initiated. The pin array can be biased using either DC, AC or pulsed discharges. Results indicate that the atmospheric plasma is effective in sterilizing surfaces with biological contaminants like E-coli and bacillus subtilus cells. Exposure times of less than four minutes in an air plasma result in a decrease in live colony counts by six orders of magnitude. Greater exposure times result in a decrease of live colony counts of up to ten orders of magnitude. The atmospheric pressure discharge is also effective in decomposing organic phosphate compounds that are simulants for chemical warfare agents. Details of the decomposition chemistry, by-product formation, and electrical energy consumption of the system will be discussed.

  3. Design of a Microwave Assisted Discharge Inductive Plasma Accelerator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hallock, Ashley K.; Polzin, Kurt A.

    2010-01-01

    The design and construction of a thruster that employs electrodeless plasma preionization and pulsed inductive acceleration is described. Preionization is achieved through an electron cyclotron resonance discharge that produces a weakly-ionized plasma at the face of a conical theta pinch-shaped inductive coil. The presence of the preionized plasma allows for current sheet formation at lower discharge voltages than those employed in other pulsed inductive accelerators that do not employ preionization. The location of the electron cyclotron resonance discharge is controlled through the design of the applied magnetic field in the thruster. Finite element analysis shows that there is an arrangement of permanent magnets that yields a small volume of resonant magnetic field at the coil face. Preionization in the resonant zone leads to current sheet formation at the coil face, which minimizes the initial inductance of the pulse circuit and maximizes the potential electrical efficiency of the accelerator. A magnet assembly was constructed around an inductive coil to provide structural support to the selected arrangement of neodymium magnets. Measured values of the resulting magnetic field compare favorably with the finite element model.

  4. Atomic Force Microscope Investigations of Bacterial Biofilms Treated with Gas Discharge Plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vandervoort, Kurt; Zelaya, Anna; Brelles-Marino, Graciela

    2012-02-01

    We present investigations of bacterial biofilms before and after treatment with gas discharge plasmas. Gas discharge plasmas represent a way to inactivate bacteria under conditions where conventional disinfection methods are often ineffective. These conditions involve biofilm communities, where bacteria grow embedded in an exopolysaccharide matrix, and cooperative interactions between cells make organisms less susceptible to standard inactivation methods. In this study, biofilms formed by the opportunistic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa were imaged before and after plasma treatment using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Through AFM images and micromechanical measurements we observed bacterial morphological damage and reduced AFM tip-sample surface adhesion following plasma treatment.

  5. Edge-to-center plasma density ratios in two-dimensional plasma discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lucken, R.; Croes, V.; Lafleur, T.; Raimbault, J.-L.; Bourdon, A.; Chabert, P.

    2018-03-01

    Edge-to-center plasma density ratios—so-called h factors—are important parameters for global models of plasma discharges as they are used to calculate the plasma losses at the reactor walls. There are well-established theories for h factors in the one-dimensional (1D) case. The purpose of this paper is to establish h factors in two-dimensional (2D) systems, with guidance from a 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. We derive analytical solutions of a 2D fluid theory that includes the effect of ion inertia, but assumes a constant (independent of space) ion collision frequency (using an average ion velocity) across the discharge. Predicted h factors from this 2D fluid theory have the same order of magnitude and the same trends as the PIC simulations when the average ion velocity used in the collision frequency is set equal to the ion thermal velocity. The best agreement is obtained when the average ion velocity varies with pressure (but remains independent of space), going from half the Bohm velocity at low pressure, to the thermal velocity at high pressure. The analysis also shows that a simple correction of the widely-used 1D heuristic formula may be proposed to accurately incorporate 2D effects.

  6. Characteristics and time evolution of a hollow cathode produced glow discharge plasma in air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gregor, Joseph Atilla

    Current radar systems use mechanical directors and phased array technology for beam steering. Use of a sheet plasma as a microwave reflector promises several advantages over these methods. Operation is inherently broad-band, since all frequencies below the plasma frequency are reflected. The orientation and shape of the reflector may be changed directly through electronic control without resort to moving parts or expensive RF switches. The relatively fast plasma formation and extinction times ([/approx]10/ /mus) allow for rapid redirection of the microwave beam. An experimental system, dubbed the Agile Mirror, has been constructed using a cylindrical LexanTM vacuum chamber suspended within a water cooled Helmholtz coil pair capable of producing a uniform 500 Gauss field. Using this system we have created plasmas capable of reflecting 10 GHz microwaves with characteristics comparable to that of a plane metallic reflector. Most previous glow discharge work has concentrated either on the DC characteristics, or on the very early evolution (<1-2 μs), of the discharge. To create a practical agile mirror direction, we must be able to produce a stable, flat, homogeneous plasma sheet with predictable characteristics timescales from 5 μs to 1 ms-a regime where little pertinent quantitative data exists. This work concentrates on diagnosing the time resolved behavior of the agile mirror plasma during the mid-time, from t = 5-300 μs, in a regime which accentuates observed changes in the discharge circuit characteristics. Measurements on an air discharge produced using VD/approx2.2 kV, p ≈ 208 mTorr, and B ≈ 250 G reveal an ne=1011/ cm-3,/ Te=1[-]3 eV plasma with distinct negative glow, Faraday dark space, and positive column regions. Analysis of time resolved potential, temperature, and spectroscopic data reveal that this discharge transitions-on time scales of [/approx]100/ /mus-into a pure negative glow discharge. The characteristics and evolution of the discharge are

  7. Intense laser pulse propagation in capillary discharge plasma channels

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hubbard, R.F.; Moore, C.I.; Sprangle, P.

    Optical guiding of intense laser pulses is required for plasma-based accelerator concepts such as the laser wakefield accelerator. Reported experiments have successfully transported intense laser pulses in the hollow plasma column produced by a capillary discharge. The hollow plasma has an index of refraction which peaks on-axis, thus providing optical guiding which overcomes beam expansion due to diffraction. In more recent experiments at Hebrew University, 800 nm wavelength, 0.1 mJ, 100 fs pulses have been guided in {approximately}300 micron radius capillaries over distances as long as 6.6 cm. Simulations of these experiments using a 2-D nonlinear laser propagation model producemore » the expected optical guiding, with the laser pulse radius r{sub L} exhibiting oscillations about the equilibrium value predicted by an analytical envelope equation model. The oscillations are damped at the front of the pulse and grow in amplitude in the back of the pulse. This growth and damping is attributed to finite pulse length effects. Simulations also show that further ionization of the discharge plasma by the laser pulse may hollow the laser pulse and introduce modulations in the spot size. This ionization-defocusing effect is expected to be significant at the high intensities required for accelerator application. Capillary discharge experiments at much higher intensities are in progress on the Naval Research Laboratory T{sup 3} laser, and preliminary results are reported. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}« less

  8. Intense laser pulse propagation in capillary discharge plasma channels

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hubbard, R. F.; Moore, C. I.; Sprangle, P.

    Optical guiding of intense laser pulses is required for plasma-based accelerator concepts such as the laser wakefield accelerator. Reported experiments have successfully transported intense laser pulses in the hollow plasma column produced by a capillary discharge. The hollow plasma has an index of refraction which peaks on-axis, thus providing optical guiding which overcomes beam expansion due to diffraction. In more recent experiments at Hebrew University, 800 nm wavelength, 0.1 mJ, 100 fs pulses have been guided in {approx}300 micron radius capillaries over distances as long as 6.6 cm. Simulations of these experiments using a 2-D nonlinear laser propagation model producemore » the expected optical guiding, with the laser pulse radius r{sub L} exhibiting oscillations about the equilibrium value predicted by an analytical envelope equation model. The oscillations are damped at the front of the pulse and grow in amplitude in the back of the pulse. This growth and damping is attributed to finite pulse length effects. Simulations also show that further ionization of the discharge plasma by the laser pulse may hollow the laser pulse and introduce modulations in the spot size. This ionization-defocusing effect is expected to be significant at the high intensities required for accelerator application. Capillary discharge experiments at much higher intensities are in progress on the Naval Research Laboratory T{sup 3} laser, and preliminary results are reported.« less

  9. Plasma mixing glow discharge device for analytical applications

    DOEpatents

    Pinnaduwage, Lal A.

    1999-01-01

    An instrument for analyzing a sample has an enclosure that forms a chamber containing an anode which divides the chamber into a discharge region and an analysis region. A gas inlet and outlet are provided to introduce and exhaust a rare gas into the discharge region. A cathode within the discharge region has a plurality of pins projecting in a geometric pattern toward the anode for exciting the gas and producing a plasma discharge between the cathode and the anode. Low energy electrons (e.g. <0.5 eV) pass into the analysis region through an aperture. The sample to be analyzed is placed into the analysis region and bombarded by the metastable rare gas atoms and the low energy electrons extracted into from the discharge region. A mass or optical spectrometer can be coupled to a port of the analysis region to analyze the resulting ions and light emission.

  10. Characteristics of cold atmospheric plasma source based on low-current pulsed discharge with coaxial electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bureyev, O. A.; Surkov, Yu S.; Spirina, A. V.

    2017-05-01

    This work investigates the characteristics of the gas discharge system used to create an atmospheric pressure plasma flow. The plasma jet design with a cylindrical graphite cathode and an anode rod located on the axis of the system allows to realize regularly reproducible spark breakdowns mode with a frequency ∼ 5 kHz and a duration ∼ 40 μs. The device generates a cold atmospheric plasma flame with 1 cm in diameter in the flow of various plasma forming gases including nitrogen and air at about 100 mA average discharge current. In the described construction the cathode spots of individual spark channels randomly move along the inner surface of the graphite electrode creating the secondary plasma stream time-average distributed throughout the whole exit aperture area after the decay of numerous filamentary discharge channels. The results of the spectral diagnostics of plasma in the discharge gap and in the stream coming out of the source are presented. Despite the low temperature of atoms and molecules in plasma stream the cathode spots operation with temperature of ∼ 4000 °C at a graphite electrode inside a discharge system enables to saturate the plasma by CN-radicals and atomic carbon in the case of using nitrogen as the working gas.

  11. Particle based plasma simulation for an ion engine discharge chamber

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahalingam, Sudhakar

    Design of the next generation of ion engines can benefit from detailed computer simulations of the plasma in the discharge chamber. In this work a complete particle based approach has been taken to model the discharge chamber plasma. This is the first time that simplifying continuum assumptions on the particle motion have not been made in a discharge chamber model. Because of the long mean free paths of the particles in the discharge chamber continuum models are questionable. The PIC-MCC model developed in this work tracks following particles: neutrals, singly charged ions, doubly charged ions, secondary electrons, and primary electrons. The trajectories of these particles are determined using the Newton-Lorentz's equation of motion including the effects of magnetic and electric fields. Particle collisions are determined using an MCC statistical technique. A large number of collision processes and particle wall interactions are included in the model. The magnetic fields produced by the permanent magnets are determined using Maxwell's equations. The electric fields are determined using an approximate input electric field coupled with a dynamic determination of the electric fields caused by the charged particles. In this work inclusion of the dynamic electric field calculation is made possible by using an inflated plasma permittivity value in the Poisson solver. This allows dynamic electric field calculation with minimal computational requirements in terms of both computer memory and run time. In addition, a number of other numerical procedures such as parallel processing have been implemented to shorten the computational time. The primary results are those modeling the discharge chamber of NASA's NSTAR ion engine at its full operating power. Convergence of numerical results such as total number of particles inside the discharge chamber, average energy of the plasma particles, discharge current, beam current and beam efficiency are obtained. Steady state results for

  12. Numerical study of nonequilibrium plasma assisted detonation initiation in detonation tube

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Siyin; Wang, Fang; Che, Xueke; Nie, Wansheng

    2016-12-01

    Nonequilibrium plasma has shown great merits in ignition and combustion nowadays, which should be especially useful for hypersonic propulsion. A coaxial electrodes configuration was established to investigate the effect of alternating current (AC) dielectric barrier discharge nonequilibrium plasma on the detonation initiation process in a hydrogen-oxygen mixture. A discharge simulation-combustion simulation loosely coupled method was used to simulate plasma assisted detonation initiation. First, the dielectric barrier discharge in the hydrogen-oxygen mixture driven by an AC voltage was simulated, which takes 17 kinds of particles (including positively charged particles, negatively charged particles, and neutral particles) and 47 reactions into account. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the discharge products were obtained. Then, the discharge products were incorporated into the combustion model of a detonation combustor as the initial conditions for the later detonation initiation simulation. Results showed that the number density distributions of plasma species are different in space and time, and develop highly nonuniformly from high voltage electrode to grounded electrode at certain times. All the active species reach their highest concentration at approximately 0.6T (T denotes a discharge cycle). Compared with the no plasma case, the differences of flowfield shape mainly appear in the early stage of the deflagration to detonation transition process. None of the sub-processes (including the very slow combustion, deflagration, over-driven detonation, detonation decay, and propagation of a self-sustained stable detonation wave) have been removed by the plasma. After the formation of a C-J detonation wave, the whole flowfield remains unchanged. With the help of plasma, the deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) time and distance are reduced by about 11.6% and 12.9%, respectively, which should be attributed to the active particles effect of

  13. Electron density measurement in gas discharge plasmas by optical and acoustic methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Biagioni, A.; Anania, M. P.; Bellaveglia, M.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Di Giovenale, D.; Di Pirro, G.; Ferrario, M.; Filippi, F.; Mostacci, A.; Pompili, R.; Shpakov, V.; Vaccarezza, C.; Villa, F.; Zigler, A.

    2016-08-01

    Plasma density represents a very important parameter for both laser wakefield and plasma wakefield acceleration, which use a gas-filled capillary plasma source. Several techniques can be used to measure the plasma density within a capillary discharge, which are mainly based on optical diagnostic methods, as for example the well-known spectroscopic method using the Stark broadening effect. In this work, we introduce a preliminary study on an alternative way to detect the plasma density, based on the shock waves produced by gas discharge in a capillary. Firstly, the measurements of the acoustic spectral content relative to the laser-induced plasmas by a solid target allowed us to understand the main properties of the acoustic waves produced during this kind of plasma generation; afterwards, we have extended such acoustic technique to the capillary plasma source in order to calibrate it by comparison with the stark broadening method.

  14. Interplay between discharge physics, gas phase chemistry and surface processes in hydrocarbon plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hassouni, Khaled

    2013-09-01

    In this paper we present two examples that illustrate two different contexts of the interplay between plasma-surface interaction process and discharge physics and gas phase chemistry in hydrocarbon discharges. In the first example we address the case of diamond deposition processes and illustrate how a detailed investigation of the discharge physics, collisional processes and transport phenomena in the plasma phase make possible to accurately predict the key local-parameters, i.e., species density at the growing substrate, as function of the macroscopic process parameters, thus allowing for a precise control of diamond deposition process. In the second example, we illustrate how the interaction between a rare gas pristine discharge and carbon (graphite) electrode induce a dramatic change on the discharge nature, i.e., composition, ionization kinetics, charge equilibrium, etc., through molecular growth and clustering processes, solid particle formation and dusty plasma generation. Work done in collaboration with Alix Gicquel, Francois Silva, Armelle Michau, Guillaume Lombardi, Xavier Bonnin, Xavier Duten, CNRS, Universite Paris 13.

  15. HOT PLASMA FROM SOLAR ACTIVE REGION CORES: A TEST OF AC AND DC CORONAL HEATING MODELS?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schmelz, J. T.; Christian, G. M.; Dhaliwal, R. S.

    2015-06-20

    Direct current (DC) models of solar coronal heating invoke magnetic reconnection to convert magnetic free energy into heat, whereas alternating current (AC) models invoke wave dissipation. In both cases the energy is supplied by photospheric footpoint motions. For a given footpoint velocity amplitude, DC models predict lower average heating rates but greater temperature variability when compared to AC models. Therefore, evidence of hot plasma (T > 5 MK) in the cores of active regions could be one of the ways for current observations to distinguish between AC and DC models. We have analyzed data from the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) andmore » the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly for 12 quiescent active region cores, all of which were observed in the XRT Be-thick channel. We did Differential Emission Measure (DEM) analysis and achieved good fits for each data set. We then artificially truncated the hot plasma of the DEM model at 5 MK and examined the resulting fits to the data. For some regions in our sample, the XRT intensities continued to be well-matched by the DEM predictions, even without the hot plasma. This truncation, however, resulted in unacceptable fits for the other regions. This result indicates that the hot plasma is present in these regions, even if the precise DEM distribution cannot be determined with the data available. We conclude that reconnection may be heating the hot plasma component of these active regions.« less

  16. Two-stage plasma gun based on a gas discharge with a self-heating hollow emitter.

    PubMed

    Vizir, A V; Tyunkov, A V; Shandrikov, M V; Oks, E M

    2010-02-01

    The paper presents the results of tests of a new compact two-stage bulk gas plasma gun. The plasma gun is based on a nonself-sustained gas discharge with an electron emitter based on a discharge with a self-heating hollow cathode. The operating characteristics of the plasma gun are investigated. The discharge system makes it possible to produce uniform and stable gas plasma in the dc mode with a plasma density up to 3x10(9) cm(-3) at an operating gas pressure in the vacuum chamber of less than 2x10(-2) Pa. The device features high power efficiency, design simplicity, and compactness.

  17. Dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator for flow control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Opaits, Dmitry Florievich

    Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) and magnetohydrodynamic phenomena are being widely studied for aerodynamic applications. The major effects of these phenomena are heating of the gas, body force generation, and enthalpy addition or extraction, [1, 2, 3]. In particular, asymmetric dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are known to be effective EHD device in aerodynamic control, [4, 5]. Experiments have demonstrated their effectiveness in separation control, acoustic noise reduction, and other aeronautic applications. In contrast to conventional DBD actuators driven by sinusoidal voltages, we proposed and used a voltage profile consisting of nanosecond pulses superimposed on dc bias voltage. This produces what is essentially a non-self-sustained discharge: the plasma is generated by repetitive short pulses, and the pushing of the gas occurs primarily due to the bias voltage. The advantage of this non-self-sustained discharge is that the parameters of ionizing pulses and the driving bias voltage can be varied independently, which adds flexibility to control and optimization of the actuators performance. Experimental studies were conducted of a flow induced in a quiescent room air by a single DBD actuator. A new approach for non-intrusive diagnostics of plasma actuator induced flows in quiescent gas was proposed, consisting of three elements coupled together: the Schlieren technique, burst mode of plasma actuator operation, and 2-D numerical fluid modeling. During the experiments, it was found that DBD performance is severely limited by surface charge accumulation on the dielectric. Several ways to mitigate the surface charge were found: using a reversing DC bias potential, three-electrode configuration, slightly conductive dielectrics, and semi conductive coatings. Force balance measurements proved the effectiveness of the suggested configurations and advantages of the new voltage profile (pulses+bias) over the traditional sinusoidal one at relatively low

  18. Self-consistent discharge growing model of helicon plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Isayama, Shogo; Hada, Tohru; Shinohara, Shunjiro; Tanikawa, Takao

    2015-11-01

    Helicon plasma is a high-density and low-temperature plasma generated by the electromagnetic (Helicon) wave excited in the plasma. It is thought to be useful for various applications including electric thrusters. Physics of helicon plasma production involves such fundamental processes as the wave propagation (dispersion relation), collisional and non-collisional wave damping, plasma heating, ionization/recombination of neutral particles, and modification of the dispersion relation by newly ionized plasma. There remain a number of unsolved physical issues such as, how the Helicon and the TG modes influence the plasma density, electron temperature and their spatial profiles. While the Helicon mode is absorbed in the bulk plasma, the TG mode is mostly absorbed near the edge of the plasma. The local power deposition in the helicon plasma is mostly balanced by collisional loss. This local power balance can give rise to the inhomogeneous electron temperature profile that leads to time evolution of density profile and dispersion relation. In our study, we construct a self-consistent model of the discharge evolution that includes the wave excitation, electron heat transfer, and diffusion of charged particles.

  19. Characterization of Plasma Discharges in a High-Field Magnetic Tandem Mirror

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chang-Diaz, Franklin R.

    1998-01-01

    High density magnetized plasma discharges in open-ended geometries, like Tandem Mirrors, have a variety of space applications. Chief among them is the production of variable Specific Impulse (I(sub sp)) and variable thrust in a magnetic nozzle. Our research group is pursuing the experimental characterization of such discharges in our high-field facility located at the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory (ASPL). These studies focus on identifying plasma stability criteria as functions of density, temperature and magnetic field strength. Plasma heating is accomplished by both Electron and Ion Cyclotron Resonance (ECR and ICR) at frequencies of 2-3 Ghz and 1-30 Mhz respectively, for both Hydrogen and Helium. Electron density and temperature has measured by movable Langmuir probes. Macroscopic plasma stability is being investigated in ongoing research.

  20. Penning Effects in High-Pressure Discharge of the Plasma Display Panel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, S. S.; Choi, E. H.; Uhm, H. S.

    2001-10-01

    The plasma display panel is operated with high-pressure gas, for which the breakdown voltage reduction may be accomplished by mixing a small amount of xenon with neon gas. The UV light emitted from xenon discharge plasma is converted into fluorescent light, providing TV images. A recent theoretical calculation indicates that the breakdown voltage is significantly reduced for the mixed gas due to collisional frequency decrease. It is easy to ionize xenon atoms with low ionization energy. The electrons can also easily get their kinetic energy in neon gas mixed with xenon atoms, thereby reducing their collisional cross section and ionizing xenon atoms. However, previous study indicates that the breakdown voltage can be further reduced by the Penning effects, which has been mostly studied in a low pressure discharge. Influence of the Penning effects on the high-pressure discharge in a neon-xenon mixed gas is investigated in connection with applications to the plasma display panel. A theoretical model for high-pressure discharge is developed. It is shown that the breakdown voltage is reduced by 20 percent at the xenon mole fraction of 0.015, which agree remarkably well with experimental data.

  1. Collisional and radiative processes in high-pressure discharge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Becker, Kurt H.; Kurunczi, Peter F.; Schoenbach, Karl H.

    2002-05-01

    Discharge plasmas at high pressures (up to and exceeding atmospheric pressure), where single collision conditions no longer prevail, provide a fertile environment for the experimental study of collisions and radiative processes dominated by (i) step-wise processes, i.e., the excitation of an already excited atomic/molecular state and by (ii) three-body collisions leading, for instance, to the formation of excimers. The dominance of collisional and radiative processes beyond binary collisions involving ground-state atoms and molecules in such environments allows for many interesting applications of high-pressure plasmas such as high power lasers, opening switches, novel plasma processing applications and sputtering, absorbers and reflectors for electromagnetic waves, remediation of pollutants and waste streams, and excimer lamps and other noncoherent vacuum-ultraviolet light sources. Here recent progress is summarized in the use of hollow cathode discharge devices with hole dimensions in the range 0.1-0.5 mm for the generation of vacuum-ultraviolet light.

  2. Polymerization of phenol by using discharged plasma under hydrothermal state

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitsugi, M.; Yoshida, A.; Watanabe, H.; Kiyan, T.; Takade, M.; Miyaji, K.; Namihira, T.; Kuwahara, Y.; Akiyama, H.; Hara, M.; Sasaki, M.; Goto, M.

    2010-03-01

    Supercritical fluid with plasma is a type of green processing media because this technique does not use catalyst and toxic solvents. In this study, we carried out experiments of organic materials in the presence of discharged plasma in sub- and supercritical water to evaluate the possibility for new reactions. For this purpose, we used SUS316 reactor that generates plasma at temperature and pressure up to 573K and 30MPa, respectively. 100 mmol/L aqueous phenol solution was used as starting material. The reactions were carried out at temperature of 523K and under pressure of 25MPa. After a series of reactions, water-soluble, water-insoluble (oily products), solid residue and gaseous product were obtained. For the analysis of these products, HPLC, GC-MS, TOC, GC-TCD and TOF-MS were used. The highest phenol conversion was 16.96% obtained at 523K, 25MPa and with 4000 times discharged plasma. Polymerized phenol was obtained as a product.

  3. Is the negative glow plasma of a direct current glow discharge negatively charged?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bogdanov, E. A.; Saifutdinov, A. I.; Demidov, V. I., E-mail: Vladimir.Demidov@mail.wvu.edu

    A classic problem in gas discharge physics is discussed: what is the sign of charge density in the negative glow region of a glow discharge? It is shown that traditional interpretations in text-books on gas discharge physics that states a negative charge of the negative glow plasma are based on analogies with a simple one-dimensional model of discharge. Because the real glow discharges with a positive column are always two-dimensional, the transversal (radial) term in divergence with the electric field can provide a non-monotonic axial profile of charge density in the plasma, while maintaining a positive sign. The numerical calculationmore » of glow discharge is presented, showing a positive space charge in the negative glow under conditions, where a one-dimensional model of the discharge would predict a negative space charge.« less

  4. Plasma mixing glow discharge device for analytical applications

    DOEpatents

    Pinnaduwage, L.A.

    1999-04-20

    An instrument for analyzing a sample has an enclosure that forms a chamber containing an anode which divides the chamber into a discharge region and an analysis region. A gas inlet and outlet are provided to introduce and exhaust a rare gas into the discharge region. A cathode within the discharge region has a plurality of pins projecting in a geometric pattern toward the anode for exciting the gas and producing a plasma discharge between the cathode and the anode. Low energy electrons (e.g. <0.5 eV) pass into the analysis region through an aperture. The sample to be analyzed is placed into the analysis region and bombarded by the metastable rare gas atoms and the low energy electrons extracted into from the discharge region. A mass or optical spectrometer can be coupled to a port of the analysis region to analyze the resulting ions and light emission. 3 figs.

  5. Pulsed-DC DBD Plasma Actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duong, Alan; Corke, Thomas; Thomas, Flint

    2017-11-01

    A power system for dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators that utilizes a pulsed-DC waveform is presented. The plasma actuator arrangement is identical to most typical AC-DBD designs with staggered electrodes that are separated by a dielectric insulator. A key difference is that the pulsed-DC actuator utilizes a DC voltage source to drive the actuator instead of an AC voltage input. The DC source is supplied to both electrodes. The exposed electrode remains constant in time while the encapsulated electrode is periodically grounded for short instances then is allowed to rise to the source DC level. Further investigation of the pulsed-DC plasma actuator was conducted. Time-resolved velocity measurements were done to characterize the induced velocity field generated by the pulsed-DC plasma actuator. A model of the pulsed-DC plasma actuator is developed in LTspice for further study. The work presented are intended in developing a model to be used in CFD flow control simulations. NASA SBIR NNX14CC12C.

  6. Simulation of the Plasma Afterglow in the Discharge Gap of a Subnanosecond Switch Based on an Open Discharge in Helium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alexandrov, A. L.; Schweigert, I. V.

    2018-05-01

    The phenomenon of subnanosecond electrical breakdown in a strong electric field observed in an open discharge in helium at pressures of 6-20 Torr can be used to create ultrafast plasma switches triggering into a conducting state for a time shorter than 1 ns. To evaluate the possible repetition rate of such a subnanosecond switch, it is interesting to study the decay dynamics of the plasma remaining in the discharge gap after ultrafast breakdown. In this paper, a kinetic model based on the particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision method is used to study the dynamics of the plasma afterglow in the discharge gap of a subnanosecond switch operating with helium at a pressure of 6 Torr. The simulation results show that the radiative, collisional-radiative, and three-body collision recombination mechanisms significantly contribute to the afterglow decay only while the plasma density remains higher than 1012 cm-3; the main mechanism of the further plasma decay is diffusion of plasma particles onto the wall. Therefore, the effect of recombination in the plasma bulk is observed only during the first 10-20 μs of the afterglow. Over nearly the same time, plasma electrons become thermalized. The afterglow time can be substantially reduced by applying a positive voltage U c to the cathode. Since diffusive losses are limited by the ion mobility, the additional ion drift toward the wall significantly accelerates plasma decay. As U c increases from 0 to +500 V, the characteristic time of plasma decay is reduced from 35 to 10 μs.

  7. Simulation Tool for Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Likhanskii, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    Traditional approaches for active flow separation control using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are limited to relatively low speed flows and atmospheric conditions. This results in low feasibility of the DBDs for aerospace applications. For active flow control at turbine blades, fixed wings, and rotary wings and on hypersonic vehicles, DBD plasma actuators must perform at a wide range of conditions, including rarified flows and combustion mixtures. An efficient, comprehensive, physically based DBD simulation tool can optimize DBD plasma actuators for different operation conditions. Researchers are developing a DBD plasma actuator simulation tool for a wide range of ambient gas pressures. The tool will treat DBD using either kinetic, fluid, or hybrid models, depending on the DBD operational condition.

  8. Improvement of wheat seed vitality by dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment.

    PubMed

    Guo, Qiao; Meng, Yiran; Qu, Guangzhou; Wang, Tiecheng; Yang, Fengning; Liang, Dongli; Hu, Shibin

    2018-02-01

    Influences of discharge voltage on wheat seed vitality were investigated in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma system at atmospheric pressure and temperature. Six different treatments were designed, and their discharge voltages were 0.0, 9.0, 11.0, 13.0, 15.0, and 17.0 kV, respectively. Fifty seeds were exposed to the DBD plasma atmosphere with an air flow rate of 1.5 L min -1 for 4 min in each treatment, and then the DBD plasma-treated seeds were prepared for germination in several Petri dishes. Each treatment was repeated three times. Germination indexes, growth indexes, surface topography, water uptake, permeability, and α-amylase activity were measured. DBD plasma treatment at appropriate energy levels had positive effects on wheat seed germination and seedling growth. The germination potential, germination index, and vigor index significantly increased by 31.4%, 13.9%, and 54.6% after DBD treatment at 11.0 kV, respectively, in comparison to the control. Shoot length, root length, dry weight, and fresh weight also significantly increased after the DBD plasma treatment. The seed coat was softened and cracks were observed, systematization of the protein was strengthened, and amount of free starch grain increased after the DBD plasma treatment. Water uptake, relative electroconductivity, soluble protein, and α-amylase activity of the wheat seed were also significantly improved after the DBD plasma treatment. Roles of active species and ultraviolet radiation generated in the DBD plasma process in wheat seed germination and seedling growth are proposed. Bioelectromagnetics. 39:120-131, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Beam-plasma instabilities and the beam-plasma discharge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kellogg, P. J.; Boswell, R. W.

    1986-01-01

    Using a new waves on magnetized beams and turbulence (WOMBAT) 0-450 eV electron gun, measurements bearing on the generation of beam-plasma discharge (BPD) are made. The new gun has a narrower divergence angle than the old, and the BPD ignition current is found to be proportional to the cross-sectional area of the plasma. The high-frequency instabilities are identified with the two Trivelpiece-Gould modes, (1959). The upper frequency is identified as a Cerenkov resonance with the upper Trivelpiece-Gould mode, and the lower frequency with a cyclotron resonance with the lower mode, in agreement with theoretical expectations. Convective growth rates are found to be small. A mechanism involving the conversion of a convective instability to an absolute one by trapping of the unstable waves in the density perturbations of the low-frequency waves, is suggested for the low-frequency wave control of the onset of the high frequency precursors to the BPD.

  10. Development of large volume double ring penning plasma discharge source for efficient light emissions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Prakash, Ram; Vyas, Gheesa Lal; Jain, Jalaj

    In this paper, the development of large volume double ring Penning plasma discharge source for efficient light emissions is reported. The developed Penning discharge source consists of two cylindrical end cathodes of stainless steel having radius 6 cm and a gap 5.5 cm between them, which are fitted in the top and bottom flanges of the vacuum chamber. Two stainless steel anode rings with thickness 0.4 cm and inner diameters 6.45 cm having separation 2 cm are kept at the discharge centre. Neodymium (Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B) permanent magnets are physically inserted behind the cathodes for producing nearly uniform magnetic fieldmore » of {approx}0.1 T at the center. Experiments and simulations have been performed for single and double anode ring configurations using helium gas discharge, which infer that double ring configuration gives better light emissions in the large volume Penning plasma discharge arrangement. The optical emission spectroscopy measurements are used to complement the observations. The spectral line-ratio technique is utilized to determine the electron plasma density. The estimated electron plasma density in double ring plasma configuration is {approx}2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 11} cm{sup -3}, which is around one order of magnitude larger than that of single ring arrangement.« less

  11. Development of large volume double ring penning plasma discharge source for efficient light emissions.

    PubMed

    Prakash, Ram; Vyas, Gheesa Lal; Jain, Jalaj; Prajapati, Jitendra; Pal, Udit Narayan; Chowdhuri, Malay Bikas; Manchanda, Ranjana

    2012-12-01

    In this paper, the development of large volume double ring Penning plasma discharge source for efficient light emissions is reported. The developed Penning discharge source consists of two cylindrical end cathodes of stainless steel having radius 6 cm and a gap 5.5 cm between them, which are fitted in the top and bottom flanges of the vacuum chamber. Two stainless steel anode rings with thickness 0.4 cm and inner diameters 6.45 cm having separation 2 cm are kept at the discharge centre. Neodymium (Nd(2)Fe(14)B) permanent magnets are physically inserted behind the cathodes for producing nearly uniform magnetic field of ~0.1 T at the center. Experiments and simulations have been performed for single and double anode ring configurations using helium gas discharge, which infer that double ring configuration gives better light emissions in the large volume Penning plasma discharge arrangement. The optical emission spectroscopy measurements are used to complement the observations. The spectral line-ratio technique is utilized to determine the electron plasma density. The estimated electron plasma density in double ring plasma configuration is ~2 × 10(11) cm(-3), which is around one order of magnitude larger than that of single ring arrangement.

  12. Plasma Perturbations in High-Speed Probing of Hall Thruster Discharge Chambers: Quantification and Mitigation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jorns, Benjamin A.; Goebel, Dan M.; Hofer, Richard R.

    2015-01-01

    An experimental investigation is presented to quantify the effect of high-speed probing on the plasma parameters inside the discharge chamber of a 6-kW Hall thruster. Understanding the nature of these perturbations is of significant interest given the importance of accurate plasma measurements for characterizing thruster operation. An array of diagnostics including a high-speed camera and embedded wall probes is employed to examine in real time the changes in electron temperature and plasma potential induced by inserting a high-speed reciprocating Langmuir probe into the discharge chamber. It is found that the perturbations onset when the scanning probe is downstream of the electron temperature peak, and that along channel centerline, the perturbations are best characterized as a downstream shift of plasma parameters by 15-20% the length of the discharge chamber. A parametric study is performed to investigate techniques to mitigate the observed probe perturbations including varying probe speed, probe location, and operating conditions. It is found that the perturbations largely disappear when the thruster is operated at low power and low discharge voltage. The results of this mitigation study are discussed in the context of recommended methods for generating unperturbed measurements of the discharge chamber plasma.

  13. Micronucleus formation induced by dielectric barrier discharge plasma exposure in brain cancer cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaushik, Nagendra K.; Uhm, Hansup; Ha Choi, Eun

    2012-02-01

    Induction of micronucleus formation (cytogenetic damage) in brain cancer cells upon exposure of dielectric barrier discharge plasma has been investigated. We have investigated the influence of exposure and incubation times on T98G brain cancer cells by using growth kinetic, clonogenic, and micronucleus formation assay. We found that micronucleus formation rate directly depends on the plasma exposure time. It is also shown that colony formation capacity of cells has been inhibited by the treatment of plasma at all doses. Cell death and micronucleus formation are shown to be significantly elevated by 120 and 240 s exposure of dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

  14. Comparison of electrical and optical characteristics in gas-phase and gas-liquid phase discharges

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Qazi, H. I. A.; Li, He-Ping, E-mail: liheping@tsinghua.edu.cn; Zhang, Xiao-Fei

    This paper presents an AC-excited argon discharge generated using a gas-liquid (two-phase) hybrid plasma reactor, which mainly consists of a powered needle electrode enclosed in a conical quartz tube and grounded deionized water electrode. The discharges in the gas-phase, as well as in the two-phase, exhibit two discharge modes, i.e., the low current glow-like diffuse mode and the high current streamer-like constrict mode, with a mode transition, which exhibits a negative resistance of the discharges. The optical emission spectral analysis shows that the stronger diffusion of the water vapor into the discharge region in the two-phase discharges boosts up themore » generation of OH (A–X) radicals, and consequently, leads to a higher rotational temperature in the water-phase plasma plume than that of the gas-phase discharges. Both the increase of the power input and the decrease of the argon flow rate result in the increase of the rotational temperature in the plasma plume of the water-phase discharge. The stable two-phase discharges with a long plasma plume in the water-phase under a low power input and gas flow rate may show a promising prospect for the degradation of organic pollutants, e.g., printing and dyeing wastewater, in the field of environmental protection.« less

  15. Effect of actuating voltage and discharge gap on plasma assisted detonation initiation process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siyin, ZHOU; Xueke, CHE; Wansheng, NIE; Di, WANG

    2018-06-01

    The influence of actuating voltage and discharge gap on plasma assisted detonation initiation by alternating current dielectric barrier discharge was studied in detail. A loose coupling method was used to simulate the detonation initiation process of a hydrogen–oxygen mixture in a detonation tube under different actuating voltage amplitudes and discharge gap sizes. Both the discharge products and the detonation forming process assisted by the plasma were analyzed. It was found that the patterns of the temporal and spatial distributions of discharge products in one cycle keep unchanged as changing the two discharge operating parameters. However, the adoption of a higher actuating voltage leads to a higher active species concentration within the discharge zone, and atom H is the most sensitive to the variations of the actuating voltage amplitude among the given species. Adopting a larger discharge gap results in a lower concentration of the active species, and all species have the same sensitivity to the variations of the gap. With respect to the reaction flow of the detonation tube, the corresponding deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) time and distance become slightly longer when a higher actuating voltage is chosen. The acceleration effect of plasma is more prominent with a smaller discharge gap, and the benefit builds gradually throughout the DDT process. Generally, these two control parameters have little effect on the amplitude of the flow field parameters, and they do not alter the combustion degree within the reaction zone.

  16. New perspectives on the dynamics of AC and DC plasma arcs exposed to cross-fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdo, Youssef; Rohani, Vandad; Cauneau, François; Fulcheri, Laurent

    2017-02-01

    Interactions between an arc and external fields are crucially important for the design and the optimization of modern plasma torches. Multiple studies have been conducted to help better understand the behavior of DC and AC current arcs exposed to external and ‘self-induced’ magnetic fields, but the theoretical foundations remain very poorly explored. An analytical investigation has therefore been carried out in order to study the general behavior of DC and AC arcs under the effect of random cross-fields. A simple differential equation describing the general behavior of a planar DC or AC arc has been obtained. Several dimensionless numbers that depend primarily on arc and field parameters and the main arc characteristics (temperature, electric field strength) have also been determined. Their magnitude indicates the general tendency pattern of the arc evolution. The analytical results for many case studies have been validated using an MHD numerical model. The main purpose of this investigation was deriving a practical analytical model for the electric arc, rendering possible its stabilization and control, and the enhancement of the plasma torch power.

  17. Transmission characteristics of microwave in a glow-discharge dusty plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jia, Jieshu; Yuan, Chengxun, E-mail: yuancx@hit.edu.cn; Gao, Ruilin

    2016-07-15

    In this study, the propagation characteristics of electromagnetic wave in a glow discharge plasma with dust particles are experimentally investigated. A helium alternating current glow discharge plasmas have been successfully generated. Measurements of the plasma parameters using Langmuir probes, in the absence of dust particles, provide plasma densities (n{sub e}) of 10{sup 17 }m{sup −3} and electron temperatures (T{sub e}) ranging from 2 to 4 eV. Dusty plasmas are made by adding 30 nm radius aluminum oxide (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) particles into the helium plasma. The density of the dust particle (n{sub d}) in the device is about 10{sup 11}–10{sup 12 }m{sup −3}. Themore » propagation characteristics of electromagnetic waves are determined by a vector network analyzer with 4–6 GHz antennas. An apparent attenuation by the dust is observed, and the measured attenuation data are approximately in accordance with the theoretical calculations. The effects of gas pressure and input power on the propagation are also investigated. Results show that the transmission attenuation increases with the gas pressure and input power, the charged dust particles play a significant role in the microwave attenuation.« less

  18. Sterilization by negative and positive DC plasma with a micro discharge gap at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Hua; Jiang, Lin-Xiu; Jiang, Yong-Rong; Zhu, Jian-Min; Chen, Zhen-Cheng

    2017-11-01

    A new needle-to-droplet electrode structure with a micro discharge gap (2 mm) was designed to achieve direct current (DC) discharge plasma in ambient air with the aim of using the plasma to sterilize liquids. Without using noble gases or an external air flow, we succeeded in generating both a negative and positive DC plasma at atmospheric pressure. The plasma was driven by a 0 to -20,000 V, 100 W DC power supply. A stainless steel needle with a tip diameter of ˜ 50μm and a 200-μL droplet of bacteria-containing liquid served as the electrodes. At atmospheric pressure and room temperature (23∘C), utilizing the negative DC plasma, the discharge time lasted 10 s; the results showed that the higher the discharge voltage, the more efficient the sterilization effect. Conversely, when we applied a voltage of -5.5 kV, we found that the sterilization effect was more efficient for longer discharge times. Our findings demonstrate that Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) can be killed in about 30 s. Our experiments show that our sterilization method required less time and was more efficient for positive than for negative DC plasma under the same conditions.

  19. The hairline plasma: An intermittent negative dc-corona discharge at atmospheric pressure for plasma medical applications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bussiahn, R.; Brandenburg, R.; Gerling, T.

    2010-04-05

    A cold atmospheric pressure plasma source, called hairline plasma, for biological and medical applications has been developed. Using the physical effect of the negative dc corona discharge, a nanosecond pulsed microplasma has been created. The device produces a very thin (dapprox30 mum) plasma filament with a length of up to 1.5 cm. Due to this geometrical parameters this plasma is particularly suitable for the treatment of microscopic cavities. The low plasma temperature allows to treat the human skin without any heating or painful irritation.

  20. The cold and atmospheric-pressure air surface barrier discharge plasma for large-area sterilization applications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang Dacheng; Department of Aeronautics, Fujian Key Laboratory for Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005; Zhao Di

    2011-04-18

    This letter reports a stable air surface barrier discharge device for large-area sterilization applications at room temperature. This design may result in visually uniform plasmas with the electrode area scaled up (or down) to the required size. A comparison for the survival rates of Escherichia coli from air, N{sub 2} and O{sub 2} surface barrier discharge plasmas is presented, and the air surface plasma consisting of strong filamentary discharges can efficiently kill Escherichia coli. Optical emission measurements indicate that reactive species such as O and OH generated in the room temperature air plasmas play a significant role in the sterilizationmore » process.« less

  1. Influence of Relative Humidity on AC Corona Discharge from Algae Attached on the Silicone Rubber

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Daisuke; Hara, Yoshiaki; Kokufu, Morihide; Higashiyama, Yoshio

    To make clear the influence of algae growth at the surface of a polymer insulator in a practical transmission line, the characteristics of ac corona discharge from an aggregate algae particle were investigated. The aggregate algae particle was made of Protococcus viridis. Corona onset voltage from an aggregate algae particle was decreased as relative humidity increased. Under the condition of relatively higher relative humidity, luminous channel of corona discharge became more strongly and the number of corona pulses in the current waveform was increased. For an aggregate algae particle contaminated with sea salt including MgCl2, corona onset voltage decreased drastically at relative humidity above 40%. This property would result from deliquescence of MgCl2. Corona discharge was strongly affected by existence of MgCl2 in an aggregate algae particle. Surface resistance of algae attached to the surface of the silicone rubber sheet decreased in fourth figures for relative humidity from 20 to 90%. Therefore, the existence of algae on the polymer insulator inevitably affects the electric property and the surface property of the polymer insulator.

  2. Laser beam coupling with capillary discharge plasma for laser wakefield acceleration applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bagdasarov, G. A.; Sasorov, P. V.; Gasilov, V. A.; Boldarev, A. S.; Olkhovskaya, O. G.; Benedetti, C.; Bulanov, S. S.; Gonsalves, A.; Mao, H.-S.; Schroeder, C. B.; van Tilborg, J.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W. P.; Levato, T.; Margarone, D.; Korn, G.

    2017-08-01

    One of the most robust methods, demonstrated to date, of accelerating electron beams by laser-plasma sources is the utilization of plasma channels generated by the capillary discharges. Although the spatial structure of the installation is simple in principle, there may be some important effects caused by the open ends of the capillary, by the supplying channels etc., which require a detailed 3D modeling of the processes. In the present work, such simulations are performed using the code MARPLE. First, the process of capillary filling with cold hydrogen before the discharge is fired, through the side supply channels is simulated. Second, the simulation of the capillary discharge is performed with the goal to obtain a time-dependent spatial distribution of the electron density near the open ends of the capillary as well as inside the capillary. Finally, to evaluate the effectiveness of the beam coupling with the channeling plasma wave guide and of the electron acceleration, modeling of the laser-plasma interaction was performed with the code INF&RNO.

  3. Effect of anomalous electron cross-field transport on electron energy distribution function in a DC-RF magnetized plasma discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raitses, Yevgeny; Donnelly, Vincent M.; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Godyak, Valery

    2013-10-01

    The application of the magnetic field in a low pressure plasma can cause a spatial separation of cold and hot electron groups. This so-called magnetic filter effect is not well understood and is the subject of our studies. In this work, we investigate electron energy distribution function in a DC-RF plasma discharge with crossed electric and magnetic field operating at sub-mtorr pressure range of xenon gas. Experimental studies showed that the increase of the magnetic field leads to a more uniform profile of the electron temperature across the magnetic field. This surprising result indicates the importance of anomalous electron transport that causes mixing of hot and cold electrons. High-speed imaging and probe measurements revealed a coherent structure rotating in E cross B direction with frequency of a few kHz. Similar to spoke oscillations reported for Hall thrusters, this rotating structure conducts the largest fraction of the cross-field current. This work was supported by DOE contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

  4. Broad-beam high-current dc ion source based on a two-stage glow discharge plasma.

    PubMed

    Vizir, A V; Oks, E M; Yushkov, G Yu

    2010-02-01

    We have designed, made, and demonstrated a broad-beam, dc, ion source based on a two-stage, hollow-cathode, and glow discharges plasma. The first-stage discharge (auxiliary discharge) produces electrons that are injected into the cathode cavity of a second-stage discharge (main discharge). The electron injection causes a decrease in the required operating pressure of the main discharge down to 0.05 mTorr and a decrease in required operating voltage down to about 50 V. The decrease in operating voltage of the main discharge leads to a decrease in the fraction of impurity ions in the ion beam extracted from the main gas discharge plasma to less than 0.2%. Another feature of the source is a single-grid accelerating system in which the ion accelerating voltage is applied between the plasma itself and the grid electrode. The source has produced steady-state Ar, O, and N ion beams of about 14 cm diameter and current of more than 2 A at an accelerating voltage of up to 2 kV.

  5. One-dimensional Numerical Model of Transient Discharges in Air of a Spatial Plasma Ignition Device

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saceleanu, Florin N.

    This thesis examines the modes of discharge of a plasma ignition device. Oscilloscope data of the discharge voltage and current are analyzed for various pressures in air at ambient temperature. It is determined that the discharge operates in 2 modes: a glow discharge and a postulated streamer discharge. Subsequently, a 1-dimensional fluid simulation of plasma using the finite volume method (FVM) is developed to gain insight into the particle kinetics. Transient results of the simulation agree with theories of electric discharges; however, quasi-steady state results were not reached due to high diffusion time of ions in air. Next, an ordinary differential equation (ODE) is derived to understand the discharge transition. Simulated results were used to estimate the voltage waveform, which describes the ODE's forcing function; additional simulated results were used to estimate the discharge current and the ODE's non-linearity. It is found that the ODE's non-linearity increases exponentially for capacitive discharges. It is postulated that the non-linearity defines the mode transition observed experimentally. The research is motivated by Spatial Plasma Discharge Ignition (SPDI), an innovative ignition system postulated to increase combustion efficiency in automobile engines for up to 9%. The research thus far can only hypothesize SPDI's benefits on combustion, based on the literature review and the modes of discharge.

  6. Nonuniform discharge currents in active plasma lenses

    DOE PAGES

    van Tilborg, J.; Barber, S. K.; Tsai, H. -E.; ...

    2017-03-24

    Active plasma lenses have attracted interest in novel accelerator applications due to their ability to provide large-field-gradient (short focal length), tunable, and radially symmetric focusing for charged particle beams. However, if the discharge current is not flowing uniformly as a function of radius, one can expect a radially varying field gradient as well as potential emittance degradation. We have investigated this experimentally for a 1-mm-diameter active plasma lens. The measured near-axis field gradient is approximately 35% larger than expected for a uniform current distribution, and at overfocusing currents ring-shaped electron beams are observed. These observations are explained by simulations.

  7. Nonuniform discharge currents in active plasma lenses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Tilborg, J.; Barber, S. K.; Tsai, H.-E.; Swanson, K. K.; Steinke, S.; Geddes, C. G. R.; Gonsalves, A. J.; Schroeder, C. B.; Esarey, E.; Bulanov, S. S.; Bobrova, N. A.; Sasorov, P. V.; Leemans, W. P.

    2017-03-01

    Active plasma lenses have attracted interest in novel accelerator applications due to their ability to provide large-field-gradient (short focal length), tunable, and radially symmetric focusing for charged particle beams. However, if the discharge current is not flowing uniformly as a function of radius, one can expect a radially varying field gradient as well as potential emittance degradation. We have investigated this experimentally for a 1-mm-diameter active plasma lens. The measured near-axis field gradient is approximately 35% larger than expected for a uniform current distribution, and at overfocusing currents ring-shaped electron beams are observed. These observations are explained by simulations.

  8. Plume and Discharge Plasma Measurements of an NSTAR-type Ion Thruster

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foster, John E.; Soulas, George C.; Patterson, Michael J.

    2000-01-01

    The success of the NASA Deep Space 1 spacecraft has demonstrated that ion propulsion is a viable option for deep space science missions. More aggressive missions such as Comet Nuclear Sample Return and Europa lander will require higher power, higher propellant throughput and longer thruster lifetime than the NASA Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) engine. Presented here are thruster plume and discharge plasma measurements of an NSTAR-type thruster operated from 0.5 kW to 5 kW. From Faraday plume sweeps, beam divergence was determined. From Langmuir probe plume measurements on centerline, low energy ion production on axis due to charge-exchange and direct ionization was assessed. Additionally, plume plasma potential measurements made on axis were used to determine the upper energy limits at which ions created on centerline could be radially accelerated. Wall probes flush-mounted to the thruster discharge chamber anode were used to assess plasma conditions. Langmuir probe measurements at the wall indicated significant differences in the electron temperature in the cylindrical and conical sections of the discharge chamber.

  9. Plume and Discharge Plasma Measurements of an NSTAR-type Ion Thruster

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foster, John E; Soulas, George C.; Patterson, Michael J.

    2000-01-01

    The success of the NASA Deep Space I spacecraft has demonstrated that ion propulsion is a viable option for deep space science missions. More aggressive missions such as Comet Nuclear Sample Return and Europa lander will require higher power, higher propellant throughput and longer thruster lifetime than the NASA Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) engine. Presented here are thruster plume and discharge plasma measurements of an NSTAR-type thruster operated from 0.5 kW to 5 kW. From Faraday plume sweeps, beam divergence was determined. From Langmuir probe plume measurements on centerline, low energy ion production on axis due to charge-exchange and direct ionization was assessed. Additionally, plume plasma potential measurements made on axis were used to determine the upper energy limits at which ions created on centerline could be radially accelerated. Wall probes flush-mounted to the thruster discharge chamber anode were used to assess plasma conditions. Langmuir probe measurements at the wall indicated significant differences in the electron temperature in the cylindrical and conical sections of the discharge chamber.

  10. Nonuniformity of the chemical composition of a capillary discharge plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kocharyan, A. E.; Bobrova, N. A.; Sasorov, P. V.

    A steady-state distribution of the concentration of two ion species in a capillary discharge plasma is studied using MHD equations for a plasma with a spatially nonuniform, time-dependent chemical composition. In our case, the set of equations is significantly simplified because of the steady-state character and symmetry of the problem. Even with such simplification, however, some results could be obtained only by numerical integration. The factors affecting the distribution of heavy ions are studied. It is shown that the distribution of the heavy impurity over the discharge cross section can be much more nonuniform than the distribution of the mainmore » component (hydrogen). A simple criterion for such a nonuniformity is obtained.« less

  11. Hydrogen and Ethene Plasma Assisted Ignition by NS discharge at Elevated Temperatures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Starikovskiy, Andrey

    2015-09-01

    The kinetics of ignition in lean H2:O2:Ar and C2H4:O2:Ar mixtures has been studied experimentally and numerically after a high-voltage nanosecond discharge. The ignition delay time behind a reflected shock wave was measured with and without the discharge. It was shown that the initiation of the discharge with a specific deposited energy of 10 - 30 mJ/cm3 leads to an order of magnitude decrease in the ignition delay time. Discharge processes and following chain chemical reactions with energy release were simulated. The generation of atoms, radicals and excited and charged particles was numerically simulated using the measured time - resolved discharge current and electric field in the discharge phase. The calculated densities of the active particles were used as input data to simulate plasma-assisted ignition. Good agreement was obtained between the calculated ignition delay times and the experimental data. It follows from the analysis of the calculated results that the main mechanism of the effect of gas discharge on the ignition of hydrocarbons is the electron impact dissociation of O2 molecules in the discharge phase. Detailed kinetic mechanism for plasma assisted ignition of hydrogen and ethene is elaborated and verified.

  12. Radiative Characteristics of the Pulse-Periodic Discharge Plasma Initiated by Runaway Electrons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lomaev, M. I.; Beloplotov, D. V.; Tarasenko, V. F.; Sorokin, D. A.

    2016-07-01

    Results of experimental investigations of amplitude-temporal and spectral characteristics of radiation of a pulse-periodic discharge plasma initiated in nitrogen by runaway electrons are presented. The discharge was initiated by high-voltage nanosecond voltage pulses with repetition frequency of 60 Hz in a sharply inhomogeneous electric field in a gap between the conic potential cathode and the planar grounded aluminum anode. It is established that intensive lines of Al I atoms and Al II atomic ions, lines of N I atoms and N II ions, bands of the first (1+) and second positive (2+) nitrogen systems, as well as bands of cyanogen CN are observed in the emission spectrum of the discharge plasma under the given excitation conditions.

  13. Differential Inactivation of Fungal Spores in Water and on Seeds by Ozone and Arc Discharge Plasma

    PubMed Central

    Kang, Min Ho; Pengkit, Anchalee; Choi, Kihong; Jeon, Seong Sil; Choi, Hyo Won; Shin, Dong Bum; Choi, Eun Ha; Uhm, Han Sup; Park, Gyungsoon

    2015-01-01

    Seed sterilization is essential for preventing seed borne fungal diseases. Sterilization tools based on physical technologies have recently received much attention. However, available information is very limited in terms of efficiency, safety, and mode of action. In this study, we have examined antifungal activity of ozone and arc discharge plasma, potential tools for seed sterilization. In our results, ozone and arc discharge plasma have shown differential antifungal effects, depending on the environment associated with fungal spores (freely submerged in water or infected seeds). Ozone inactivates Fusarium fujikuroi (fungus causing rice bakanae disease) spores submerged in water more efficiently than arc discharge plasma. However, fungal spores associated with or infecting rice seeds are more effectively deactivated by arc discharge plasma. ROS generated in water by ozone may function as a powerful fungicidal factor. On the other hand, shockwave generated from arc discharge plasma may have greatly contributed to antifungal effects on fungus associated with rice seeds. In support of this notion, addition of ultrasonic wave in ozone generating water has greatly increased the efficiency of seed disinfection. PMID:26406468

  14. The measurement of argon metastable atoms in the barrier discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghildina, Anna R.; Mikheyev, Pavel Anatolyevich; Chernyshov, Aleksandr Konstantinovich; Lunev, Nikolai Nikolaevich; Azyazov, Valeriy Nikolaevich

    2018-04-01

    The mandatory condition for efficient operation of an optically-pumped all-rare-gas laser (OPRGL) is the presence of rare gas metastable atoms in the discharge plasma with number density of the order of 1012-1013 cm-3. This requirement mainly depends on the choice of a discharge system. In this study the number density values of argon metastable atoms were obtained in the condition of the dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) at an atmospheric pressure.

  15. Discharge processes and an electrical model of atmospheric pressure plasma jets in argon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fang, Zhi; Shao, Tao; Yang, Jing; Zhang, Cheng

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, an atmospheric pressure plasma discharge in argon was generated using a needle-to-ring electrode configuration driven by a sinusoidal excitation voltage. The electric discharge processes and discharge characteristics were investigated by inspecting the voltage-current waveforms, Lissajous curves and lighting emission images. The change in discharge mode with applied voltage amplitude was studied and characterised, and three modes of corona discharge, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and jet discharge were identified, which appeared in turn with increasing applied voltage and can be distinguished clearly from the measured voltage-current waveforms, light-emission images and the changing gradient of discharge power with applied voltage. Based on the experimental results and discharge mechanism analysis, an equivalent electrical model and the corresponding equivalent circuit for characterising the whole discharge processes accurately was proposed, and the three discharge stages were characterised separately. A voltage-controlled current source (VCCS) associated with a resistance and a capacitance were used to represent the DBD stage, and the plasma plume and corona discharge were modelled by a variable capacitor in series with a variable resistor. Other factors that can influence the discharge, such as lead and stray capacitance values of the circuit, were also considered in the proposed model. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Recent Breakthroughs in Microplasma Science and Technology", edited by Kurt Becker, Jose Lopez, David Staack, Klaus-Dieter Weltmann and Wei Dong Zhu.

  16. Internal Plasma Properties and Enhanced Performance of an 8 cm Ion Thruster Discharge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foster, John E.; Patterson, Michael J.

    1999-01-01

    There is a need for a lightweight, low power ion thruster for space science missions. Such an ion thruster is under development at NASA Glenn Research Center. In an effort to better understand the discharge performance of this thruster. a version of this thruster with an anode containing electrically isolated electrodes at the cusps was fabricated and tested. Discharge characteristics of this ring cusp ion thruster were measured without ion beam extraction. Discharge current was measured at collection electrodes located at the cusps and at the anode body itself. Discharge performance and plasma properties were measured as a function of discharge power, which was varied between 20 and 50 W. It was found that ion production costs decreased by as much as 20 percent when the two most downstream cusp electrodes were allowed to float. Floating the electrodes did not give rise to a significant increase in discharge power even though the plasma density increased markedly. The improved performance is attributed to enhanced electron containment.

  17. Killing Microorganisms with the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    South, Suzanne; Kelly-Wintenberg, Kimberly; Montie, T. C.; Reece Roth, J.; Sherman, Daniel; Morrison, Jim; Chen, Zhiyu; Karakaya, Fuat

    2000-10-01

    There is an urgent need for the development of new technologies for sterilization and decontamination in the fields of healthcare and industrial and food processing that are safe, cost-effective, broad-spectrum, and not deleterious to samples. One technology that meets these criteria is the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP). The OAUGDP operates in air and produces uniform plasma without filamentary discharges at room temperature, making this technology advantageous for sterilization of heat sensitive materials. The OAUGDP operates in a frequency band determined by the ion trapping mechanisms provided that, for air, the electric field is above 8.5kV/cm. The OAUGDP efficiently generates plasma reactive oxygen species (ROS) including atomic oxygen and oxygen free radicals without the requirement of a vacuum system. We have demonstrated the efficacy of the OAUGDP in killing microorganisms including bacteria, yeast, viruses, and spores in seconds to minutes on a variety of surfaces such as glass, films and fabrics, stainless steel, paper, and agar.

  18. Boundary Layer Flow Control with a One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Surface Plasma

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roth, J. Reece; Sherman, Daniel M.; Wilkinson, Stephen P.

    1998-01-01

    Low speed wind tunnel data have been acquired for planar panels covered by a uniform, glow-discharge surface plasma in atmospheric pressure air known as the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP). Streamwise and spanwise arrays of flush, plasma-generating surface electrodes have been studied in laminar, transitional, and fully turbulent boundary layer flow. Plasma between symmetric streamwise electrode strips caused large increases in panel drag, whereas asymmetric spanwise electrode configurations produced a significant thrust. Smoke wire flow visualization and mean velocity diagnostics show the primary cause of the phenomena to be a combination of mass transport and vortical structures induced by strong paraelectric ElectroHydroDynamic (EHD) body forces on the flow.

  19. Electric characteristics of a surface barrier discharge with a plasma induction electrode

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Alemskii, I. N.; Lelevkin, V. M.; Tokarev, A. V.

    2006-07-15

    Static and dynamic current-voltage and charge-voltage characteristics of a surface barrier discharge with a plasma induction electrode have been investigated experimentally. The dependences of the discharge current on both the gas pressure in the induction electrode tube and the winding pitch of the corona electrode, as well as of the discharge power efficiency on the applied voltage, have been measured.

  20. A comparative study on the activity of TiO2 in pulsed plasma under different discharge conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lijuan, DUAN; Nan, JIANG; Na, LU; Kefeng, SHANG; Jie, LI; Yan, WU

    2018-05-01

    In the present study, a combination of pulsed discharge plasma and TiO2 (plasma/TiO2) has been developed in order to study the activity of TiO2 by varying the discharge conditions of pulsed voltage, discharge mode, air flow rate and solution conductivity. Phenol was used as the chemical probe to characterize the activity of TiO2 in a pulsed discharge system. The experimental results showed that the phenol removal efficiency could be improved by about 10% by increasing the applied voltage. The phenol removal efficiency for three discharge modes in the plasma-discharge-alone system was found to be highest in the spark mode, followed by the spark–streamer mode and finally the streamer mode. In the plasma/TiO2 system, the highest catalytic effect of TiO2 was observed in the spark–streamer discharge mode, which may be attributed to the favorable chemical and physical effects from the spark–streamer discharge mode, such as ultraviolet light, O3, H2O2, pyrolysis, shockwaves and high-energy electrons. Meanwhile, the optimal flow rate and conductivity were 0.05 m3 l‑1 and 10 μS cm‑1, respectively. The main phenolic intermediates were hydroquinone, catechol, and p-benzoquinone during the discharge treatment process. A different phenol degradation pathway was observed in the plasma/TiO2 system as compared to plasma alone. Analysis of the reaction intermediates demonstrated that p-benzoquinone reduction was selectively catalyzed on the TiO2 surface. The effective decomposition of phenol constant (D e) increased from 74.11% to 79.16% when TiO2 was added, indicating that higher phenol mineralization was achieved in the plasma/TiO2 system.

  1. A compact, low cost Marx bank for generating capillary discharge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dyson, A. E.; Thornton, C.; Hooker, S. M.

    2016-09-01

    We describe in detail a low power Compact Marx Bank (CMB) circuit that can provide 20 kV, 500 A pulses of approximately 100-200 ns duration. One application is the generation of capillary discharge plasmas of density ≈1018 cm-3 used in laser plasma accelerators. The CMB is triggered with a high speed solid state switch and gives a high voltage output pulse with a ns scale rise time into a 50 Ω load (coaxial cable) with <4 ns voltage jitter. Its small size (10 cm × 25 cm × 5 cm) means that it can be placed right next to the capillary discharge in the target chamber to avoid the need to impedance match. The electrical energy required per discharge is <1 J, and the CMB can be run at shot repetition rates of ≳1 Hz. This low power requirement means that the circuit can easily be powered by a small lead acid battery and, therefore, can be floated relative to laboratory earth. The CMB is readily scalable and pulses >45 kV are demonstrated in air discharges.

  2. FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Effects of Penning ionization on the discharge patterns of atmospheric pressure plasma jets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Qing; Zhu, Wen-Chao; Zhu, Xi-Ming; Pu, Yi-Kang

    2010-09-01

    Atmospheric pressure plasma jets, generated in a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge configuration, have been investigated with different flowing gases. Discharge patterns in different tube regions were compared in the flowing gases of helium, neon and krypton. To explain the difference of these discharge patterns, a theoretical analysis is presented to reveal the possible basic processes. A comparison of experimental and theoretical results identifies that Penning ionization is mainly responsible for the discharge patterns of helium and neon plasma jets.

  3. Dimensionless factors for an alternating-current non-thermal arc plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Si-Yuan; Li, Xiao-Song; Liu, Jin-Bao; Liu, Jing-Lin; Li, He-Ping; Zhu, Ai-Min

    2016-12-01

    A gliding arc discharge, as a source of warm plasma combining advantages of both thermal and cold plasmas, would have promising application prospects in the fields of fuel conversion, combustion enhancement, material synthesis, surface modifications, pollution control, etc. In order to gain insight into the features of an alternating-current gliding arc discharge plasma, three dimensionless factors, i.e., the extinction span (ψ), current lag (δ), and heating lag (χ) factors are proposed in this letter based on the measured waveforms of the discharge voltage and current in an AC gliding arc discharge plasma. The influences of the driving frequency of the power supply (f) on these three dimensionless parameters are investigated experimentally with the explanations on the physical meanings of these factors. The experimental results show that a higher value of f would lead to the lower values of ψ and δ, as well as a higher value of χ. These experimental phenomena indicate a lower threshold ignition voltage of the discharges, a lower current-growth inertia of the gliding arcs and a larger relative thermal inertia of the plasmas with increase the driving frequency of the power supply in the operating parameter range studied in this letter.

  4. Experimental investigation on the effect of plasma jet in the triggered discharge process of a gas switch

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tie, W., E-mail: twh.110.666@163.com, E-mail: 84470220@qq.com; Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049; Liu, S.

    The temporal and spatial evolution of a plasma jet generated by a spark discharge was observed. The electron temperature and density were obtained under different time and gas pressures by optical emission spectroscopy. Moreover, the discharge process of the plasma-jet triggered gas switch was recorded and analyzed at the lowest working coefficient. The results showed that the plasma jet moved forward in a bullet mode, and the advancing velocity increased with the decrease of pressure, and decreased with time growing. At initial time, the maximum velocity of a plasma jet could reach 3.68 × 10{sup 6 }cm/s. The electron temperature decreased from 2.0 eVmore » to 1.3 eV, and the electron density increased from 3.1 × 10{sup 15}/cm{sup 3} to 6.3 × 10{sup 15}/cm{sup 3} at the initial moment as the gas pressure increases from 0.1 MPa to 0.32 MPa. For a two-gap gas switch, the discharge performances were more depended on the second discharge spark gap (gap 2). Because plasma jet promoted the discharge in Gap 2, the gas switch operating in mode II had better triggered discharge characteristics. In the discharge process, the plasma-jet triggering had the effect of non-penetrating inducing, which not only provided initial electrons for reducing statistical lag but also enhanced the local electric field. The discharge was initiated and accelerated from electron avalanche to streamer. Therefore, a fast discharge was occurred in the gas switch.« less

  5. Numerical simulation of the coaxial magneto-plasma accelerator and non-axisymmetric radio frequency discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuzenov, V. V.; Ryzhkov, S. V.; Frolko, P. A.

    2017-05-01

    The paper presents the results of mathematical modeling of physical processes in electronic devices such as helicon discharge and coaxial pulsed plasma thruster. A mathematical model of coaxial magneto-plasma accelerator (with a preionization helicon discharge), which allows estimating the transformation of one form of energy to another, as well as to evaluate the level of the contribution of different types of energy, the increase in mass of the accelerated plasmoid in the process of changing the speed. Main plasma parameters with experimental data were compared.

  6. Experimental study of a very high frequency, 162 MHz, segmented electrode, capacitively coupled plasma discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sirse, Nishant; Harvey, Cleo; Gaman, Cezar; Ellingboe, Bert

    2016-09-01

    Radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) discharge operating at a very high frequency, 30-300 MHz, offers many advantages over standard 13.56 MHz CCP. However, there is a limited flexibility on the choice of driving frequency and substrate size due to plasma non-uniformity caused by the standing wave effect and edge effect. To overcome this issue segmented electrode CCP's are proposed and researched. Despite its numerous advantages the power coupling mechanism and plasma chemistry in this type of discharge are not fully understood due to lack of experimental data. In this paper, we present the experimental study of a segmented electrode, 3x4 tile array (10x10 cm square tile with 1 cm tile-to-tile separation), CCP discharge driven at 162 MHz. We measured plasma uniformity and gas temperature using hairpin probe and optical emission spectroscopy respectively. A homemade RF compensated Langmuir probe is employed to measure the Electron Energy Distribution Function (EEDF) by second harmonic technique. Energy resolved quadrupole mass spectrometer is utilized to measure the ion energy distribution. Discharge/plasma properties are investigated for several operating conditions and for power coupling mode in both washer board and checker board configuration. The experimental results show that the uniform plasma density can be maintained over a large area along with highly non-equilibrium condition to produce unique gas phase plasma chemistry.

  7. Heating and cooling of the multiply charged ion nonequilibrium plasma in a high-current extended low-inductance discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burtsev, V. A.; Kalinin, N. V.

    2014-09-01

    Using a radiation magnetohydrodynamics two-temperature model (RMHD model) of a high-current volumetric radiating Z-discharge, the heating and cooling of the nitrogen plasma in a pulsed pinched extended discharge is investigated as applied to the problem of creating a recombination laser based on 3 → 2 transitions of hydrogen-like nitrogen ions (λ = 13.4 nm). It is shown that the power supply of the discharge, which is represented by a dual storage-forming line and a transmission line, makes it possible to raise the power density of the nitrogen plasma to 0.01-1.00 TW/cm3. Accordingly, there arises the possibility of generating a fully ionized (i.e., consisting of bare nuclei and electrons) plasma through the heating (compression) of electrons owing to the self-magnetic field of the plasma current and Joule heat even if the plasma is cooled by its own radiation at this stage. Such a plasma is needed to produce the lasing (active) medium of a recombination laser based on electron transitions in hydrogen-like ions. At the second stage, it is necessary to rapidly and deeply cool the plasma to 20-40 eV for 1-2 ns. Cooling of the fully ionized expanding plasma was numerically simulated with the discharge current switched on and off by means of a switch with a rapidly rising resistance. In both cases, the plasma expansion in the discharge is not adiabatic. Even after the discharge current is fairly rapidly switched off, heating of electrons continues inside the plasma column for a time longer than the switching time. Discharge current switchoff improves the electron cooling efficiency only slightly. Under such conditions, the plasma cools down to 50-60 eV in the former case and to 46-54 eV in the latter case for 2-3 ns.

  8. A large-area diffuse air discharge plasma excited by nanosecond pulse under a double hexagon needle-array electrode.

    PubMed

    Liu, Zhi-Jie; Wang, Wen-Chun; Yang, De-Zheng; Wang, Sen; Zhang, Shuai; Tang, Kai; Jiang, Peng-Chao

    2014-01-01

    A large-area diffuse air discharge plasma excited by bipolar nanosecond pulse is generated under a double hexagon needle-array electrode at atmospheric pressure. The images of the diffuse discharge, electric characteristics, and the optical emission spectra emitted from the diffuse air discharge plasma are obtained. Based on the waveforms of pulse voltage and current, the power consumption, and the power density of the diffuse air discharge plasma are investigated under different pulse peak voltages. The electron density and the electron temperature of the diffuse plasma are estimated to be approximately 1.42×10(11) cm(-3) and 4.4 eV, respectively. The optical emission spectra are arranged to determine the rotational and vibrational temperatures by comparing experimental with simulated spectra. Meanwhile, the rotational and vibrational temperatures of the diffuse discharge plasma are also discussed under different pulse peak voltages and pulse repetition rates, respectively. In addition, the diffuse air discharge plasma can form an area of about 70×50 mm(2) on the surface of dielectric layer and can be scaled up to the required size. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. RF wave observations in beam-plasma discharge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bernstein, W.

    1986-01-01

    The Beam Plasma Discharge (BPD) was produced in the large vacuum chamber at Johnson Space Center (20 x 30 m) using an energetic electron beam of moderately high perveance. A more complete expression of the threshold current I sub c taking into account the pitch angle injection dependence is given. Ambient plasma density inferred from wave measurements under various beam conditions are reported. Maximum frequency of the excited RF band behaves differently than the frequency of the peak amplitude. The latter shows signs of parabolic saturation consistent with the light data. Beam plasma state (pre-BPD or BPD) does not affect the pitch angle dependence. Unexpected strong modulation of the RF spectrum at half odd integer of the electron cyclotron frequency (n + 1/2)f sub ce is reported (5 n 10). Another new feature, the presence of wave emission around 3/2 f sub ce for I sub b is approximate I sub c is reported.

  10. Novel high-frequency energy-efficient pulsed-dc generator for capacitively coupled plasma discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mamun, Md Abdullah Al; Furuta, Hiroshi; Hatta, Akimitsu

    2018-03-01

    The circuit design, assembly, and operating tests of a high-frequency and high-voltage (HV) pulsed dc generator (PDG) for capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) discharge inside a vacuum chamber are reported. For capacitive loads, it is challenging to obtain sharp rectangular pulses with fast rising and falling edges, requiring intense current for quick charging and discharging. The requirement of intense current generally limits the pulse operation frequency. In this study, we present a new type of PDG consisting of a pair of half-resonant converters and a constant current-controller circuit connected with HV solid-state power switches that can deliver almost rectangular high voltage pulses with fast rising and falling edges for CCP discharge. A prototype of the PDG is assembled to modulate from a high-voltage direct current (HVdc) input into a pulsed HVdc output, while following an input pulse signal and a set current level. The pulse rise time and fall time are less than 500 ns and 800 ns, respectively, and the minimum pulse width is 1 µs. The maximum voltage for a negative pulse is 1000 V, and the maximum repetition frequency is 500 kHz. During the pulse on time, the plasma discharge current is controlled steadily at the set value. The half-resonant converters in the PDG perform recovery of the remaining energy from the capacitive load at every termination of pulse discharge. The PDG performed with a high energy efficiency of 85% from the HVdc input to the pulsed dc output at a repetition rate of 1 kHz and with stable plasma operation in various discharge conditions. The results suggest that the developed PDG can be considered to be more efficient for plasma processing by CCP.

  11. Novel high-frequency energy-efficient pulsed-dc generator for capacitively coupled plasma discharge.

    PubMed

    Mamun, Md Abdullah Al; Furuta, Hiroshi; Hatta, Akimitsu

    2018-03-01

    The circuit design, assembly, and operating tests of a high-frequency and high-voltage (HV) pulsed dc generator (PDG) for capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) discharge inside a vacuum chamber are reported. For capacitive loads, it is challenging to obtain sharp rectangular pulses with fast rising and falling edges, requiring intense current for quick charging and discharging. The requirement of intense current generally limits the pulse operation frequency. In this study, we present a new type of PDG consisting of a pair of half-resonant converters and a constant current-controller circuit connected with HV solid-state power switches that can deliver almost rectangular high voltage pulses with fast rising and falling edges for CCP discharge. A prototype of the PDG is assembled to modulate from a high-voltage direct current (HVdc) input into a pulsed HVdc output, while following an input pulse signal and a set current level. The pulse rise time and fall time are less than 500 ns and 800 ns, respectively, and the minimum pulse width is 1 µs. The maximum voltage for a negative pulse is 1000 V, and the maximum repetition frequency is 500 kHz. During the pulse on time, the plasma discharge current is controlled steadily at the set value. The half-resonant converters in the PDG perform recovery of the remaining energy from the capacitive load at every termination of pulse discharge. The PDG performed with a high energy efficiency of 85% from the HVdc input to the pulsed dc output at a repetition rate of 1 kHz and with stable plasma operation in various discharge conditions. The results suggest that the developed PDG can be considered to be more efficient for plasma processing by CCP.

  12. Effects of gas temperature in the plasma layer on RONS generation in array-type dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoon, Sung-Young; Yi, Changho; Eom, Sangheum; Park, Seungil; Kim, Seong Bong; Ryu, Seungmin; Yoo, Suk Jae

    2017-12-01

    In this work, we studied the control of plasma-produced species under a fixed gas composition (i.e., ambient air) in a 10 kHz-driven array-type dielectric barrier atmospheric-pressure plasma discharge. Instead of the gas composition, only the gas velocity was controlled. Thus, the plasma-maintenance cost was considerably lower than methods such as external N2 or O2 injection. The plasma-produced species were monitored using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. The discharge properties were measured using a voltage probe, current probe, infrared camera, and optical emission spectroscopy. The results showed that the major plasma products largely depend on the gas temperature in the plasma discharge layer. The gas temperature in the plasma discharge layer was significantly different to the temperature of the ceramic adjacent to the plasma discharge layer, even in the small discharge power density of ˜15 W/cm2 or ˜100 W/cm3. Because the vibrational excitation of N2 was suppressed by the higher gas flow, the major plasma-produced species shifted from NOx in low flow to O3 in high flow.

  13. Experimental observation of the inductive electric field and related plasma nonuniformity in high frequency capacitive discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ahn, S. K.; Chang, H. Y.

    To elucidate plasma nonuniformity in high frequency capacitive discharges, Langmuir probe and B-dot probe measurements were carried out in the radial direction in a cylindrical capacitive discharge driven at 90 MHz with argon pressures of 50 and 400 mTorr. Through the measurements, a significant inductive electric field (i.e., time-varying magnetic field) was observed at the radial edge, and it was found that the inductive electric field creates strong plasma nonuniformity at high pressure operation. The plasma nonuniformity at high pressure operation is physically similar to the E-H mode transition typically observed in inductive discharges. This result agrees well with themore » theories of electromagnetic effects in large area and/or high frequency capacitive discharges.« less

  14. Characterization of a dielectric barrier discharge in contact with liquid and producing a plasma activated water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neretti, G.; Taglioli, M.; Colonna, G.; Borghi, C. A.

    2017-01-01

    In this work a low-temperature plasma source for the generation of plasma activated water (PAW) is developed and characterized. The plasma reactor was operated by means of an atmospheric-pressure air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The plasma generated is in contact with the water surface and is able to chemically activate the liquid medium. Electrodes were supplied by both sinusoidal and nanosecond-pulsed voltage waveforms. Treatment times were varied from 2 to 12 min to increase the energy dose released to the water by the DBD plasma. The physics of the discharge was studied by means of electrical, spectroscopic and imaging diagnostics. The interaction between the plasma and the liquid was investigated as well. Temperature and composition of the treated water were detected. Images of the discharges showed a filamentary behaviour in the sinusoidal case and a more homogeneous behaviour in the nanosecond-pulsed one. The images and the electrical measurements allowed to evaluate an average electron number density of about 4  ×  1019 and 6  ×  1017 m-3 for the sinusoidal and nanosecond-pulsed discharges respectively. Electron temperatures in the range of 2.1÷2.6 eV were measured by using spectroscopic diagnostics. Rotational temperatures in the range of 318-475 K were estimated by fitting synthetic spectra with the measured ones. Water temperature and pH level did not change significantly after the exposure to the DBD plasma. The production of ozone and hydrogen peroxide within the water was enhanced by increasing the plasma treatment time and the energy dose. Numerical simulations of the nanosecond-pulsed discharge were performed by using a self-consistent coupling of state-to-state kinetics of the air mixture with the Boltzmann equation of free electron kinetics. Temporal evolution of the electron energy distribution function shows departure from the Maxwellian distribution especially during the afterglow phase of the discharge. When

  15. Performance of a green propellant thruster with discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shindo, Takahiro; Wada, Asato; Maeda, Hiroshi; Watanabe, Hiroki; Takegahara, Haruki

    2017-02-01

    A discharge plasma was applied to initiate the combustion of a hydroxylammonium nitrate-based propellant as a substitute for the catalysts that are typically employed. The resulting thrust and thrust-to-power ratio during short interval firing tests as well as the chamber pressure with a single pulse discharge were evaluated. A 1.5-s firing test generated a maximum thrust of 322 mN along with a thrust-to-power ratio of 0.95 mN/W. During the single-pulse discharge trials, pulsed discharge capacitor energies of 5.4, 10.8, and 16.4 J were assessed, and the maximum chamber pressure was found to increase as the energy was raised. The maximum chamber pressures varied widely between experimental trials, and a 16.4-J energy value resulted in the highest chamber pressure of over 1 MPaG. The time spans between the pulsed discharge and the peak chamber pressure were in the range of 1-2 ms, representing a chamber pressure increase rate much higher than those obtained with standard catalysts.

  16. Controlled cytotoxicity of plasma treated water formulated by open-air hybrid mode discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, P.; Boehm, D.; Cullen, P.; Bourke, P.

    2017-06-01

    Plasma treated liquids (PTLs) provide a means to convey a broad range of effects of relevance for food, environmental, or clinical decontamination, plant growth promotion, and therapeutic applications. Devising the reactive species ingredients and controlling the biological response of PTLs are of great interest. We demonstrate an approach by using an open-air hybrid mode discharge (HMD) to control the principal reactive species composition within plasma treated water (PTW), which is then demonstrated to regulate the cytotoxicity of PTW. The cytotoxicity of HMD produced PTW demonstrates a non-monotonic change over the discharge time. Although hydrogen peroxide and nitrite are not the sole effectors for cell death caused by PTW, using them as principal reactive species indicators, cytotoxicity can be removed and/or enhanced by formulating their concentrations and composition through adjusting the discharge mode and time on-line during PTW generation without the addition of additional working gas or chemical scavengers. This work demonstrates that a hybrid mode discharge can be employed to generate a PTW formulation to control a biological response such as cytotoxicity. This provides insights into how plasma treated liquids may be harnessed for biological applications in a specific and controllable manner.

  17. Dynamics of near-surface electric discharges and mechanisms of their interaction with the airflow

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leonov, Sergey B.; Adamovich, Igor V.; Soloviev, Victor R.

    2016-12-01

    The main focus of the review is on dynamics and kinetics of near-surface discharge plasmas, such as surface dielectric barrier discharges sustained by AC and repetitively pulsed waveforms, pulsed DC discharges, and quasi-DC discharges, generated in quiescent air and in the airflow. A number of technical issues related to plasma flow control applications are discussed in detail, including discharge development via surface ionization waves, charge transport and accumulation on dielectric surface, discharge contraction, different types of flow perturbations generated by surface discharges, and effect of high-speed flow on discharge dynamics. In the first part of the manuscript, plasma morphology and results of electrical and optical emission spectroscopy measurements are discussed. Particular attention is paid to dynamics of surface charge accumulation and dissipation, both in diffuse discharges and during development of ionization instabilities resulting in discharge contraction. Contraction leads to significant increase of both the surface area of charge accumulation and the energy coupled to the plasma. The use of alternating polarity pulse waveforms accelerates contraction of surface dielectric barrier discharges and formation of filamentary plasmas. The second part discusses the interaction of discharge plasmas with quiescent air and the external airflow. Four major types of flow perturbations have been identified: (1) low-speed near-surface jets generated by electrohydrodynamic interaction (ion wind); (2) spanwise and streamwise vortices formed by both electrohydrodynamic and thermal effects; (3) weak shock waves produced by rapid heating in pulsed discharges on sub-microsecond time scale; and (4) near-surface localized stochastic perturbations, on sub-millisecond time, detected only recently. The mechanism of plasma-flow interaction remains not fully understood, especially in filamentary surface dielectric barrier discharges. Localized quasi-DC surface

  18. A compact, low cost Marx bank for generating capillary discharge plasmas.

    PubMed

    Dyson, A E; Thornton, C; Hooker, S M

    2016-09-01

    We describe in detail a low power Compact Marx Bank (CMB) circuit that can provide 20 kV, 500 A pulses of approximately 100-200 ns duration. One application is the generation of capillary discharge plasmas of density ≈10 18 cm -3 used in laser plasma accelerators. The CMB is triggered with a high speed solid state switch and gives a high voltage output pulse with a ns scale rise time into a 50 Ω load (coaxial cable) with <4 ns voltage jitter. Its small size (10 cm  ×  25 cm  ×  5 cm) means that it can be placed right next to the capillary discharge in the target chamber to avoid the need to impedance match. The electrical energy required per discharge is <1 J, and the CMB can be run at shot repetition rates of ≳1 Hz. This low power requirement means that the circuit can easily be powered by a small lead acid battery and, therefore, can be floated relative to laboratory earth. The CMB is readily scalable and pulses >45 kV are demonstrated in air discharges.

  19. Effect of anomalous electron cross-field transport on electron energy distribution function in a DC-RF magnetized plasma discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raitses, Yevgeny; Donnelly, Vincent; Kaganovich, Igor; Godyak, Valery

    2013-09-01

    The application of the magnetic field in a low pressure plasma can cause a spatial separation of cold and hot electron groups. This so-called magnetic filter effect is not well understood and is the subject of our studies. In this work, we investigate electron energy distribution function in a DC-RF plasma discharge with crossed electric and magnetic field operating at sub-mtorr pressure range of xenon gas. Experimental studies showed that the increase of the magnetic field leads to a more uniform profile of the electron temperature across the magnetic field. This surprising result indicates the importance of anomalous electron transport that causes mixing of hot and cold electrons. High-speed imaging and probe measurements revealed a coherent structure rotating in E cross B direction with frequency of a few kHz. Similar to spoke oscillations reported for Hall thrusters, this rotating structure conducts the largest fraction of the cross-field current. This work was supported by the US DOE under Contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

  20. Carbon microgranule injection into NSTX-U discharges for edge diagnostic research

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lunsford, Robert; Roquemore, A. Lane; Scotti, Filippo; Mansfield, Dennis; Bortolon, Alessandro; Kaita, Robert; Maingi, Rajesh

    2016-10-01

    Microgranule injection is a versatile means for investigating edge plasmas in fusion devices. Employing a dual bladed rotary turbine, carbon microgranules ranging in diameter from 300 - 700 microns are radially injected into NSTX-U discharges at approximately 50 m/sec. Utilizing multiple high speed camera views, a 3D reconstruction of the injection geometry is created which characterizes the ablation rate and granule trajectory. By coupling this with a neutral gas shielding (NGS) ablation model, the granule mass deposition profile can be determined. Simulation projects a depositional barycenter near the pedestal shoulder for H-mode discharges, and 20 cm inboard of the LCFS for L-mode discharges. Spectroscopic measurements of this localized particle source can be used to characterize impurity transport within the discharge, and potentially allows for direct measurement of the safety factor profile (q). In addition, the transient pressure peaking resultant from injection into H-mode plasmas can also result in the prompt triggering of an edge localized mode (ELM). Work supported by DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-09CH11466.

  1. Near Discharge Cathode Assembly Plasma Potential Measurements in a 30-cm NSTAR Type Ion Engine During Beam Extraction

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Herman, Daniel A.; Gallimore, Alec D.

    2006-01-01

    Floating emissive probe plasma potential data are presented over a two-dimensional array of locations in the near Discharge Cathode Assembly (DCA) region of a 30-cm diameter ring-cusp ion thruster. Discharge plasma data are presented with beam extraction at throttling conditions comparable to the NASA TH Levels 8, 12, and 15. The operating conditions of the Extended Life Test (ELT) of the Deep Space One (DS1) flight spare ion engine, where anomalous discharge keeper erosion occurred, were TH 8 and TH 12 consequently they are of specific interest in investigating discharge keeper erosion phenomena. The data do not validate the presence of a potential hill plasma structure downstream of the DCA, which has been proposed as a possible erosion mechanism. The data are comparable in magnitude to data taken by other researchers in ring-cusp electron-bombardment ion thrusters. The plasma potential structures are insensitive to thruster throttling level with a minimum as low as 14 V measured at the DCA exit plane and increasing gradually in the axial direction. A sharp increase in plasma potential to the bulk discharge value of 26 to 28 volts, roughly 10 mm radially from DCA centerline, was observed. Plasma potential measurements indicate a low-potential plume structure that is roughly 20 mm in diameter emanating from the discharge cathode that may be attributed to a free-standing plasma double layer.

  2. Wall ablation of heated compound-materials into non-equilibrium discharge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Weizong; Kong, Linghan; Geng, Jinyue; Wei, Fuzhi; Xia, Guangqing

    2017-02-01

    The discharge properties of the plasma bulk flow near the surface of heated compound-materials strongly affects the kinetic layer parameters modeled and manifested in the Knudsen layer. This paper extends the widely used two-layer kinetic ablation model to the ablation controlled non-equilibrium discharge due to the fact that the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) approximation is often violated as a result of the interaction between the plasma and solid walls. Modifications to the governing set of equations, to account for this effect, are derived and presented by assuming that the temperature of the electrons deviates from that of the heavy particles. The ablation characteristics of one typical material, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are calculated with this improved model. The internal degrees of freedom as well as the average particle mass and specific heat ratio of the polyatomic vapor, which strongly depends on the temperature, pressure and plasma non-equilibrium degree and plays a crucial role in the accurate determination of the ablation behavior by this model, are also taken into account. Our assessment showed the significance of including such modifications related to the non-equilibrium effect in the study of vaporization of heated compound materials in ablation controlled arcs. Additionally, a two-temperature magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) model accounting for the thermal non-equilibrium occurring near the wall surface is developed and applied into an ablation-dominated discharge for an electro-thermal chemical launch device. Special attention is paid to the interaction between the non-equilibrium plasma and the solid propellant surface. Both the mass exchange process caused by the wall ablation and plasma species deposition as well as the associated momentum and energy exchange processes are taken into account. A detailed comparison of the results of the non-equilibrium model with those of an equilibrium model is presented. The non-equilibrium results

  3. Impairment of liver synthetic function and the production of plasma proteins in primary breast cancer patients on doxorubicincyclophosphamide (AC) protocol.

    PubMed

    Saleem, Zikria; Ahmad, Mobasher; Hashmi, Furqan Khurshid; Saeed, Hamid; Aziz, Muhammad Tahir

    2016-09-01

    Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide (AC protocol) combination is usually considered as a first line therapy in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Thus, a retrospective observational study was conducted to monitor the effect of AC protocol on liver synthetic functions and production of plasma proteins in breast cancer patients, reporting to specialized cancer care hospital of Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 75 patients (n=75) on AC protocol with breast cancer were observed in this study. The patient data including age, gender, body surface area, dosage, disease status and laboratory biochemical values were recorded by reviewing historical treatment records. Pre-treatment values were taken as baseline values for albumin, globulin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio and total proteins. The baseline values were compared after each cycle of by applying ANOVA using statistical tool SPSS® version 21. The plasma levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total protein and globulin dropped significantly (p<0.05) in patients of all age groups. However, the albumin levels were not significantly changed (p>0.05). The A/G ratio level increased (p<0.05) as a result of reduction in globulin levels. Significant changes in plasma protein levels were observed in the elderly patients (50 to 65 years) than patients between 20 to 50 years of age. AC protocol impairs liver synthetic functions as observed by decreased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and plasma protein levels.

  4. Simulations of Atmospheric Plasma Arcs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pearcy, Jacob; Chopra, Nirbhav; Jaworski, Michael

    2017-10-01

    We present the results of computer simulation of cylindrical plasma arcs with characteristics similar to those predicted to be relevant in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power conversion systems. These arcs, with core temperatures on the order of 1 eV, place stringent limitations on the lifetime of conventional electrodes used in such systems, suggesting that a detailed analysis of arc characteristics will be crucial in designing more robust electrode systems. Simulations utilize results from NASA's Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) program to solve the Elenbaas-Heller equation in a variety of plasma compositions, including approximations of coal-burning plasmas as well as pure gas discharges. The effect of carbon dioxide injection on arc characteristics, emulating discharges from molten carbonate salt electrodes, is also analyzed. Results include radial temperature profiles, composition maps, and current-voltage (IV) characteristics of these arcs. Work supported by DOE contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

  5. Plasma-Chemical Synthesis of Oxide Powders Using Transformer-Coupled Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    M. Ulanov, I.; V. Isupov, M.; Yu Litvinsev, A.; A. Mischenko, P.

    2013-04-01

    An experimental investigation of transformer-coupled discharge in an Ar-O2 mixture with the addition of SiCl4, TiCl4 and ZrCl4 has been carried out under the atmospheric pressure of plasma-forming gases. Discharge power and discharge heat losses have been determined, and the dispersion and phase composition of reaction products (oxide powders) has been analyzed with SEM and X-ray diffraction analysis. Investigations reveal the formation of ultrafine oxide powders in the case of vaporized chloride (SiCl4 and TiCl4) injecting into the transformer coupled discharge. In the case of fine powder (ZrCl4) injection, full oxidation was not observed and reaction products consisted of a mixture of ZrO2 and ZrOCl2. A conclusion has been made regarding the perspectives of using transformer-coupled discharge to produce ultrafine oxide powders.

  6. Effects of Electric Discharge Plasma Treatment on the Thermal Conductivity of Polymer-Metal Nitride/Carbide Composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parali, Levent; Kurbanov, Mirza A.; Bayramov, Azad A.; Tatardar, Farida N.; Sultanakhmedova, Ramazanova I.; Xanlar, Huseynova Gulnara

    2015-11-01

    High-density polymer composites with semiconductor or dielectric fillers such as aluminum nitride (AIN), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), titanium carbide (TiC), titanium nitride (TiN), boron nitride (BN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), and titanium carbonitride (TiCN) were prepared by the hot pressing method. Each powder phase of the composites was exposed to an electric discharge plasma process before composite formation. The effects of the electric discharge plasma process and the filler content (volume fraction) on the thermal conductivity, volt-ampere characteristics, thermally stimulated depolarization current, as well as electrical and mechanical strength were investigated. The results of the study indicate that, with increasing filler volume fraction, the thermal conductivity of the samples also increased. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity, and electrophysical and mechanical properties of the high-density polyethylene + 70% BN composite modified using the electric discharge plasma showed improvement when compared with that without electric discharge plasma treatment.

  7. Evaluation of the potentials of humic acid removal in water by gas phase surface discharge plasma.

    PubMed

    Wang, Tiecheng; Qu, Guangzhou; Ren, Jingyu; Yan, Qiuhe; Sun, Qiuhong; Liang, Dongli; Hu, Shibin

    2016-02-01

    Degradation of humic acid (HA), a predominant type of natural organic matter in ground water and surface waters, was conducted using a gas phase surface discharge plasma system. HA standard and two surface waters (Wetland, and Weihe River) were selected as the targets. The experimental results showed that about 90.9% of standard HA was smoothly removed within 40 min's discharge plasma treatment at discharge voltage 23.0 kV, and the removal process fitted the first-order kinetic model. Roles of some active species in HA removal were studied by evaluating the effects of solution pH and OH radical scavenger; and the results presented that O3 and OH radical played significant roles in HA removal. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and FTIR analysis showed that HA surface topography and molecular structure were changed during discharge plasma process. The mineralization of HA was analyzed by UV-Vis spectrum, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), specific UV absorbance (SUVA), UV absorption ratios, and excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence. The formation of disinfection by-products during HA sample chlorination was also identified, and CHCl3 was detected as the main disinfection by-product, but discharge plasma treatment could suppress its formation to a certain extent. In addition, approximately 82.3% and 67.9% of UV254 were removed for the Weihe River water and the Wetland water after 40 min of discharge plasma treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Note: Arc discharge plasma source with plane segmented LaB{sub 6} cathode

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Akhmetov, T. D., E-mail: t.d.akhmetov@inp.nsk.su; Davydenko, V. I.; Ivanov, A. A.

    2016-05-15

    A plane cathode composed of close-packed hexagonal LaB{sub 6} (lanthanum hexaboride) segments is described. The 6 cm diameter circular cathode is heated by radiation from a graphite foil flat spiral. The cathode along with a hollow copper anode is used for the arc discharge plasma production in a newly developed linear plasma device. A separately powered coil located around the anode is used to change the magnetic field strength and geometry in the anode region. Different discharge regimes were realized using this coil.

  9. On production and asymmetric focusing of flat electron beams using rectangular capillary discharge plasmas

    DOE PAGES

    Bagdasarov, G. A.; Bobrova, N. A.; Boldarev, A. S.; ...

    2017-12-27

    A method for the asymmetric focusing of electron bunches, based on the active plasma lensing technique is proposed. Our method takes advantage of the strong inhomogeneous magnetic field generated inside the capillary discharge plasma to focus the ultrarelativistic electrons. The plasma and magnetic field parameters inside the capillary discharge are described theoretically and modeled with dissipative magnetohydrodynamic computer simulations enabling analysis of the capillaries of rectangle cross-sections. We could use large aspect ratio rectangular capillaries to transport electron beams with high emittance asymmetries, as well as assist in forming spatially flat electron bunches for final focusing before the interaction point.

  10. On production and asymmetric focusing of flat electron beams using rectangular capillary discharge plasmas

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bagdasarov, G. A.; Bobrova, N. A.; Boldarev, A. S.

    A method for the asymmetric focusing of electron bunches, based on the active plasma lensing technique is proposed. Our method takes advantage of the strong inhomogeneous magnetic field generated inside the capillary discharge plasma to focus the ultrarelativistic electrons. The plasma and magnetic field parameters inside the capillary discharge are described theoretically and modeled with dissipative magnetohydrodynamic computer simulations enabling analysis of the capillaries of rectangle cross-sections. We could use large aspect ratio rectangular capillaries to transport electron beams with high emittance asymmetries, as well as assist in forming spatially flat electron bunches for final focusing before the interaction point.

  11. On production and asymmetric focusing of flat electron beams using rectangular capillary discharge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bagdasarov, G. A.; Bobrova, N. A.; Boldarev, A. S.; Olkhovskaya, O. G.; Sasorov, P. V.; Gasilov, V. A.; Barber, S. K.; Bulanov, S. S.; Gonsalves, A. J.; Schroeder, C. B.; van Tilborg, J.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W. P.; Levato, T.; Margarone, D.; Korn, G.; Kando, M.; Bulanov, S. V.

    2017-12-01

    A method for the asymmetric focusing of electron bunches, based on the active plasma lensing technique, is proposed. This method takes advantage of the strong inhomogeneous magnetic field generated inside the capillary discharge plasma to focus on the ultrarelativistic electrons. The plasma and magnetic field parameters inside the capillary discharge are described theoretically and modeled with dissipative magnetohydrodynamic computer simulations enabling analysis of the capillaries of rectangle cross-sections. Large aspect ratio rectangular capillaries might be used to transport electron beams with high emittance asymmetries, as well as assist in forming spatially flat electron bunches for final focusing before the interaction point.

  12. Dielectric barrier discharge plasma pretreatment on hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Fangmin; Long, Zhouyang; Liu, Sa; Qin, Zhenglong

    2017-04-01

    Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was used as a pretreatment method for downstream hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The degree of polymerization (DP) of MCC decreased after it was pretreated by DBD plasma under a carrier gas of air/argon. The effectiveness of depolymerization was found to be influenced by the crystallinity of MCC when under the pretreatment of DBD plasma. With the addition of tert-butyl alcohol in the treated MCC water suspension solution, depolymerization effectiveness of MCC was inhibited. When MCC was pretreated by DBD plasma for 30 min, the total reducing sugar concentration (TRSC) and liquefaction yield (LY) of pretreated-MCC (PMCC) increased by 82.98% and 34.18% respectively compared with those for raw MCC.

  13. NOx formation in apokamp-type atmospheric pressure plasma jets in air initiated by a pulse-repetitive discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sosnin, Eduard A.; Didenko, Maria V.; Panarin, Victor A.; Skakun, Victor S.; Tarasenko, Victor F.; Liu, Dongping P.; Song, Ying

    2018-04-01

    The decomposition products of atmospheric pressure plasma of repetitive pulsed discharge in apokamp and corona modes were determined by optical and chemical methods. It is shown, that the decomposition products contain mainly nitrogen oxides NOx. A brief review of the plasma- and thermochemical reactions in the pulsed discharges was made. The review and experimental data allow us to explain the reactive oxygen species formation mechanisms in a potential discharge channel with apokamp. The possible applications of this plasma source for treatment of seeds of agricultural crops are discussed.

  14. Plasma dynamics in a packed bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operated in helium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mujahid, Zaka-ul-Islam; Hala, Ahmed

    2018-03-01

    Packed bed dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) are very promising for several applications including remediation of environmental pollutants and greenhouse gas conversion. In this work, we have investigated the space and time-resolved emission from a packed bed DBD operated in helium, to understand the plasma dynamics. We have chosen a simple planar DBD arrangement with a patterned dielectric, which mimics the spherical boundaries between the dielectric pellets and allows the optical access to the plasma. The results show that plasma is sustained in a packed bed DBD by three mechanisms: filamentary discharge in the void (between the center of dielectric structures and the opposite electrode), microdischarges at the contact points and surface ionization waves over the dielectric surface. It is observed that for most of the duration plasma is generated at the contact points between the dielectric structures.

  15. Analysis on the spectra and synchronous radiated electric field observation of cloud-to-ground lightning discharge plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cen Jianyong; Yuan Ping; Qu Haiyan

    2011-11-15

    According to the spectra of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning discharge plasma captured by a slit-less spectrograph and the information of synchronous radiated electric field, the temperatures, the total intensity of spectra, the peak value of current and its action integral of discharge plasma channel have been calculated. Furthermore, the correlativity of these parameters has been analyzed for the first time. The results indicate that the total intensity of spectra has a positive correlation to the discharge current in different strokes of one CG lightning, and the temperature of discharge plasma is direct proportion to the action integral in the first returnmore » strokes of different lightning.« less

  16. Study of Plasma Flows Generated in Plasma Focus Discharge in Different Regimes of Working Gas Filling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Voitenko, D. A.; Ananyev, S. S.; Astapenko, G. I.; Basilaia, A. D.; Markolia, A. I.; Mitrofanov, K. N.; Myalton, V. V.; Timoshenko, A. P.; Kharrasov, A. M.; Krauz, V. I.

    2017-12-01

    Results are presented from experimental studies of the plasma flows generated in the KPF-4 Phoenix Mather-type plasma focus device (Sukhum Physical Technical Institute). In order to study how the formation and dynamics of the plasma flow depend on the initial distribution of the working gas, a system of pulsed gas puffing into the discharge volume was developed. The system allows one to create profiled gas distributions, including those with a reduced gas density in the region of plasma flow propagation. Results of measurements of the magnetic field, flow profile, and flow deceleration dynamics at different initial distributions of the gas pressure are presented.

  17. Decomposition of L-valine under nonthermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

    PubMed

    Li, Yingying; Kojtari, Arben; Friedman, Gary; Brooks, Ari D; Fridman, Alex; Ji, Hai-Feng

    2014-02-13

    L-Valine solutions in water and phosphate buffer were treated with nonthermal plasma generated by using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) device and the products generated after plasma treatments were characterized by (1)H NMR and GC-MS. Our results demonstrate that L-valine is decomposed to acetone, formic acid, acetic acid, threo-methylaspartic acid, erythro-methlyaspartic acid, and pyruvic acid after direct exposure to DBD plasma. The concentrations of these compounds are time-dependent with plasma treatment. The mechanisms of L-valine under the DBD plasma are also proposed in this study. Acetone, pyruvic acid, and organic radicals (•)CHO, CH3COCH2OO(•) (acetonylperoxy), and CH3COC(OH)2OO(•) (1,1-dihydroxypropan-2-one peroxy) may be the determining chemicals in DNA damage.

  18. Irradiation of silver and agar/silver nanoparticles with argon, oxygen glow discharge plasma, and mercury lamp.

    PubMed

    Ahmad, Mahmoud M; Abdel-Wahab, Essam A; El-Maaref, A A; Rawway, Mohammed; Shaaban, Essam R

    2014-01-01

    The irradiation effect of argon, oxygen glow discharge plasma, and mercury lamp on silver and agar/silver nanoparticle samples is studied. The irradiation time dependence of the synthesized silver and agar/silver nanoparticle absorption spectra and their antibacterial effect are studied and compared. In the agar/silver nanoparticle sample, as the irradiation time of argon glow discharge plasma or mercury lamp increases, the peak intensity and the full width at half maximum, FWHM, of the surface plasmon resonance absorption band is increased, however a decrease of the peak intensity with oxygen glow plasma has been observed. In the silver nanoparticle sample, as the irradiation time of argon, oxygen glow discharge plasma or mercury lamp increases, the peak intensity of the surface plasmon resonance absorption band is increased, however, there is no significant change in the FWHM of the surface plasmon resonance absorption band. The SEM results for both samples showed nanoparticle formation with mean size about 50 nm and 40 nm respectively. Throughout the irradiation time with the argon, oxygen glow discharge plasma or mercury lamp, the antibacterial activity of several kinds of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria has been examined.

  19. Dependence of Ozone Generation on Gas Temperature Distribution in AC Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Oxygen

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takahashi, Go; Akashi, Haruaki

    AC atmospheric pressure multi-filament dielectric barrier discharge in oxygen has been simulated using two dimensional fluid model. In the discharge, three kinds of streamers have been obtained. They are primary streamers, small scale streamers and secondary streamers. The primary streamers are main streamers in the discharge and the small scale streamers are formed after the ceasing of the primary streamers. And the secondary streamers are formed on the trace of the primary streamers. In these streamers, the primary and the small scale streamers are very effective to generate O(3P) oxygen atoms which are precursor of ozone. And the ozone is generated mainly in the vicinity of the dielectrics. In high gas temperature region, ozone generation decreases in general. However, increase of the O(3P) oxygen atom density in high gas temperature region compensates decrease of ozone generation rate coefficient. As a result, amount of ozone generation has not changed. But if the effect of gas temperature was neglected, amount of ozone generation increases 10%.

  20. Innovative approach for benzene degradation using hybrid surface/packed-bed discharge plasmas.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Nan; Lu, Na; Shang, Kefeng; Li, Jie; Wu, Yan

    2013-09-03

    An innovative plasma reactor, which generates hybrid surface/packed-bed discharge (HSPBD) plasmas, was employed for the degradation of benzene. The HSPBD reactor was found to display remarkably better benzene degradation, mineralization, and energy performance than surface or packed-bed discharge reactors alone. The degradation efficiency, CO2 selectivity, and energy yield in the HSPBD reactor were 21%, 11%, and 3.9 g kWh-1 higher, respectively, than in a surface discharge reactor and 30%, 21%, and 5.5 g kWh-1 higher, respectively, than in a packed-bed discharge reactor operated at 280 J L-1. Particularly, the benzene degradation in the HSPBD reactor exhibited an unambiguous synergistic enhancement rather than a simple additive effect using the surface discharge and packed-bed discharge reactors. Moreover, in the HSPBD reactor, the formation of byproducts, such as NO2, was suppressed, while O3 was promoted. The use of N2 as the carrier gas was found to be effective for benzene degradation because of the fast reaction rate of N2(A3∑u+) with benzene, and oxygen species derived from the dissociation of O2 were found to be significant in the mineralization process. Thus, the addition of O2 to N2 allows for efficient degradation of benzene, and the optimized amount of O2 was determined to be 3%.

  1. A high power, high density helicon discharge for the plasma wakefield accelerator experiment AWAKE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buttenschön, B.; Fahrenkamp, N.; Grulke, O.

    2018-07-01

    A plasma cell prototype for the plasma wakefield accelerator experiment AWAKE based on a helicon discharge is presented. In the 1 m long prototype module a multiple antenna helicon discharge with an rf power density of 100 MW m‑3 is established. Based on the helicon dispersion relation, a linear scaling of plasma density with magnetic field is observed for rf frequencies above the lower hybrid frequency, ω LH ≤ 0.8ω rf. Density profiles are highest on the device axis and show shallow radial gradients, thus providing a relatively constant plasma density in the center over a radial range of Δr ≈ 10 mm with less than 10% variation. Peak plasma densities up to 7 × 1020 m‑3 are transiently achieved with a reproducibility that is sufficient for AWAKE. The results are in good agreement with power balance calculations.

  2. Potential Industrial Applications of the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP) Operating in Ambient Air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reece Roth, J.

    2004-11-01

    The majority of industrial plasma processing with glow discharges has been conducted at pressures below 10 torr. This tends to limit applications to high value workpieces as a result of the high capital cost of vacuum systems and the production constraints of batch processing. It has long been recognized that glow discharge plasmas would play a much larger industrial role if they could be generated at one atmosphere. The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP), developed at the University of Tennessee's Plasma Sciences Laboratory, is a non-thermal RF plasma operating on displacement currents with the time-resolved characteristics of a classical low pressure DC normal glow discharge. As a glow discharge, the OAUGDP operates with maximum electrical efficiency at the Stoletow point, where the energy input per ion-electron pair is a minimum [1, 2]. Several interdisciplinary teams have investigated potential applications of the OAUGDP. These teams included collaborators from the UTK Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC), and the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Microbiology, and Food Science and Technology, as well as the NASA Langley Research Center. The potential applications of the OAUGDP have all been at one atmosphere and room temperature, using air as the working gas. These applications include sterilizing medical and dental equipment; sterilizable air filters to deal with the "sick building syndrome"; removal of soot from Diesel engine exhaust; subsonic plasma aerodynamic effects, including flow re-attachment to airfoils and boundary layer modification; electrohydrodynamic (EDH) flow control of working gases; increasing the surface energy of materials; improving the adhesion of paints and electroplated layers: improving the wettability and wickability of fabrics; stripping of photoresist; and plasma deposition and directional etching of potential microelectronic relevance. [1] J. R. Roth, Industrial Plasma Engineering

  3. Effect of discharge polarity on the propagation of atmospheric-pressure helium plasma jets and the densities of OH, NO, and O radicals.

    PubMed

    Yonemori, Seiya; Ono, Ryo

    2015-06-01

    The atmospheric-pressure helium plasma jet is an emerging technology for plasma biomedical applications. In this paper, the authors focus on the effect of discharge polarity on propagation of the discharge and the densities of OH, NO, and O radicals. The plasma jet is applied to a glass surface placed on a grounded metal plate. Positive or negative voltage pulses with 25 μs duration, 8 kV amplitude, and 10 kpps repetition rate are used for the plasma jet. The plasma propagation is measured using a short-gated ICCD camera. The light emission intensity of the discharge generated at the rising phase of the voltage pulse is approximately equivalent for both polarities, while that generated during the falling phase is much higher for the negative discharge than the positive one. The shape of the discharge changes with the discharge polarity. The OH, NO, and O densities in the plasma jet are also measured for both polarities. It is found that the OH density is almost the same regardless the discharge polarity. Conversely, the negative discharge produces more O atoms and the positive discharge produces more NO molecules. These results indicate that the polarity of the discharge affects the densities of some reactive species produced in the plasma jet.

  4. Fast discharge in a plasma gun with hemispherical insulator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Antsiferov, P. S.; Dorokhin, L. A.; Sidelnikov, Yu. V.; Koshelev, K. N.

    2009-05-01

    A method of creation of hot dense plasma is proposed. It is based on cumulation of a shockwave, which originates on a hemispherical surface of insulator of plasma gun. The results of first experiments are presented. The shock wave is driven by fast electrical discharge (dI /dt>1012 A/s). The inductive storage with semiconductor opening switch is used as a current driver. Time resolved pin-hole images and vacuum ultraviolet (vuv) spectra are studied. Shockwaves from hemispherical insulator with 4 mm radius create plasma with a form of column about 1 mm diameter and 3-4 mm length. vuv spectra contain the lines of Ar ions that corresponds to the electron temperature about 20 eV. Possible practical application is discussed.

  5. Plasma-chemical processes accompanying discharge in air excited by a microwave beam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Askar'ian, G. A.; Batanov, G. M.; Gritsinin, S. I.; Kossyi, I. A.; Kostinskii, A. Iu.

    1990-11-01

    Experimental results are presented on plasma-chemical processes of nitrogen oxidation and ozone production accompanying microwave discharge in dry air and in nitrogen-oxygen mixtures. The degree of nitrogen oxidation and the energy expenditure toward the formation of oxides as a function of discharge conditions are established. The experimental results can be explained by assuming oxidation reactions of electron-excited metastable nitrogen molecules by oxygen atoms. Low ozone concentrations in the discharge indicate a significant energy input into the gas.

  6. Radiofrequency antenna for suppression of parasitic discharges in a helicon plasma thruster experiment.

    PubMed

    Takahashi, Kazunori

    2012-08-01

    A radiofrequency (rf) antenna for helicon plasma thruster experiments is developed and tested using a permanent magnets helicon plasma source immersed in a vacuum chamber. A magnetic nozzle is provided by permanent magnets arrays and an argon plasma is produced by a 13.56 MHz radiofrequency helicon-wave or inductively-coupled discharge. A parasitic discharge outside the source tube is successfully suppressed by covering the rf antenna with a ceramic ring and a grounded shield; a decrease in the ion saturation current of a Langmuir probe located outside the source tube is observed and the ion saturation current on axis increases simultaneously, compared with the case of a standard uncovered rf antenna. It is also demonstrated that the covered antenna can yield stable operation of the source.

  7. Alternating current corona discharge/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization for mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Habib, Ahsan; Usmanov, Dilshadbek; Ninomiya, Satoshi; Chen, Lee Chuin; Hiraoka, Kenzo

    2013-12-30

    Although alternating current (ac) corona discharge has been widely used in the fields of material science and technology, no reports have been published on its application to an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) ion source. In this work, ac corona discharge for an APCI ion source has been examined for the first time. The ambient atmospheric pressure ac corona discharge (15 kHz, 2.6 kVptp ) was generated by using a stainless steel acupuncture needle. The generated ions were measured using an ion trap mass spectrometer. A comparative study on ac and direct current (dc) corona APCI ion sources was carried out using triacetone triperoxide and trinitrotoluene as test samples. The ac corona discharge gave ion signals as strong as dc corona discharge for both positive and negative ion modes. In addition, softer ionization was obtained with ac corona discharge than with dc corona discharge. The erosion of the needle tip induced by ac corona was less than that obtained with positive mode dc corona. A good 'yardstick' for assessing ac corona is that it can be used for both positive and negative ion modes without changing the polarity of the high-voltage power supply. Thus, ac corona can be an alternative to conventional dc corona for APCI ion sources. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Effect of electronegative additives on physical properties and chemical activity of gas discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuznetsov, D. L.; Filatov, I. E.; Uvarin, V. V.

    2018-01-01

    Effect of electronegative additives (oxygen O2, sulfur dioxide SO2, carbon disulfide CS2, and carbon tetrachloride CCl4) on physical properties and chemical activity of plasma formed by pulsed corona discharge and by non-self-sustained discharge supported by pulsed electron beam in atmospheric pressure gas mixtures was investigated. It is shown that a decrease in discharge current depends on a sort of the additive and on its concentration. The reason is the difference in rate constants of electron attachment processes for the above molecules. In experiments on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) conversion in air by streamer corona it is obtained that an addition of CCl4 both decreases the discharge current amplitude and increases the VOCs conversion degree. An installation for investigation of electron attachment processes and for study of toxic impurities conversion in plasma formed by non-self-sustained discharge initiated by pulsed nanosecond electron beam is created.

  9. A study on improvement of discharge characteristic by using a transformer in a capacitively coupled plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kim, Young-Cheol; Kim, Hyun-Jun; Lee, Hyo-Chang

    In a plasma discharge system, the power loss at powered line, matching network, and other transmission line can affect the discharge characteristics such as the power transfer efficiency, voltage and current at powered electrode, and plasma density. In this paper, we propose a method to reduce power loss by using a step down transformer mounted between the matching network and the powered electrode in a capacitively coupled argon plasma. This step down transformer decreases the power loss by reducing the current flowing through the matching network and transmission line. As a result, the power transfer efficiency was increased about 5%–10%more » by using a step down transformer. However, the plasma density was dramatically increased compared to no transformer. This can be understood by the increase in ohmic heating and the decrease in dc-self bias. By simply mounting a transformer, improvement of discharge efficiency can be achieved in capacitively coupled plasmas.« less

  10. Time resolved EUV spectra from Zpinching capillary discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jancarek, Alexandr; Nevrkla, Michal; Nawaz, Fahad

    2015-09-01

    We developed symmetrically charged driver to obtain high voltage, high current Z-pinching capillary discharge. Plasma is created by up to 70 kA, 29 ns risetime current pulse passing through a 5 mm inner diameter, 224 mm long capillary filled with gas to initial pressure in the range of 1 kPa. Due to the low inductance design of the driver, the pinch is observable directly from the measured current curve. Time-integrated and time-resolved spectra of discharge plasma radiation are recorded together with the capillary current and analyzed. The most encouraging spectra were captured in the wavelength range 8.3 ÷ 14 nm. This spectral region contains nitrogen Balmer series lines including potentially lasing NVII 2 - 3 transition. Spectral lines are identified in the NIST database using the FLY kinetic code. The line of 13.38 nm wavelength, transition NVII 2 - 3, was observed in gated, and also in time-integrated spectra for currents >60 kA. This work has been supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic grants LG13029.

  11. Comparative characteristics of electron energy spectrum in PIG and arc type discharge plasmas

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Romanyuk, L. I.; Suavilnyy, N. Y.

    1978-01-01

    The electron distribution functions relative to the velocity component directed along the magnetic field are compared for PIG and arc type discharges. The identity of these functions for the plasma region pierced by the primary electron beam and their difference in the peripheral part of the discharge are shown. It is concluded that the electron distribution function in the PIG type discharge is formed during one transit of the primary electron through the discharge gap. The mechanisms of electron energy spectrum formation in both the axis region and the peripheral region of the discharge are discussed.

  12. A morphological study of the changes in the ultrastructure of a bacterial biofilm disrupted by an ac corona discharge in air

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stepanova, Olga, E-mail: o.m.stepanova@spbu.ru; Astafiev, Alexander; Kudryavtsev, Anatoly

    The morphology of bacterial cells and biofilms subjected to a low frequency (∼10{sup 5} Hz) ac (∼10{sup −1} A) corona discharge was investigated using electron microscopy. A low-frequency ac corona discharge in air is shown to have a bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect on Escherichia coli M17 culture at both the cellular and population levels. Corona exposure inhibits the formation of a microbial community and results in the destruction of formed biofilms. This paper presents data on changes in the ultrastructure of cells and biofilms after corona treatment. Our results suggest that the E. coli M17 cells inside biofilms are affectedmore » with results similar to sub-lethal and lethal thermal exposure. Some of the biological aspects of colony and biofilm cells death are evaluated. Morphological changes in the ultrastructure of the biofilms under corona treatment are described. Our results indicate that the heating effect is the main factor responsible for the corona-induced inactivation of bacteria.« less

  13. Comparison of resistive MHD simulations and experimental CHI discharges in NSTX

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hooper, E. B.; Sovinec, C. R.; Raman, R.; Fatima, F.

    2013-10-01

    Resistive MHD simulations using NIMROD simulate CHI discharges for NSTX startup plasmas. Quantitative comparison with experiment ensures that the simulation physics includes a minimal physics set needed to extend the simulations to new experiments, e.g. NSTX-U. Important are time-varying vacuum magnetic field, ohmic heating, thermal transport, impurity radiation, and spatially-varying plasma parameters including density. Equilibria are compared with experimental injector currents, voltages and parameters including toroidal current, photographs of emitted light and measurements of midplane temperature profiles, radiation and surface heating. Initial results demonstrate that adjusting impurity radiation and cross-field transport yields temperatures and injected-current channel widths similar to experiment. These determine the plasma resistance, feeding back to the impedance on the injector power supply. Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy under contracts DE-AC52-07NA27344 at LLNL and DE-AC02-09CH11466 at PPPL, and grants DE-FC02-05ER54813 at PSI Center (U. Wisc.) and DOE-FG02-12ER55115 (at Princeton U.).

  14. Electron beam generation in the turbulent plasma of Z-pinch discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vikhrev, Victor V.; Baronova, Elena O.

    1997-05-01

    Numerical modeling of the process of electron beam generation in z-pinch discharges are presented. The proposed model represents the electron beam generation under turbulent plasma conditions. Strong current distribution inhomogeneity in the plasma column has been accounted for the adequate generation process investigation. Electron beam is generated near the maximum of compression due to run away mechanism and it is not related with the current break effect.

  15. Sterilization of Turmeric by Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Setareh, Salarieh; Davoud, Dorranian

    2013-11-01

    In this study atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma has been employed for sterilizing dry turmeric powders. A 6 kV, 6 kHz frequency generator was used to generate plasma with Ar, Ar/O2, He, and He/O2 gases between the 5 mm gap of two quartz covered electrodes. The complete sterilization time of samples due to plasma treatment was measured. The most important contaminant of turmeric is bacillus subtilis. The results show that the shortest sterilization time of 15 min is achieved by exposing the samples to Ar/O2 plasma. Survival curves of samples are exponential functions of time and the addition of oxygen to plasma leads to a significant increase of the absolute value of time constant of the curves. Magnitudes of protein and DNA in treated samples were increased to a similar value for all samples. Taste, color, and solubility of samples were not changed after the plasma treatment.

  16. Structure and properties of optical-discharge plasma in CO2-laser beam near target surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Danshchikov, Ye. V.; Dymshakov, V. A.; Lebedev, F. V.; Ryazanov, A. V.

    1986-05-01

    An experimental study of optical-discharge plasma in a CO2-laser beam at a target surface was made for the purpose of exploring the not yet understood role of this plasma in the laser-target interaction process. Such a plasma was produced by means of a quasi-continuous CO2-laser with an unstable resonator, its power being maintained constant for 1 ms periods. Its radiation was focused on the surfaces of thick and seeding thin Al, Ti, and Ta targets inclined at an approximately 70 deg. angle to the beam, inside a hermetic chamber containing air, argon, or helium under atmospheric pressure. The radiation intensity distribution over the focal plane and the nearest caustic surface in the laser beam was measured along with the plasma parameters, the latter by the methods of spectral analysis and photoelectric recording. The instrumentation for this purpose included an MDR-3 monochromator with an entrance slit, a double electron-optical converter, a memory oscillograph, and an SI-10-30 ribbon lamp as radiation reference standard. The results yielded integral diametral intensity distributions of the emission lines Ti-II (457.2 nm), Ti-I (464 nm), Ar-II (462 nm), radial and axial temperature profiles of optical discharge in metal vapor in surrounding gas, and the radial temperature profile of irradiated metal surface at successive instants of time. The results reveal marked differences between the structures and the properties of optical-discharge plasma in metal vapor and in surrounding gas, optical discharge in the former being characterized by localization within the laser beam and optical discharge in the latter being characterized by a drift away from the target.

  17. Simulation of Dual-Electrode Capacitively Coupled Plasma Discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Yijia; Ji, Linhong; Cheng, Jia

    2016-12-01

    Dual-electrode capacitively coupled plasma discharges are investigated here to lower the non-uniformity of plasma density. The dual-electrode structure proposed by Jung splits the electrode region and increases the flexibility of fine tuning non-uniformity. Different RF voltages, frequencies, phase-shifts and electrode areas are simulated and the influences are discussed. RF voltage and electrode area have a non-monotonic effect on non-uniformity, while frequency has a monotonic effect. Phase-shift has a cyclical influence on non-uniformity. A special combination of 224 V voltage and 11% area ratio with 10 MHz lowers the non-uniformity of the original set (200 V voltage and 0% area ratio with 10 MHz) by 46.5%. The position of the plasma density peak at the probe line has been tracked and properly tuning the phase-shift can obtain the same trace as tuning frequency or voltage. supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51405261)

  18. The component content of active particles in a plasma-chemical reactor based on volume barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soloshenko, I. A.; Tsiolko, V. V.; Pogulay, S. S.; Terent'yeva, A. G.; Bazhenov, V. Yu; Shchedrin, A. I.; Ryabtsev, A. V.; Kuzmichev, A. I.

    2007-02-01

    In this paper the results of theoretical and experimental studies of the component content of active particles formed in a plasma-chemical reactor composed of a multiple-cell generator of active particles, based on volume barrier discharge, and a working chamber are presented. For calculation of the content of uncharged plasma components an approach is proposed which is based on averaging of the power introduced over the entire volume. Advantages of such an approach lie in an absence of fitting parameters, such as the dimensions of microdischarges, their surface density and rate of breakdown. The calculation and the experiment were accomplished with the use of dry air (20% relative humidity) as the plasma generating medium. Concentrations of O3, HNO3, HNO2, N2 O5 and NO3 were measured experimentally in the discharge volume and working chamber for the residence time of particles on a discharge of 0.3 s and more and discharge specific power of 1.5 W cm-3. It has been determined that the best agreement between the calculation and the experiment occurs at calculated gas medium temperatures in the discharge plasma of about 400-425 K, which correspond to the experimentally measured rotational temperature of nitrogen. In most cases the calculated concentrations of O3, HNO3, HNO2, N2O5 and NO3 for the barrier discharge and the working chamber are in fairly good agreement with the respective measured values.

  19. Improvements to CHI Plasma Start-up and Ramp-up in NSTX

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jarboe, T. R.; Raman, R.; Nelson, B. A.; Mueller, D.; Bell, M. G.; Roquemore, L.; Kugel, H. W.; Soukhanovskii, V.

    2009-11-01

    Experiments in NSTX have now demonstrated the savings of central solenoid inductive flux after coupling of toroidal plasmas produced by the technique of Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI) to inductive sustainment and ramp-up of the toroidal plasma current. In these discharges, the central solenoid with zero pre-charge was used to apply an inductive loop voltage to the decaying CHI started discharges. The coupled discharges ramped up to 800kA without the benefit of auxiliary heating. Inductive flux savings was realized as a result of an effort to reduce the influx of low-Z impurities during the plasma start-up phase. This was achieved through the use of 400ms long CHI discharges produced using a DC rectifier power supply to ablate low-Z surface impurities from the lower divertor electrodes, followed by the use of Lithium evaporative coatings and an effort to reduce spurious arcs in the upper divertor region by controlling the extent of CHI plasma growth in the vessel. Previous work on NSTX has shown that CHI started discharges after coupling to neutral beam heated discharges can transition to an H-mode. These important new results from NSTX demonstrate that CHI is a viable solenoid-free plasma startup method for future STs and Tokamaks. This work supported by U.S. DOE Contracts # DE-AC02-09CH11466 and DE-FG02-99ER54519 AM08.

  20. Studying the Generation Stage of a Plasma Jet in a Plasma Focus Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Polukhin, S. N.; Gurei, A. E.; Nikulin, V. Ya.; Peregudova, E. N.; Silin, P. V.; Kharrasov, A. M.

    2017-12-01

    A dense compact plasmoid generated at the pinch collapse stage is revealed in a plasma focus discharge by laser optical methods. The initial size of the plasmoid is 1 mm, its electron density is more than 2 × 1019 cm-3, and the plasmoid propagates along the axis from the anode at an average velocity of more than 107 cm/s. A shock wave is generated in the residual argon plasma during the motion of the bunch, its density decreases to 1018 cm-3 at a distance of 3 cm from its place of generation, and the plasmoid expands by 3-5 times and almost merges together with the leading edge of the shock wave.

  1. Characteristics of soft x-ray spectra from ultra-fast micro-capillary discharge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jing; Avaria, Gonzalo; Shlyaptsev, Vyacheslav; Tomasel, Fernando; Grisham, Michael; Dawson, Quincy; Rocca, Jorge; NSF CenterExtreme Ultraviolet Science; Technology Collaboration

    2013-10-01

    The efficient generation of high aspect ratio (e.g. 300:1) plasma columns ionized to very high degrees of ionization (e.g. Ni-like Xenon) by an ultrafast current pulses of moderate amplitude in micro-capillary channels is of interest for fundamental plasma studies and for applications such as the generation of discharge-pumped soft x-ray lasers. Spectra and simulations for plasmas generated in 500 um alumina capillary discharges driven by 35-40 kA current pulses with 4 ns rise time were obtained in Xenon and Neon discharges. The first shows the presence of lines corresponding to ionization stages up to Fe-like Xe. The latter show that Al impurities from the walls and Si (from injected SiH4) are ionized to the H-like and He-like stages. He-like spectra containing the resonance line significantly broaden by opacity, the intercombination line, and Li-like satellites are analyzed and modeled. For Xenon discharges, the spectral lines from the Ni-like transitions the 3d94d(3/2, 3/2)J=0 to the 3d94p(5/2, 3/2)J=1 and to 3d94p(3/2, 1/2)J=1 are observed at gas pressures up to 2.0 Torr. Work supported by NSF Award PHY-1004295.

  2. Gas and plasma dynamics of RF discharge jet of low pressure in a vacuum chamber with flat electrodes and inside tube, influence of RF discharge on the steel surface parameters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khristoliubova, V. I.; Kashapov, N. F.; Shaekhov, M. F.

    2016-06-01

    Researches results of the characteristics of the RF discharge jet of low pressure and the discharge influence on the surface modification of high speed and structural steels are introduced in the article. Gas dynamics, power and energy parameters of the RF low pressure discharge flow in the discharge chamber and the electrode gap are studied in the presence of the materials. Plasma flow rate, discharge power, the concentration of electrons, the density of RF power, the ion current density, and the energy of the ions bombarding the surface materials are considered for the definition of basic properties crucial for the process of surface modification of materials as they were put in the plasma jet. The influence of the workpiece and effect of products complex configuration on the RF discharge jet of low pressure is defined. The correlation of the input parameters of the plasma unit on the characteristics of the discharge is established.

  3. Gene Transfection Method Using Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric-Barrier Discharge Plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sasaki, Shota; Kanzaki, Makoto; Kaneko, Toshiro

    2013-09-01

    Gene transfection which is the process of deliberately introducing nucleic acids into cells is expected to play an important role in medical treatment because the process is necessary for gene therapy and creation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. However, the conventional transfection methods have some problems, so we focus attention on promising transfection methods by atmospheric pressure dielectric-barrier discharge (AP-DBD) plasmas. AP-DBD He plasmas are irradiated to the living cell covered with genes. Preliminarily, we use fluorescent dye YOYO-1 instead of the genes and use LIVE/DEAD Stain for cell viability test, and we analyze the transfection efficiency and cell viability under the various conditions. It is clarified that the transfection efficiency is strongly dependence on the plasma irradiation time and cell viability rates is high rates (>90%) regardless of long plasma irradiation time. These results suggest that ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) and electric field generated by the plasma affect the gene transfection. In addition to this (the plasma irradiation time) dependency, we now investigate the effect of the plasma irradiation under the various conditions.

  4. Activation of peroxydisulfate by gas-liquid pulsed discharge plasma to enhance the degradation of p-nitrophenol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shang, Kefeng; Wang, Hao; Li, Jie; Lu, Na; Jiang, Nan; Wu, Yan

    2017-06-01

    Pulsed discharge in water and over water surfaces generates ultraviolet radiation, local high temperature, shock waves, and chemical reactive species, including hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and ozone. Pulsed discharge plasma (PDP) can oxidize and mineralize pollutants very efficiently, but high energy consumption restricts its application for industrial wastewater treatment. A novel method for improving the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment by PDP was proposed, in which peroxydisulfate (PDS) was added to wastewater and PDS was activated by PDP to produce more strong oxidizing radicals, including sulfate radicals and hydroxyl radicals, leading to a higher oxidation capacity for the PDP system. The experimental results show that the increase in solution conductivity slightly decreased the discharge power of the pulse discharge over the water surface. An increase in the discharge intensity improved the activation of PDS and therefore the degradation efficiency and energy efficiency of p-nitrophenol (PNP). An increase in the addition dosage of PDS greatly facilitated the degradation of PNP at a molar ratio of PDS to PNP of lower than 80:1, but the performance enhancement was no longer obvious at a dosage of more than 80:1. Under an applied voltage of 20 kV and a gas discharge gap of 2 mm, the degradation efficiency and energy efficiency of the PNP reached 90.7% and 45.0 mg kWh-1 for the plasma/PDS system, respectively, which was 34% and 18.0 mg kWh-1 higher than for the discharge plasma treatment alone. Analysis of the physical and chemical effects indicated that ozone and hydrogen peroxide were important for PNP degradation and UV irradiation and heat from the discharge plasma might be the main physical effects for the activation of PDS.

  5. Electron Energy Distribution function in a weakly magnetized expanding helicon plasma discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sirse, Nishant; Harvey, Cleo; Gaman, Cezar; Ellingboe, Bert

    2016-09-01

    Helicon wave heating is well known to produce high-density plasma source for application in plasma thrusters, plasma processing and many more. Our previous study (B Ellingboe et al. APS Gaseous Electronics Conference 2015, abstract #KW2.005) has shown observation of helicon wave in a weakly magnetized inductively coupled plasma source excited by m =0 antenna at 13.56 MHz. In this paper, we investigated the Electron Energy Distribution Function (EEDF) in the same setup by using an RF compensated Langmuir probe. The ac signal superimposition technique (second harmonic technique) is used to determine EEDF. The EEDF is measured for 5-100 mTorr gas pressure, 100 W - 1.5 kW rf power and at different locations in the source chamber, boundary and diffusion chamber. This paper will discuss the change in the shape of EEDF for various heating mode transitions.

  6. Generation of tunable plasma photonic crystals in meshed dielectric barrier discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Yongjie; Dong, Lifang, E-mail: donglfhbu@163.com; Liu, Weibo

    2014-07-15

    Tunable superlattice plasma photonic crystals are obtained in a meshed dielectric barrier discharge. These plasma photonic crystals are composed of thin artificial lattices and thick self-organized lattices, and can be tuned easily by adjusting the applied voltage. A plasma photonic crystal with self-organized hexagonal lattice coupled to artificial square lattice is first realized. The dispersion relations of the square sublattices with different radii, which are recorded by an intensified charge-coupled device camera, are calculated. The results show that the thick square sublattice has the higher band edge frequencies and wider band widths. Band gaps of superlattice plasma photonic crystals aremore » actually temporal integrations of those of transient sublattices.« less

  7. Elimination of diazinon insecticide from cucumber surface by atmospheric pressure air-dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

    PubMed

    Dorraki, Naghme; Mahdavi, Vahideh; Ghomi, Hamid; Ghasempour, Alireza

    2016-12-06

    The food industry is in a constant search for new technologies to improve the commercial sterilization process of agricultural commodities. Plasma treatment may offer a novel and efficient method for pesticide removal from agricultural product surfaces. To study the proposed technique of plasma food treatment, the degradation behavior of diazinon insecticide by air-dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was investigated. The authors studied the effect of different plasma powers and treatment times on pesticide concentration in liquid form and coated on the surface of cucumbers, where the diazinon residue was analyzed with mass spectroscopy gas chromatography. Our results suggest that atmospheric pressure air-DBD plasma is potentially effective for the degradation of diazinon insecticide, and mainly depends on related operating parameters, including plasma treatment time, discharge power, and pesticide concentrations. Based on the interaction between reactive oxygen species and electrons in the plasma with the diazinon molecule, two degradation pathway of diazinon during plasma treatment are proposed. It was also found that produced organophosphate pesticides are harmless and less hazardous compounds than diazinon.

  8. Treatment Characteristics of Polysaccharides and Endotoxin Using Oxygen Plasma Produced by RF Discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kitazaki, Satoshi; Hayashi, Nobuya; Goto, Masaaki

    Treatment of polysaccharides and endotoxin were attempted using oxygen plasma produced by RF discharge. Oxygen radicals observed by optical light emission spectra are factors of decomposition of polysaccharides and endotoxin. Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate that most of chemical bonds in the polysaccharides are dissociated after irradiation of the oxygen plasma. Also, the decomposition rate of endotoxin was approximately 90% after irradiation of the oxygen plasma for 180 min.

  9. Treatment Characteristics of Polysaccharides and Endotoxin Using Oxygen Plasma Produced by RF Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kitazaki, Satoshi; Hayashi, Nobuya; Goto, Masaaki

    2010-10-01

    Treatment of polysaccharides and endotoxin were attempted using oxygen plasma produced by RF discharge. Oxygen radicals observed by optical light emission spectra are factors of decomposition of polysaccharides and endotoxin. Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate that most of chemical bonds in the polysaccharides are dissociated after irradiation of the oxygen plasma. Also, the decomposition rate of endotoxin was approximately 90% after irradiation of the oxygen plasma for 180 min.

  10. Effects of space plasma discharge on the performance of large antenna structures in low Earth orbit

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blume, Hans-Juergen C.

    1987-01-01

    The anomalous plasma around spacecrafts in low Earth orbit represents the coma of an artificial comet. The plasma discharge is caused by an energetic disturbance of charged particles which were formerly in a state of equilibrium. The plasma can effect the passive and active radio frequency operation of large space antennas by inducing corona discharge or strong arcing in the antenna feeds. One such large space antenna is the 15-meter hoop column antenna which consists of a mesh membrane material (tricot knitted gold plated wire) reflector and carbon fiber tension cords. The atomic oxygen in the plasma discharge state can force the wire base metal particles through the gold lattice and oxydize the metal particles to build a Schottky-barrier contact at the point where the wires meet. This effect can cause strong deviations in the reflector performance in terms of antenna pattern and losses. Also, the carbon-fiber cords can experience a strength reduction of 30 percent over a 40-hour exposure time.

  11. Low-pressure hydrogen discharge maintenance in a large-size plasma source with localized high radio-frequency power deposition

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Todorov, D.; Shivarova, A., E-mail: ashiva@phys.uni-sofia.bg; Paunska, Ts.

    2015-03-15

    The development of the two-dimensional fluid-plasma model of a low-pressure hydrogen discharge, presented in the study, is regarding description of the plasma maintenance in a discharge vessel with the configuration of the SPIDER source. The SPIDER source, planned for the neutral-beam-injection plasma-heating system of ITER, is with localized high RF power deposition to its eight drivers (cylindrical-coil inductive discharges) and a large-area second chamber, common for all the drivers. The continuity equations for the charged particles (electrons and the three types of positive ions) and for the neutral species (atoms and molecules), their momentum equations, the energy balance equations formore » electrons, atoms and molecules and the Poisson equations are involved in the discharge description. In addition to the local processes in the plasma volume, the surface processes of particle reflection and conversion on the walls as well as for a heat exchange with the walls are included in the model. The analysis of the results stresses on the role of the fluxes (particle and energy fluxes) in the formation of the discharge structure. The conclusion is that the discharge behavior is completely obeyed to non-locality. The latter is displayed by: (i) maximum values of plasma parameters (charged particle densities and temperatures of the neutral species) outside the region of the RF power deposition, (ii) shifted maxima of the electron density and temperature, of the plasma potential and of the electron production, (iii) an electron flux, with a vortex structure, strongly exceeding the total ion flux which gives evidence of a discharge regime of non-ambipolarity and (iv) a spatial distribution of the densities of the neutral species resulting from their fluxes.« less

  12. Discharge conditions for CW and pulse-modulated surface-wave plasmas in low-temperature sterilization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, L.; Terashita, F.; Nonaka, H.; Ogino, A.; Nagata, T.; Koide, Y.; Nanko, S.; Kurawaki, I.; Nagatsu, M.

    2006-01-01

    The discharge conditions required for low-temperature plasma sterilization were investigated using low-pressure surface-wave plasma (SWP). The discharge conditions for both continuous wave (CW) and pulse-modulated SWPs in low-temperature sterilization of Geobacillus stearothermophilus with a population of 1.5 × 106 and 3.0 × 106 were studied by varying the microwave input power from 500 W to 3 kW, and the effective plasma treatment time from 40 to 300 s. Results showed that sterilization was possible in a shorter treatment time using a higher microwave power for both CW and pulse-modulated SWPs. Pulse-modulated SWPs gave effective sterilization at a temperature roughly 10 to 20 °C below that of CW SWPs under the same average microwave power.

  13. Dielectric barrier discharge and jet type plasma surface modifications of hybrid polymeric poly (ε-caprolactone)/chitosan scaffolds.

    PubMed

    Ozkan, Ozan; Turkoglu Sasmazel, Hilal

    2018-04-01

    In this study, dry air plasma jet and dielectric barrier discharge Ar + O 2 or Ar + N 2 plasma modifications and their effects on wettability, topography, functionality and biological efficiency of the hybrid polymeric poly (ε-caprolactone)/chitosan scaffolds were reported. The samples treated with Ar + O 2 dielectric barrier discharge plasma (80 sccm O 2 flow rate, 3-min treatment) or with dry air plasma jet (15-cm nozzle-sample distance, 13-min treatment) had the closest wettability (49.11 ± 1.83 and 53.60 ± 0.95, respectively) to the commercial tissue culture polystyrene used for cell cultivation. Scanning electron microscopy images and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry analysis showed increase in topographical roughness and OH/NH 2 functionality, respectively. Increased fluid uptake capacity for the scaffolds treated with Ar + O 2 dielectric barrier discharge plasma (73.60% ± 1.78) and dry air plasma jet (72.48% ± 0.75) were also noted. Finally, initial cell attachment as well as seven-day cell viability, growth and proliferation performances were found to be significantly better for both plasma treated scaffolds than for untreated scaffolds.

  14. Thrust performance, propellant ionization, and thruster erosion of an external discharge plasma thruster

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karadag, Burak; Cho, Shinatora; Funaki, Ikkoh

    2018-04-01

    It is quite a challenge to design low power Hall thrusters with a long lifetime and high efficiency because of the large surface area to volume ratio and physical limits to the magnetic circuit miniaturization. As a potential solution to this problem, we experimentally investigated the external discharge plasma thruster (XPT). The XPT produces and sustains a plasma discharge completely in the open space outside of the thruster structure through a magnetic mirror configuration. It eliminates the very fundamental component of Hall thrusters, discharge channel side walls, and its magnetic circuit consists solely of a pair of hollow cylindrical permanent magnets. Thrust, low frequency discharge current oscillation, ion beam current, and plasma property measurements were conducted to characterize the manufactured prototype thruster for the proof of concept. The thrust performance, propellant ionization, and thruster erosion were discussed. Thrust generated by the XPT was on par with conventional Hall thrusters [stationary plasma thruster (SPT) or thruster with anode layer] at the same power level (˜11 mN at 250 W with 25% anode efficiency without any optimization), and discharge current had SPT-level stability (Δ < 0.2). Faraday probe measurements revealed that ion beams are finely collimated, and plumes have Gaussian distributions. Mass utilization efficiencies, beam utilization efficiencies, and plume divergence efficiencies ranged from 28 to 62%, 78 to 99%, and 40 to 48%, respectively. Electron densities and electron temperatures were found to reach 4 × 1018 m-3 ( ∂ n e / n e = ±52%) and 15 eV ( ∂ T e / T e = ±10%-30%), respectively, at 10 mm axial distance from the anode centerline. An ionization mean free path analysis revealed that electron density in the ionization region is substantially higher than the conventional Hall thrusters, which explain why the XPT is as efficient as conventional ones even without a physical ionization chamber. Our findings

  15. Experimental investigation on electrical characteristics and dose measurement of dielectric barrier discharge plasma device used for therapeutic application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shahbazi Rad, Zahra; Abbasi Davani, Fereydoun

    2017-04-01

    In this research, a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma device operating in air has been made. The electrical characteristics of this device like instantaneous power, dissipated power, and discharge capacitance have been measured. Also, the effects of applied voltage on the dissipated power and discharge capacitance of the device have been investigated. The determination of electrical parameters is important in DBD plasma device used in living tissue treatment for choosing the proper treatment doses and preventing the destructive effects. The non-thermal atmospheric pressure DBD plasma source was applied for studying the acceleration of blood coagulation time, in vitro and wound healing time, in vivo. The citrated blood drops coagulated within 5 s treatment time by DBD plasma. The effects of plasma temperature and electric field on blood coagulation have been studied as an affirmation of the applicability of the constructed device. Also, the effect of constructed DBD plasma on wound healing acceleration has been investigated.

  16. Experimental investigation on electrical characteristics and dose measurement of dielectric barrier discharge plasma device used for therapeutic application.

    PubMed

    Shahbazi Rad, Zahra; Abbasi Davani, Fereydoun

    2017-04-01

    In this research, a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma device operating in air has been made. The electrical characteristics of this device like instantaneous power, dissipated power, and discharge capacitance have been measured. Also, the effects of applied voltage on the dissipated power and discharge capacitance of the device have been investigated. The determination of electrical parameters is important in DBD plasma device used in living tissue treatment for choosing the proper treatment doses and preventing the destructive effects. The non-thermal atmospheric pressure DBD plasma source was applied for studying the acceleration of blood coagulation time, in vitro and wound healing time, in vivo. The citrated blood drops coagulated within 5 s treatment time by DBD plasma. The effects of plasma temperature and electric field on blood coagulation have been studied as an affirmation of the applicability of the constructed device. Also, the effect of constructed DBD plasma on wound healing acceleration has been investigated.

  17. [Study on the Emission Spectrum of Hydrogen Production with Microwave Discharge Plasma in Ethanol Solution].

    PubMed

    Sun, Bing; Wang, Bo; Zhu, Xiao-mei; Yan, Zhi-yu; Liu, Yong-jun; Liu, Hui

    2016-03-01

    Hydrogen is regarded as a kind of clean energy with high caloricity and non-pollution, which has been studied by many experts and scholars home and abroad. Microwave discharge plasma shows light future in the area of hydrogen production from ethanol solution, providing a new way to produce hydrogen. In order to further improve the technology and analyze the mechanism of hydrogen production with microwave discharge in liquid, emission spectrum of hydrogen production by microwave discharge plasma in ethanol solution was being studied. In this paper, plasma was generated on the top of electrode by 2.45 GHz microwave, and the spectral characteristics of hydrogen production from ethanol by microwave discharge in liquid were being studied using emission spectrometer. The results showed that a large number of H, O, OH, CH, C2 and other active particles could be produced in the process of hydrogen production from ethanol by microwave discharge in liquid. The emission spectrum intensity of OH, H, O radicals generated from ethanol is far more than that generated from pure water. Bond of O-H split by more high-energy particles from water molecule was more difficult than that from ethanol molecule, so in the process of hydrogen production by microwave discharge plasma in ethanol solution; the main source of hydrogen was the dehydrogenation and restructuring of ethanol molecules instead of water decomposition. Under the definite external pressure and temperature, the emission spectrum intensity of OH, H, O radicals increased with the increase of microwave power markedly, but the emission spectrum intensity of CH, C2 active particles had the tendency to decrease with the increase of microwave power. It indicated that the number of high energy electrons and active particles high energy electron energy increased as the increase of microwave power, so more CH, C2 active particles were split more thoroughly.

  18. A Cost-Effective Energy-Recovering Sustain Driving Circuit for ac Plasma Display Panels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lim, Jae Kwang; Tae, Heung-Sik; Choi, Byungcho; Kim, Seok Gi

    A new sustain driving circuit, featuring an energy-recovering function with simple structure and minimal component count, is proposed as a cost-effective solution for driving plasma display panels during the sustaining period. Compared with existing solutions, the proposed circuit reduces the number of semiconductor switches and reactive circuit components without compromising the circuit performance and gas-discharging characteristics. In addition, the proposed circuit utilizes the harness wire as an inductive circuit component, thereby further simplifying the circuit structure. The performance of the proposed circuit is confirmed with a 42-inch plasma display panel.

  19. Plasma treatment of polyethylene tubes in continuous regime using surface dielectric barrier discharge with water electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galmiz, Oleksandr; Zemánek, Miroslav; Pavliňák, David; Černák, Mirko

    2018-05-01

    Combining the surface dielectric barrier discharges generated in contact with water based electrolytes, as the discharge electrodes, we have designed a new type of surface electric discharge, generating thin layers of plasma which propagate along the treated polymer surfaces. The technique was aimed to achieve uniform atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of polymeric tubes and other hollow bodies. The results presented in this work show the possibility of such system to treat outer surface of polymer materials in a continuous mode. The technical details of experimental setup are discussed as well as results of treatment of polyethylene tubes are shown.

  20. FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Asymmetric surface barrier discharge plasma driven by pulsed 13.56 MHz power in atmospheric pressure air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dedrick, J.; Boswell, R. W.; Charles, C.

    2010-09-01

    Barrier discharges are a proven method of generating plasmas at high pressures, having applications in industrial processing, materials science and aerodynamics. In this paper, we present new measurements of an asymmetric surface barrier discharge plasma driven by pulsed radio frequency (rf 13.56 MHz) power in atmospheric pressure air. The voltage, current and optical emission of the discharge are measured temporally using 2.4 kVp-p (peak to peak) 13.56 MHz rf pulses, 20 µs in duration. The results exhibit different characteristics to plasma actuators, which have similar discharge geometry but are typically driven at frequencies of up to about 10 kHz. However, the electrical measurements are similar to some other atmospheric pressure, rf capacitively coupled discharge systems with symmetric electrode configurations and different feed gases.

  1. Plasma Emission Characteristics from a High Current Hollow Cathode in an Ion Thruster Discharge Chamber

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foster, John E.; Patterson, Michael J.

    2002-01-01

    The presence of energetic ions produced by a hollow cathodes operating at high emission currents (greater than 5A) has been documented in the literature. In order to further elucidate these findings, an investigation of a high current cathode operating in an ion thruster discharge chamber has been undertaken. Using Langmuir probes, a low energy charged particle analyzer and emission spectroscopy, the behavior of the near-cathode plasma and the emitted ion energy distribution was characterized. The presence of energetic ions was confirmed. It was observed that these ions had energies in excess of the discharge voltage and thus cannot be simply explained by ions falling out of plasma through a potential difference of this order. Additionally, evidence provided by Langmuir probes suggests the existence of a double layer essentially separating the hollow cathode plasma column from the main discharge. The radial potential difference associated with this double layer was measured to be of order the ionization potential.

  2. Parameters of the plasma of a dc pulsating discharge in a supersonic air flow

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shibkov, V. M., E-mail: shibkov@phys.msu.ru; Shibkova, L. V.; Logunov, A. A.

    A dc discharge in a cold (T = 200 K) supersonic air flow at a static pressure of 200–400 Torr was studied experimentally. The excited unsteady pulsating discharge has the form of a thin plasma channel with a diameter of ≤1 mm, stretched downstream the flow. Depending on the discharge current, the pulsation frequency varies from 800 to 1600 Hz and the electron temperature varies from 8000 to 15000 K.

  3. Radial dependence of HF wave field strength in the BPD column. [Beam Plasma Discharge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jost, R. J.; Anderson, H. R.; Bernstein, W.; Kellogg, P. J.

    1982-01-01

    The results of a recent set of RF frequency measurements of the beam plasma discharge (BPD) performed in order to determine a quantitative value for the field strength in the plasma frequency region of the spectrum are presented. The parallel and perpendicular components of the plasma wave electric fields inside the BPD column have comparable field strengths, on the order of 10 volts/m. The radial dependence of the field strength is very strong, decreasing by as much as 40 dB within one meter from the beam center, with the illumination or discharge column approximately one meter in diameter. The field strength inside the column increases as a function of distance along the beam at least for several meters from the gun aperture. The frequency and amplitude of the plasma wave increases with beam current. A particularly rapid increase in these parameters occurs as the beam current approaches the critical current.

  4. Gas-phase evolution of Ar/H2O and Ar/CH4 dielectric barrier discharge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barni, Ruggero; Riccardi, Claudia

    2018-04-01

    We present some experimental results of an investigation aimed to hydrogen production with atmospheric pressure plasmas, based on the use of dielectric barrier discharges, fed with a high-voltage alternating signal at frequency 30-50 kHz, in mixtures of methane or water vapor diluted in argon. The plasma gas-phase of the discharge was investigated by means of optical and electrical diagnostics. The emission spectra of the discharges was measured with a wide band spectrometer and a photosensor module, based on a photomultiplier tube. A Rogowski coil allowed to measure the electric current flowing into the circuit and a high voltage probe was employed for evaluating the voltage at the electrodes. The analysis of the signals of voltage and current shows the presence of microdischarges between the electrodes in two alternating phases during the period of oscillation of the applied voltage. The hydrogen concentration in the gaseous mixture was measured too. Besides this experimental campaign, we present also results from a numerical modeling of chemical kinetics in the gas-phase of Ar/H2O and Ar/CH4 plasmas. The simulations were conducted under conditions of single discharge to study the evolution of the system and of fixed frequency repeated discharging. In particular in Ar/H2O mixtures we could study the evolution from early atomic dissociation in the discharge, to longer time scales, when chemical reactions take place producing an increase of the density of species such as OH, H2O2 and subsequently of H and H2. The results of numerical simulations provide some insights into the evolution happening in the plasma gas-phase during the hydrogen reforming process.

  5. [Automatic adjustment control system for DC glow discharge plasma source].

    PubMed

    Wan, Zhen-zhen; Wang, Yong-qing; Li, Xiao-jia; Wang, Hai-zhou; Shi, Ning

    2011-03-01

    There are three important parameters in the DC glow discharge process, the discharge current, discharge voltage and argon pressure in discharge source. These parameters influence each other during glow discharge process. This paper presents an automatic control system for DC glow discharge plasma source. This system collects and controls discharge voltage automatically by adjusting discharge source pressure while the discharge current is constant in the glow discharge process. The design concept, circuit principle and control program of this automatic control system are described. The accuracy is improved by this automatic control system with the method of reducing the complex operations and manual control errors. This system enhances the control accuracy of glow discharge voltage, and reduces the time to reach discharge voltage stability. The glow discharge voltage stability test results with automatic control system are provided as well, the accuracy with automatic control system is better than 1% FS which is improved from 4% FS by manual control. Time to reach discharge voltage stability has been shortened to within 30 s by automatic control from more than 90 s by manual control. Standard samples like middle-low alloy steel and tin bronze have been tested by this automatic control system. The concentration analysis precision has been significantly improved. The RSDs of all the test result are better than 3.5%. In middle-low alloy steel standard sample, the RSD range of concentration test result of Ti, Co and Mn elements is reduced from 3.0%-4.3% by manual control to 1.7%-2.4% by automatic control, and that for S and Mo is also reduced from 5.2%-5.9% to 3.3%-3.5%. In tin bronze standard sample, the RSD range of Sn, Zn and Al elements is reduced from 2.6%-4.4% to 1.0%-2.4%, and that for Si, Ni and Fe is reduced from 6.6%-13.9% to 2.6%-3.5%. The test data is also shown in this paper.

  6. EFFECTS OF LASER RADIATION ON MATTER. LASER PLASMA: Dynamics of a plasma formed by a surface optical-discharge in a metal vapour interacting with a cw CO2 laser beam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaikin, A. E.; Levin, A. V.; Petrov, A. L.

    1995-02-01

    A surface optical-discharge plasma was formed in a metal vapour under normal conditions by steady-state irradiation with a cw CO2 laser delivering radiation of moderate (2-4.5 MW cm-2) intensity. This plasma strongly screened the irradiated surface. Under the selected experimental conditions the optical discharge was not a continuous (steady-state) process. The plasma cloud was displaced along the beam out of the waist to a region where the laser radiation intensity was almost an order of magnitude less than the threshold for excitation of the optical-discharge plasma in the vapour. A strong screening of the metal surface, which could even completely stop evaporation of the metal, was observed. Self-oscillations of the optical-discharge plasma were observed for the first time in a vapour interacting with cw CO2 radiation: this was attributed to screening of the target surface. Within one period of the self-oscillations there were additional hf plasma pulsations which led to stratification of the plasma cloud. The results obtained were interpreted.

  7. Self-pulsing discharge of a plasma brush operated in atmospheric-pressure argon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xuechen; Liu, Runfu; Jia, Pengying; Bao, Wenting; Shang, Yong

    2013-06-01

    A plasma brush excited by DC voltage is developed with argon as working gas in the ambient air. The time evolution of the discharge current, the light emission, and the sustaining voltage are analyzed under different conditions. The self-pulsing phenomenon of the discharge is observed with oscillated voltage and intermittent current. The self-pulsing frequency ranges from several tens hertz to several hundred hertz depending on the output power and the gas flow rate. It increases with the increasing of the gas flow rate, while it decreases as the output power increases. The phenomenon is explained qualitatively based on a spatially resolved measurement about the discharge.

  8. Study of Mechanical and Thermal Impact of a Plasma Focus Discharge on Diagnostic Elements of PFM-72M Installation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bashutin, O. A.; Savelov, A. S.; Sidorov, P. P.

    2017-12-01

    Mechanical and thermal impact of the plasma focus discharge on structural elements of diagnostic windows of the PFM-72m discharge installation are calculated. The absence of critical impact at early discharge stages and during the first 300 ns after the "plasma focus" formation is shown. The possibility of shock impact on the surface of diagnostic windows at later times, which may result in their substantial deformation and destruction, is demonstrated.

  9. Effect of Dielectric and Liquid on Plasma Sterilization Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma

    PubMed Central

    Mastanaiah, Navya; Johnson, Judith A.; Roy, Subrata

    2013-01-01

    Plasma sterilization offers a faster, less toxic and versatile alternative to conventional sterilization methods. Using a relatively small, low temperature, atmospheric, dielectric barrier discharge surface plasma generator, we achieved ≥6 log reduction in concentration of vegetative bacterial and yeast cells within 4 minutes and ≥6 log reduction of Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores within 20 minutes. Plasma sterilization is influenced by a wide variety of factors. Two factors studied in this particular paper are the effect of using different dielectric substrates and the significance of the amount of liquid on the dielectric surface. Of the two dielectric substrates tested (FR4 and semi-ceramic (SC)), it is noted that the FR4 is more efficient in terms of time taken for complete inactivation. FR4 is more efficient at generating plasma as shown by the intensity of spectral peaks, amount of ozone generated, the power used and the speed of killing vegetative cells. The surface temperature during plasma generation is also higher in the case of FR4. An inoculated FR4 or SC device produces less ozone than the respective clean devices. Temperature studies show that the surface temperatures reached during plasma generation are in the range of 30°C–66°C (for FR4) and 20°C–49°C (for SC). Surface temperatures during plasma generation of inoculated devices are lower than the corresponding temperatures of clean devices. pH studies indicate a slight reduction in pH value due to plasma generation, which implies that while temperature and acidification may play a minor role in DBD plasma sterilization, the presence of the liquid on the dielectric surface hampers sterilization and as the liquid evaporates, sterilization improves. PMID:23951023

  10. Effect of dielectric and liquid on plasma sterilization using dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

    PubMed

    Mastanaiah, Navya; Johnson, Judith A; Roy, Subrata

    2013-01-01

    Plasma sterilization offers a faster, less toxic and versatile alternative to conventional sterilization methods. Using a relatively small, low temperature, atmospheric, dielectric barrier discharge surface plasma generator, we achieved ≥ 6 log reduction in concentration of vegetative bacterial and yeast cells within 4 minutes and ≥ 6 log reduction of Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores within 20 minutes. Plasma sterilization is influenced by a wide variety of factors. Two factors studied in this particular paper are the effect of using different dielectric substrates and the significance of the amount of liquid on the dielectric surface. Of the two dielectric substrates tested (FR4 and semi-ceramic (SC)), it is noted that the FR4 is more efficient in terms of time taken for complete inactivation. FR4 is more efficient at generating plasma as shown by the intensity of spectral peaks, amount of ozone generated, the power used and the speed of killing vegetative cells. The surface temperature during plasma generation is also higher in the case of FR4. An inoculated FR4 or SC device produces less ozone than the respective clean devices. Temperature studies show that the surface temperatures reached during plasma generation are in the range of 30°C-66 °C (for FR4) and 20 °C-49 °C (for SC). Surface temperatures during plasma generation of inoculated devices are lower than the corresponding temperatures of clean devices. pH studies indicate a slight reduction in pH value due to plasma generation, which implies that while temperature and acidification may play a minor role in DBD plasma sterilization, the presence of the liquid on the dielectric surface hampers sterilization and as the liquid evaporates, sterilization improves.

  11. Plasma breakdown in a capacitively-coupled radiofrequency argon discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, H. B.; Charles, C.; Boswell, R. W.

    1998-10-01

    Low pressure, capacitively-coupled rf discharges are widely used in research and commercial ventures. Understanding of the non-equilibrium processes which occur in these discharges during breakdown is of interest, both for industrial applications and for a deeper understanding of fundamental plasma behaviour. The voltage required to breakdown the discharge V_brk has long been known to be a strong function of the product of the neutral gas pressure and the electrode seperation (pd). This paper investigates the dependence of V_brk on pd in rf systems using experimental, computational and analytic techniques. Experimental measurements of V_brk are made for pressures in the range 1 -- 500 mTorr and electrode separations of 2 -- 20 cm. A Paschen-style curve for breakdown in rf systems is developed which has the minimum breakdown voltage at a much smaller pd value, and breakdown voltages which are significantly lower overall, than for Paschen curves obtained from dc discharges. The differences between the two systems are explained using a simple analytic model. A Particle-in-Cell simulation is used to investigate a similar pd range and examine the effect of the secondary emission coefficient on the rf breakdown curve, particularly at low pd values. Analytic curves are fitted to both experimental and simulation results.

  12. One-step preparation of nanostructured martite catalyst and graphite electrode by glow discharge plasma for heterogeneous electro-Fenton like process.

    PubMed

    Khataee, Alireza; Sajjadi, Saeed; Hasanzadeh, Aliyeh; Vahid, Behrouz; Joo, Sang Woo

    2017-09-01

    Natural Martite ore particles and graphite were modified by alternating current (AC) glow discharge plasma to form nanostructured catalyst and cathode electrode for using in the heterogeneous-electro Fenton-like (Het-EF-like) process. The performance of the plasma-treated martite (PTM) and graphite electrode (PTGE) was studied for the treatment of paraquat herbicide in a batch system. 85.78% degradation efficiency for 20 mg L -1 paraquat was achieved in the modified process under desired operational conditions (i.e. current intensity of 300 mA, catalyst amount of 1 g L -1 , pH = 6, and background electrolyte (Na 2 SO 4 ) concentration of 0.05 mol L -1 ) which was higher than the 41.03% for the unmodified one after 150 min of treatment. The ecofriendly modification of the martite particles and the graphite electrode, no chemical needed, low leached iron and milder operational pH were the main privileges of plasma utilization. Moreover, the degradation efficiency through the process was not declined after five repeated cycles at the optimized conditions, which proved the stability of the nanostructured PTM and PTGE in the long-term usage. The archived results exhibit this method is the first example of high efficient, cost-effective, and environment-friendly method for generation of nanostructured samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Hierarchical modeling of plasma and transport phenomena in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bali, N.; Aggelopoulos, C. A.; Skouras, E. D.; Tsakiroglou, C. D.; Burganos, V. N.

    2017-12-01

    A novel dual-time hierarchical approach is developed to link the plasma process to macroscopic transport phenomena in the interior of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor that has been used for soil remediation (Aggelopoulos et al 2016 Chem. Eng. J. 301 353-61). The generation of active species by plasma reactions is simulated at the microseconds (µs) timescale, whereas convection and thermal conduction are simulated at the macroscopic (minutes) timescale. This hierarchical model is implemented in order to investigate the influence of the plasma DBD process on the transport and reaction mechanisms during remediation of polluted soil. In the microscopic model, the variables of interest include the plasma-induced reactive concentrations, while in the macroscopic approach, the temperature distribution, and the velocity field both inside the discharge gap and within the polluted soil material as well. For the latter model, the Navier-Stokes and Darcy Brinkman equations for the transport phenomena in the porous domain are solved numerically using a FEM software. The effective medium theory is employed to provide estimates of the effective time-evolving and three-phase transport properties in the soil sample. Model predictions considering the temporal evolution of the plasma remediation process are presented and compared with corresponding experimental data.

  14. [Plasma temperature of white-eye hexagonal pattern in dielectric barrier discharge].

    PubMed

    Zhao, Yang; Dong, Li-fang; Fu, Hong-yan

    2015-01-01

    By using the water-electrode discharge experimental setup, the white-eye hexagonal pattern is firstly observed and investigated in the dielectric barrier discharge with the mixture of argon and air whose content can be varied whenever necessary, and the study shows that the white-eye cell is an interleaving of three different hexagonal sub-structures: the spot, the ring, and the halo. The white-eye hexagonal pattern has the excellent discharge stability and sustainability during the experiment. Pictures recorded by ordinary camera with long exposure time in the same argon content condition show that the spot, the ring, and the halo of the white-eye hexagonal pattern have different brightness, which may prove that their plasma states are different. And, it is worth noting that there are obvious differences not only on the brightness but also on the color of the white-eye cell in conditions of different argon content, which shows that its plasma state also changed with the variation of the argon content. The white-eye hexagonal pattern is observed at a lower applied voltage so that the temperature of the water electrodes almost keeps unchanged during the whole experiment, which is advantageous for the long term stable measurement. The plasma state will not be affected by the temperature of the electrodes during the continuous discharge. Based on the above phenomena, plasma temperatures of the spot, the ring, and the halo in white-eye hexagonal pattern including molecule vibrational temperature and variations of electron density at different argon content are investigated by means of optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The emission spectra of the N2 second positive band(C3Πu-->B3Πg)are measured, and the molecule vibrational temperature of the spot, the ring, and the halo of the white-eye hexagonal pattern are calculated by the emission intensities. Furthermore, emission spectra of Ar I (2P2-->1S5)is collected and the changes of its width with different argon

  15. On the use of pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharges to control the gas-phase composition of atmospheric pressure air plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barni, R.; Biganzoli, I.; Dell'Orto, E.; Riccardi, C.

    2014-11-01

    We presents results obtained from the numerical simulation of the gas-phase chemical kinetics in atmospheric pressure air non-equilibrium plasmas. In particular we have addressed the effect of pulsed operation mode of a plane dielectric barrier discharge. It was conjectured that the large difference in the time scales involved in the fast dissociation of oxygen molecules in plasma and their subsequent reactions to produce ozone and nitrogen oxides, makes the presence of a continuously repeated plasma production unnecessary and a waste of electrical power and thus efficiency. In order to test such suggestion we have performed a numerical study of the composition and the temporal evolution of the gas-phase of atmospheric pressure air non-equilibrium plasmas. Comparison with experimental findings in a dielectric barrier discharge with an electrode configuration symmetrical and almost ideally plane is briefly addressed too, using plasma diagnostics to extract the properties of the single micro-discharges and a sensor to measure the concentration of ozone produced by the plasma.

  16. Development of soft ionization using direct current pulse glow discharge plasma source in mass spectrometry for volatile organic compounds analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nunome, Yoko; Kodama, Kenji; Ueki, Yasuaki; Yoshiie, Ryo; Naruse, Ichiro; Wagatsuma, Kazuaki

    2018-01-01

    This study describes an ionization source for mass analysis, consisting of glow discharge plasma driven by a pulsed direct-current voltage for soft plasma ionization, to detect toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) rapidly and easily. The novelty of this work is that a molecular adduct ion, in which the parent molecule attaches with an NO+ radical, [M + NO]+, can be dominantly detected as a base peak with little or no fragmentation of them in an ambient air plasma at a pressure of several kPa. Use of ambient air as the discharge plasma gas is suitable for practical applications. The higher pressure in an ambient air discharge provided a stable glow discharge plasma, contributing to the soft ionization of organic molecules. Typical mass spectra of VOCs toluene, benzene, o-xylene, chlorobenzene and n-hexane were observed as [M + NO]+ adduct ion whose peaks were detected at m/z 122, 108, 136, 142 and 116, respectively. The NO generation was also confirmed by emission bands of NO γ-system. The ionization reactions were suggested, such that NO+ radical formed in an ambient air discharge could attach with the analyte molecule.

  17. Diagnostic of capacitively coupled radio frequency plasma from electrical discharge characteristics: comparison with optical emission spectroscopy and fluid model simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiang, HE; Chong, LIU; Yachun, ZHANG; Jianping, CHEN; Yudong, CHEN; Xiaojun, ZENG; Bingyan, CHEN; Jiaxin, PANG; Yibing, WANG

    2018-02-01

    The capacitively coupled radio frequency (CCRF) plasma has been widely used in various fields. In some cases, it requires us to estimate the range of key plasma parameters simpler and quicker in order to understand the behavior in plasma. In this paper, a glass vacuum chamber and a pair of plate electrodes were designed and fabricated, using 13.56 MHz radio frequency (RF) discharge technology to ionize the working gas of Ar. This discharge was mathematically described with equivalent circuit model. The discharge voltage and current of the plasma were measured at different pressures and different powers. Based on the capacitively coupled homogeneous discharge model, the equivalent circuit and the analytical formula were established. The plasma density and temperature were calculated by using the equivalent impedance principle and energy balance equation. The experimental results show that when RF discharge power is 50-300 W and pressure is 25-250 Pa, the average electron temperature is about 1.7-2.1 eV and the average electron density is about 0.5 × 1017-3.6 × 1017 m-3. Agreement was found when the results were compared to those given by optical emission spectroscopy and COMSOL simulation.

  18. Characterization of the supersonic flowing microwave discharge using two dimensional plasma tomography

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nikolic, M.; Samolov, A.; Popovic, S.

    2013-03-14

    A tomographic numerical method based on the two-dimensional Radon formula for a cylindrical cavity has been employed for obtaining spatial distributions of the argon excited levels. The spectroscopy measurements were taken at different positions and directions to observe populations of excited species in the plasmoid region and the corresponding excitation temperatures. Excited argon states are concentrated near the tube walls, thus, confirming the assumption that the post discharge plasma is dominantly sustained by travelling surface wave. An automated optical measurement system has been developed for reconstruction of local plasma parameters of the plasmoid structure formed in an argon supersonic flowingmore » microwave discharge. The system carries out angle and distance measurements using a rotating, flat mirror, as well as two high precision stepper motors operated by a microcontroller-based system and several sensors for precise feedback control.« less

  19. Experimental study of low-temperature plasma of electrical discharges with liquid electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheltukhin, Viktor; Gaisin, Almaz

    2016-09-01

    Results of the experimental research of discharge between the liquid jet cathode (LJC) and the metal anode are presented. The discharge was studied over the voltage range U = 100 - 600 V, discharge current range I = 0 . 1 - 0 . 25 A, external pressure range P =105 Pa, discharge power Pd = 10 - 150 W. We used the techniques of infrared thermography and spectral measurements. Schlieren's photography is applied for describing the processes in liquid and gas phase. Results of the experimental researches of discharge current-voltage characteristic (CVC), the surface temperature distribution both on the LJC and the metal anode, a spectral measurements are showed. Effects of action both of breakdown and discharge on the jet flow as well as on the air flow near the discharge are described. It is found that the discharge CVC has an ascending behavior due to increase of plasma current density. The discharge is generated on the borders between the LJC and the metal anode as well as along the LJC misshaping this one. It is established that both the convection streams and an electrolyte drops are formed during the discharge burn. It is found that the discharge temperature in the vicinity of electrode surface reaches T 348 K. The work was funded by RFBR, according to the research projects No.,14-01-0755.

  20. Large-Volume Resonant Microwave Discharge for Plasma Cleaning of a CEBAF 5-Cell SRF Cavity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Mammosser, S. Ahmed, K. Macha, J. Upadhyay, M. Nikoli, S. Popovi, L. Vuakovi

    2012-07-01

    We report the preliminary results on plasma generation in a 5-cell CEBAF superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavity for the application of cavity interior surface cleaning. CEBAF currently has {approx}300 of these five cell cavities installed in the Jefferson Lab accelerator which are mostly limited by cavity surface contamination. The development of an in-situ cavity surface cleaning method utilizing a resonant microwave discharge could lead to significant CEBAF accelerator performance improvement. This microwave discharge is currently being used for the development of a set of plasma cleaning procedures targeted to the removal of various organic, metal and metal oxide impurities. These contaminantsmore » are responsible for the increase of surface resistance and the reduction of RF performance in installed cavities. The CEBAF five cell cavity volume is {approx} 0.5 m2, which places the discharge in the category of large-volume plasmas. CEBAF cavity has a cylindrical symmetry, but its elliptical shape and transversal power coupling makes it an unusual plasma application, which requires special consideration of microwave breakdown. Our preliminary study includes microwave breakdown and optical spectroscopy, which was used to define the operating pressure range and the rate of removal of organic impurities.« less

  1. Note: Rapid reduction of graphene oxide paper by glow discharge plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bo, Zheng; Qian, Jiajing; Duan, Liangping

    2015-05-15

    This note reports on a novel method for the rapid reduction of graphene oxide (GO) paper using a glow discharge plasma reactor. Glow discharge is produced and sustained between two parallel-plate graphite electrodes at a pressure of 240 mTorr. By exposing GO paper at the junction of negative-glow and Faraday-dark area for 4 min, the oxygen-containing groups can be effectively removed (C/O ratio increases from 2.6 to 7.9), while the material integrality and flexibility are kept well. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the as-obtained reduced GO paper can be potentially used for supercapacitor application.

  2. Characterization of argon dielectric barrier discharges applied to ethyl lactate plasma polymerization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laurent, Morgane; Desjardins, Edouard; Meichelboeck, Maximilian; Naudé, Nicolas; Stafford, Luc; Gherardi, Nicolas; Laroche, Gaétan

    2017-11-01

    The influence of the input voltage frequency (35 and 150 kHz), interelectrode gap (1 and 2 mm) and precursor concentration (250, 350, and 450 ppm) on the electron temperature (T e), number density of metastable Ar atoms (n(Ar m )), and discharge current density (proportional to the electron density ne) is studied in an argon-ethyl lactate dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). An argon-ammonia Penning mixture is also considered as reference. These results are correlated to the chemistry (XPS, IR) and topography (AFM) of the ethyl-lactate-based plasma polymer coatings. Low T e values from 0.3 to 0.5 eV were obtained for all discharges. This observation, in addition to resemblances with the Ar-NH3 mixture, suggested that the ionization kinetics of ethyl lactate-based discharges is driven by Penning reactions. Among the investigated parameters, the dissipated power obtained through changes of the excitation frequency had the largest impact on both the coatings properties and the discharge behavior.

  3. Comparing Ns-DBD vs Ac-DBD plasma actuation mechanisms on a NACA 0012 airfoil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Ashish; Durasiewicz, Claudia; Little, Jesse

    2017-11-01

    A NACA 0012 airfoil is used to study ns-DBD and ac-DBD plasma actuators at a Reynolds number of 740,000 (U∞=40 m/s). Ns-DBD plasma actuators are hypothesized to work on the principle of joule heating whereas ac-DBD actuators add momentum to the flow. Short duration forcing at a time scale much smaller than the convective time based on model chord is employed to study the control mechanism and flow field response. 2-D PIV carried out over a convective time range of 0-10 is used to study the flow structure. The results show the breakup of shear layer vorticity at the point of actuation followed by reattachment to the suction side of the airfoil and finally stall again. These events are very similar between the two actuators and indicate a similar flow response to different perturbation types. The pulse energies are varied and the response shows little change. The results are compared to other transitory separation control studies using more conventional actuators. The detailed study of these two control mechanisms with the separated flow over an airfoil helps to shed light on the evolution of the flow control process. Additional results on a simplified model problem (low speed mixing layer) are included to provide context. Supported by U.S. Army Research Office (W911NF-14-1-0662).

  4. Mode suppression of a two-dimensional potential relaxation instability in a weakly magnetized discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gyergyek, T.; Čerček, M.; Jelić, N.; Stanojević, M.

    1993-05-01

    A potential relaxation instability (PRI) is modulated by an external signal using an additional grid to modulate the radial plasma potential profile in a magnetized plasma column in a linear magnetized discharge plasma device. It is observed that the electrode current oscillations follow the van der Pol equation with an external forcing term, and the linear growth rate of the instability is measured.

  5. Discharge dynamics of pin-to-plate dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Liqun; Huang, Xiaojiang; Zhang, Jie; Zhang, Jing; Shi, J. J.

    2010-11-01

    The discharge dynamics of pin-to-plate dielectric barrier discharge was studied in atmospheric helium at 20 kHz. The discharge was predominately ignited in positive half cycle of applied voltage with sinusoidal waveform. The temporal evolution of the discharge was investigated vertically along the discharge gap and radically on the dielectric surface by time resolved imaging. It is found that a discharge column with a diameter of 2 mm was ignited above the pin electrode and expanded toward a plate electrode. On the dielectric surface with space charge accumulation, plasma disk in terms of plasma ring was formed with radius up to 25 mm. The expansion velocity of plasma ring can reach a hypersonic speed of 3.0 km/s. The ionization wave due to electron diffusion is considered to be the mechanism for plasma ring formation and dynamics.

  6. Direct-current cathodic vacuum arc system with magnetic-field mechanism for plasma stabilization.

    PubMed

    Zhang, H-S; Komvopoulos, K

    2008-07-01

    Filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition is characterized by plasma beam directionality, plasma energy adjustment via substrate biasing, macroparticle filtering, and independent substrate temperature control. Between the two modes of FCVA deposition, namely, direct current (dc) and pulsed arc, the dc mode yields higher deposition rates than the pulsed mode. However, maintaining the dc arc discharge is challenging because of its inherent plasma instabilities. A system generating a special configuration of magnetic field that stabilizes the dc arc discharge during film deposition is presented. This magnetic field is also part of the out-of-plane magnetic filter used to focus the plasma beam and prevent macroparticle film contamination. The efficiency of the plasma-stabilizing magnetic-field mechanism is demonstrated by the deposition of amorphous carbon (a-C) films exhibiting significantly high hardness and tetrahedral carbon hybridization (sp3) contents higher than 70%. Such high-quality films cannot be produced by dc arc deposition without the plasma-stabilizing mechanism presented in this study.

  7. Numerical simulation and analysis of electromagnetic-wave absorption of a plasma slab created by a direct-current discharge with gridded anode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Chengxun; Tian, Ruihuan; Eliseev, S. I.; Bekasov, V. S.; Bogdanov, E. A.; Kudryavtsev, A. A.; Zhou, Zhongxiang

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, we present investigation of a direct-current discharge with a gridded anode from the point of view of using it as a means of creating plasma coating that could efficiently absorb incident electromagnetic (EM) waves. A single discharge cell consists of two parallel plates, one of which (anode) is gridded. Electrons emitted from the cathode surface are accelerated in the short interelectrode gap and are injected into the post-anode space, where they lose acquired energy on ionization and create plasma. Numerical simulations were used to investigate the discharge structure and obtain spatial distributions of plasma density in the post-anode space. The numerical model of the discharge was based on a simple hybrid approach which takes into account non-local ionization by fast electrons streaming from the cathode sheath. Specially formulated transparency boundary conditions allowed performing simulations in 1D. Simulations were carried out in air at pressures of 10 Torr and higher. Analysis of the discharge structure and discharge formation is presented. It is shown that using cathode materials with lower secondary emission coefficients can allow increasing the thickness of plasma slabs for the same discharge current, which can potentially enhance EM wave absorption. Spatial distributions of electron density obtained during simulations were used to calculate attenuation of an incident EM wave propagating perpendicularly to the plasma slab boundary. It is shown that plasma created by means of a DC discharge with a gridded anode can efficiently absorb EM waves in the low frequency range (6-40 GHz). Increasing gas pressure results in a broader range of wave frequencies (up to 500 GHz) where a considerable attenuation is observed.

  8. Modeling of microwave-sustained plasmas at atmospheric pressure with application to discharge contraction.

    PubMed

    Castaños Martinez, E; Kabouzi, Y; Makasheva, K; Moisan, M

    2004-12-01

    The modeling of microwave-sustained discharges at atmospheric pressure is much less advanced than at reduced pressure (<10 Torr) because of the greater complexity of the mechanisms involved. In particular, discharge contraction, a characteristic feature of high-pressure discharges, is not well understood. To describe adequately this phenomenon, one needs to consider that the charged-particle balance in atmospheric-pressure discharges relies on the kinetics of molecular ions, including their dissociation through electron impact. Nonuniform gas heating plays a key role in the radial distribution of the density of molecular ions. The onset of contraction is shown to depend only on radially nonuniform gas heating. The radial nonuniformity of the electric field intensity also plays an important role allowing one, for instance, to explain the lower degree of contraction observed in microwave discharges compared to dc discharges. We present a numerical fluid-plasma model that aims to bring into relief the main features of discharge contraction in rare gases. It calls for surface-wave discharges because of their wide range of operating conditions, enabling a closer check between theory and experiment.

  9. Plasma characteristics in the discharge region of a 20 A emission current hollow cathode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mingming, SUN; Tianping, ZHANG; Xiaodong, WEN; Weilong, GUO; Jiayao, SONG

    2018-02-01

    Numerical calculation and fluid simulation methods were used to obtain the plasma characteristics in the discharge region of the LIPS-300 ion thruster’s 20 A emission current hollow cathode and to verify the structural design of the emitter. The results of the two methods indicated that the highest plasma density and electron temperature, which improved significantly in the orifice region, were located in the discharge region of the hollow cathode. The magnitude of plasma density was about 1021 m-3 in the emitter and orifice regions, as obtained by numerical calculations, but decreased exponentially in the plume region with the distance from the orifice exit. Meanwhile, compared to the emitter region, the electron temperature and current improved by about 36% in the orifice region. The hollow cathode performance test results were in good agreement with the numerical calculation results, which proved that that the structural design of the emitter and the orifice met the requirements of a 20 A emission current. The numerical calculation method can be used to estimate plasma characteristics in the preliminary design stage of hollow cathodes.

  10. Effects of air transient spark discharge and helium plasma jet on water, bacteria, cells, and biomolecules.

    PubMed

    Hensel, Karol; Kučerová, Katarína; Tarabová, Barbora; Janda, Mário; Machala, Zdenko; Sano, Kaori; Mihai, Cosmin Teodor; Ciorpac, Mitică; Gorgan, Lucian Dragos; Jijie, Roxana; Pohoata, Valentin; Topala, Ionut

    2015-06-06

    Atmospheric pressure DC-driven self-pulsing transient spark (TS) discharge operated in air and pulse-driven dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet (PJ) operated in helium in contact with water solutions were used for inducing chemical effects in water solutions, and the treatment of bacteria (Escherichia coli), mammalian cells (Vero line normal cells, HeLa line cancerous cells), deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA), and protein (bovine serum albumin). Two different methods of water solution supply were used in the TS: water electrode system and water spray system. The effects of both TS systems and the PJ were compared, as well as a direct exposure of the solution to the discharge with an indirect exposure to the discharge activated gas flow. The chemical analysis of water solutions was performed by using colorimetric methods of UV-VIS absorption spectrophotometry. The bactericidal effects of the discharges on bacteria were evaluated by standard microbiological plate count method. Viability, apoptosis and cell cycle were assessed in normal and cancerous cells. Viability of cells was evaluated by trypan blue exclusion test, apoptosis by Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide assay, and cell cycle progression by propidium iodide/RNase test. The effect of the discharges on deoxyribonucleic acid and protein were evaluated by fluorescence and UV absorption spectroscopy. The results of bacterial and mammalian cell viability, apoptosis, and cell cycle clearly show that cold plasma can inactivate bacteria and selectively target cancerous cells, which is very important for possible future development of new plasma therapeutic strategies in biomedicine. The authors found that all investigated bio-effects were stronger with the air TS discharge than with the He PJ, even in indirect exposure.

  11. Synchronization between two coupled direct current glow discharge plasma sources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chaubey, Neeraj; Mukherjee, S.; Sen, A.

    2015-02-15

    Experimental results on the nonlinear dynamics of two coupled glow discharge plasma sources are presented. A variety of nonlinear phenomena including frequency synchronization and frequency pulling are observed as the coupling strength is varied. Numerical solutions of a model representation of the experiment consisting of two coupled asymmetric Van der Pol type equations are found to be in good agreement with the observed results.

  12. Analysis on the correlation between temperature and discharge characteristic of cloud-to-ground lightning discharge plasma with multiple return strokes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Qu Haiyan; Chang Zhengshi; Yuan Ping

    2011-01-15

    The spectra of cloud-to-ground lightning with multiple return strokes have been obtained by using a slitless spectrograph on the Chinese Tibet plateau. Combining the spectra with synchronous electrical information, the correlation among spectral properties, channel temperatures and discharge characteristics, and thermal effects of current is discussed for the first time. The results show that the channel plasma temperature varies significantly from stroke to stroke within a given flash, and the total intensity of spectra is directly proportional to the amplitude of electric field change. Moreover, the positive correlation has been confirmed between the channel plasma temperature and the thermal effectmore » which shows the effect of the electric current accumulation. It is inferred that the total intensity of the spectra should be directly proportional to the intensity of discharge current, and channel temperature is correlated positively with the energy transmission in one return stroke.« less

  13. Coagulation of dust grains in the plasma of an RF discharge in argon

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mankelevich, Yu. A.; Olevanov, M. A.; Pal', A. F.

    2009-03-15

    Results are presented from experimental studies of coagulation of dust grains of different sizes injected into a low-temperature plasma of an RF discharge in argon. A theoretical model describing the formation of dust clusters in a low-temperature plasma is developed and applied to interpret the results of experiments on the coagulation of dust grains having large negative charges. The grain size at which coagulation under the given plasma conditions is possible is estimated using the developed theory. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental data.

  14. Self-consistent evolution of plasma discharge and electromagnetic fields in a microwave pulse compressor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shlapakovski, A. S.; Beilin, L.; Hadas, Y.; Schamiloglu, E.; Krasik, Ya. E.

    2015-07-01

    Nanosecond-scale evolution of plasma and RF electromagnetic fields during the release of energy from a microwave pulse compressor with a plasma interference switch was investigated numerically using the code MAGIC. The plasma was simulated in the scope of the gas conductivity model in MAGIC. The compressor embodied an S-band cavity and H-plane waveguide tee with a shorted side arm filled with pressurized gas. In a simplified approach, the gas discharge was initiated by setting an external ionization rate in a layer crossing the side arm waveguide in the location of the electric field antinode. It was found that with increasing ionization rate, the microwave energy absorbed by the plasma in the first few nanoseconds increases, but the absorption for the whole duration of energy release, on the contrary, decreases. In a hybrid approach modeling laser ignition of the discharge, seed electrons were set around the electric field antinode. In this case, the plasma extends along the field forming a filament and the plasma density increases up to the level at which the electric field within the plasma decreases due to the skin effect. Then, the avalanche rate decreases but the density still rises until the microwave energy release begins and the electric field becomes insufficient to support the avalanche process. The extraction of the microwave pulse limits its own power by terminating the rise of the plasma density and filament length. For efficient extraction, a sufficiently long filament of dense plasma must have sufficient time to be formed.

  15. Discharge mode transition and temporal-spatial evolution of an air-water plasma jet generated by pulsating DC power

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lei, J.; Geng, Y.; Liu, K.; Zhu, W.; Zheng, Z.; Hu, H.

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, pulsating direct current air-water plasma jet, which can increase the production of •OH and decrease the temperature, is studied. The results show that the discharge mode changes in one cycle from corona discharge with steep Trichel current pulse to glow-like discharge. It is unknown whether the different discharge modes and water ratio have an effect on the transient process of the excited O and •OH production and the mechanism of plasma propagation. So, a series of experiments are done in this paper. The results show that the changing rules of both the excited state O and the discharge current reach their two peak values synchronously. And its maximum appears at the time of the first peak current value in corona mode. However, the change of the excited state •OH is different. It increases to its maximum at the time of the second peak current value in glow-like mode. Besides, the intensified charge coupled device photographs show that the luminous intensity of the discharge zone at the first peak current value in corona mode is stronger than the second peak current value in glow-like mode. At the same time, the discharge area of the former is larger than the latter. Nevertheless, with the increase in water ratio, the discharge area change reversed. Additionally, the air plasma plume propagation depends on the gas flow. The initial propagation velocity decreases with the increase in water ratio.

  16. Discharge dynamics of pin-to-plate dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sun Liqun; Huang, Xiaojiang; Member of Magnetic Confinement Fusion Research Center, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Shanghai 201620

    2010-11-15

    The discharge dynamics of pin-to-plate dielectric barrier discharge was studied in atmospheric helium at 20 kHz. The discharge was predominately ignited in positive half cycle of applied voltage with sinusoidal waveform. The temporal evolution of the discharge was investigated vertically along the discharge gap and radically on the dielectric surface by time resolved imaging. It is found that a discharge column with a diameter of 2 mm was ignited above the pin electrode and expanded toward a plate electrode. On the dielectric surface with space charge accumulation, plasma disk in terms of plasma ring was formed with radius up tomore » 25 mm. The expansion velocity of plasma ring can reach a hypersonic speed of 3.0 km/s. The ionization wave due to electron diffusion is considered to be the mechanism for plasma ring formation and dynamics.« less

  17. Manganese-cerium oxide catalysts prepared by non-thermal plasma for NO oxidation: Effect of O2 in discharge atmosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Lu; Zheng, Chenghang; Wu, Shenghao; Gao, Xiang; Ni, Mingjiang; Cen, Kefa

    2017-09-01

    Non-thermal plasma with different O2 concentration in discharge atmosphere was applied to synthesize manganese and cerium mixed-oxides catalysts, which were compared in NO oxidation activity. Discharge atmosphere displayed a crucial influence on the performance of the catalysts prepared by plasma. Relatively low O2 concentration in discharge atmosphere allows synthesizing manganese-cerium oxides catalysts in a moderate environment and therefore is favorable for better physicochemical properties which lead to superior catalytic behavior. The best catalyst was obtained by treatment with 10% O2/N2 plasma and presented over 80% NO conversion in the temperature range of 275-325 °C, whereas catalyst prepared in pure O2 discharge atmosphere had the same activity with a catalyst prepared by calcinations. A correlation between the surface properties of the plasma prepared catalysts and its catalytic activity in NO oxidation is proposed. The amount of the surface adsorbed oxygen has an obvious linear correlation with the amount of Ce3+, the H2 consumption at low temperatures and the catalytic performance. The superior catalytic performance is mainly attributed to the stronger interaction between manganese oxides and ceria, and the formation of poorly crystallized Mn-O-Ce phase in the catalyst which resulted from the slow decomposition of nitrates and organics during plasma treatment. Catalysts prepared in relatively low O2 concentration have large specific surface area and is abundant in Ce3+ species and active oxygen species. The study suggests that plasma treatment with proper discharge gas components is a promising method to prepare effective manganese- cerium oxides catalyst for NO oxidation.

  18. Discharge characteristics and hydrodynamics behaviors of atmospheric plasma jets produced in various gas flow patterns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Setsuhara, Yuichi; Uchida, Giichiro; Nakajima, Atsushi; Takenaka, Kosuke; Koga, Kazunori; Shiratani, Masaharu

    2015-09-01

    Atmospheric nonequilibrium plasma jets have been widely employed in biomedical applications. For biomedical applications, it is an important issue to understand the complicated mechanism of interaction of the plasma jet with liquid. In this study, we present analysis of the discharge characteristics of a plasma jet impinging onto the liquid surface under various gas flow patterns such as laminar and turbulence flows. For this purpose, we analyzed gas flow patters by using a Schlieren gas-flow imaging system in detail The plasma jet impinging into the liquid surface expands along the liquid surface. The diameter of the expanded plasma increases with gas flow rate, which is well explained by an increase in the diameter of the laminar gas-flow channel. When the gas flow rate is further increased, the gas flow mode transits from laminar to turbulence in the gas flow channel, which leads to the shortening of the plasm-jet length. Our experiment demonstrated that the gas flow patterns strongly affect the discharge characteristics in the plasma-jet system. This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas ``Plasma Medical Innovation'' (24108003) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT).

  19. Electronic perturbation investigations into excitation and ionization in the millisecond pulsed glow discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Lei; Robertson-Honecker, Jennifer; Vaghela, Vishal; King, Fred L.

    2006-06-01

    This study employed a power perturbation method to examine the energy transfer processes at different locations within the afterpeak regime of a millisecond pulsed glow discharge plasma. Brief power perturbation pulses were applied during the afterpeak regime altering the environment of the collapsing plasma. Responses of several transitions to the power perturbations were measured via atomic emission and absorption spectroscopic methods at various distances from the surface of the cathode. The experimental data provide further insight into the energy transfer processes that occur at different spatial locations and in different temporal regimes of these pulsed glow discharge plasmas. Although the enhancement of the large population of metastable argon atoms is again confirmed, the mechanism responsible for this enhancement remains unclear. The most likely possibility involves some form of ion-electron recombination followed by radiative relaxation of the resulting species. The metastable argon atoms subsequently Penning ionize sputtered copper atoms which then appear to undergo a similar ion-electron recombination process yielding variable degrees of observable afterpeak emission for copper atom transitions. The kinetic information of these processes was approximated from the corresponding relaxation time. The electron thermalization time allowing for recombination with ions was found to be ˜25 μs after the discharge power termination.

  20. Self-enhanced plasma discharge effect in the deposition of diamond-like carbon films on the inner surface of slender tube

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Yi; Li, Liuhe; Luo, Sida; Lu, Qiuyuan; Gu, Jiabin; Lei, Ning; Huo, Chunqin

    2017-01-01

    Enhanced glow discharge plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (EGD-PIII&D) have been proved to be highly effective for depositing diamond-like carbon (DLC) films on the inner surface of the slender quartz tube with a deposition rate of 1.3 μm/min. Such a high-efficiency DLC films deposition was explained previously as the short electrons mean free path to cause large collision frequency between electrons and neutral particles. However, in this paper, we found that the inner surface material of the tube itself play a vital role on the films deposition. To disclose the mechanism of this phenomenon, the effect of different inner surface materials on plasma discharge was experimentally and theoretically investigated. Then a self-enhancing plasma discharge is discovered. It is found that secondary electrons emitted from the inner surface material, whatever it is the tube inner surface or deposited DLC films, can dramatically enhance the plasma discharge to improve the DLC films deposition rate.

  1. Microwave Discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marec, J.; Bloyet, E.; Chaker, M.; Leprince, P.; Nghiem, P.

    Microwave discharges first appeared as unwanted and disturbing effects. However, beginning about the end of World War II, Professors Allis and Brown at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology started to investigate the physics of these discharges. During the next few years, many experimental and theoretical studies were undertaken. However, in the early 60's and for about 15 years, there were few studies of such discharges because of the theoretical difficulties encountered. Effectively, the impossibility of modeling microwave discharges prevented a good understanding of their behavior, and their future use did not appear promising. Recently there has been new interest in these discharges. The plasmas produced by microwave discharges find applications in areas such as: 1) spectroscopy (because of their low contamination), and 2) plasma chemistry. Another advantage of these discharges as compared to d.c. discharges is their ease of operation.

  2. Boundary-value problem for a counterrotating electrical discharge in an axial magnetic field. [plasma centrifuge for isotope separation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hong, S. H.; Wilhelm, H. E.

    1978-01-01

    An electrical discharge between two ring electrodes embedded in the mantle of a cylindrical chamber is considered, in which the plasma in the anode and cathode regions rotates in opposite directions under the influence of an external axial magnetic field. The associated boundary-value problem for the coupled partial differential equations describing the azimuthal velocity and radial current-density fields is solved in closed form. The velocity, current density, induced magnetic induction, and electric fields are presented for typical Hartmann numbers, magnetic Reynolds numbers, and geometry parameters. The discharge is shown to produce anodic and cathodic plasma sections rotating at speeds of the order 1,000,000 cm/sec for conventional magnetic field intensities. Possible application of the magnetoactive discharge as a plasma centrifuge for isotope separation is discussed.

  3. Single and multiple streamer DBD micro-discharges for testing inactivation of biologically contaminated surfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prukner, Vaclav; Dolezalova, Eva; Simek, Milan

    2014-10-01

    Highly reactive environment produced by atmospheric-pressure, non-equilibrium plasmas generated by surface dielectric barrier discharges (SDBDs) may be used for inactivation of biologically contaminated surfaces. We investigated decontamination efficiency of reactive environment produced by single/multiple surface streamer micro-discharge driven by amplitude-modulated AC power in coplanar electrode geometry on biologically contaminated surface by Escherichia coli. The discharges were fed by synthetic air with water vapor admixtures at atmospheric pressure, time of treatment was set from 10 second to 10 minutes, diameters of used SDBD electrodes (single and multiple streamer) and homogeneously contaminated disc samples were equal (25 mm), the distance between the electrode and contaminated surface was 2 mm. Both a conventional cultivation and fluorescent method LIVE/DEAD Bacterial Viability kit were applied to estimate counts of bacteria after the plasma treatment. Inactivation was effective and bacteria partly lost ability to grow and became injured and viable/active but non-cultivable (VBNC/ABNC). Work was supported by the MEYS under Project LD13010, VES13 COST CZ (COST Action MP 1101).

  4. Study of the interrelation between the electrotechnical parameters of the plasma focus discharge circuit and the plasma compression dynamics on the PF-3 and PF-1000 facilities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mitrofanov, K. N., E-mail: mitrkn@inbox.ru; Krauz, V. I., E-mail: krauz-vi@nrcki.ru, E-mail: vkrauz@yandex.ru; Grabovski, E. V.

    The main stages of the plasma current sheath (PCS) dynamics on two plasma focus (PF) facilities with different geometries of the electrode system, PF-3 (Filippov type) and PF-1000 (Mather type), were studied by analyzing the results of the current and voltage measurements. Some dynamic characteristics, such as the PCS velocity in the acceleration phase in the Mather-type facility (PF-1000), the moment at which the PCS reaches the anode end, and the plasma velocity in the radial stage of plasma compression in the PF-3 Filippov-type facility, were determined from the time dependence of the inductance of the discharge circuit with amore » dynamic plasma load. The energy characteristics of the discharge circuit of the compressing PCS were studied for different working gases (deuterium, argon, and neon) at initial pressures of 1.5–3 Torr in discharges with energies of 0.3–0.6 MJ. In experiments with deuterium, correlation between the neutron yield and the electromagnetic energy deposited directly in the compressed PCS was investigated.« less

  5. Study of the interrelation between the electrotechnical parameters of the plasma focus discharge circuit and the plasma compression dynamics on the PF-3 and PF-1000 facilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitrofanov, K. N.; Krauz, V. I.; Grabovski, E. V.; Myalton, V. V.; Vinogradov, V. P.; Paduch, M.; Scholz, M.; Karpiński, L.

    2015-05-01

    The main stages of the plasma current sheath (PCS) dynamics on two plasma focus (PF) facilities with different geometries of the electrode system, PF-3 (Filippov type) and PF-1000 (Mather type), were studied by analyzing the results of the current and voltage measurements. Some dynamic characteristics, such as the PCS velocity in the acceleration phase in the Mather-type facility (PF-1000), the moment at which the PCS reaches the anode end, and the plasma velocity in the radial stage of plasma compression in the PF-3 Filippov-type facility, were determined from the time dependence of the inductance of the discharge circuit with a dynamic plasma load. The energy characteristics of the discharge circuit of the compressing PCS were studied for different working gases (deuterium, argon, and neon) at initial pressures of 1.5-3 Torr in discharges with energies of 0.3-0.6 MJ. In experiments with deuterium, correlation between the neutron yield and the electromagnetic energy deposited directly in the compressed PCS was investigated.

  6. Plasma core reactor simulations using RF uranium seeded argon discharges

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roman, W. C.

    1975-01-01

    An experimental investigation was conducted using the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) 80 kW and 1.2 MW RF induction heater systems to aid in developing the technology necessary for designing a self-critical fissioning uranium plasma core reactor (PCR). A nonfissioning, steady-state RF-heated argon plasma seeded with pure uranium hexafluoride (UF6) was used. An overall objective was to achieve maximum confinement of uranium vapor within the plasma while simultaneously minimizing the uranium compound wall deposition. Exploratory tests were conducted using the 80 kW RF induction heater with the test chamber at approximately atmospheric pressure and discharge power levels on the order of 10 kW. Four different test chamber flow configurations were tested to permit selection of the configuration offering the best confinement characteristics for subsequent tests at higher pressure and power in the 1.2 MW RF induction heater facility.

  7. On Floating Potential of Emissive Probes in a Partially-Magnetized Plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raitses, Yevgeny; Kraus, Brian

    2016-10-01

    We compare measurements of plasma potential in a cross-field Penning discharge from two probes: swept biased Langmuir probe and floating emissive probe. The plasma potential was deduced from the first derivative of the Langmuir probe characteristic. In previous studies, the emissive and swept biased probes were placed at the channel exit of a Hall thruster (HT). Measurements showed that the emissive probe floats below the plasma potential, in agreement with conventional theories. However, recent measurements in the Penning discharge indicate a floating potential of a strongly-emitting hot probe above the plasma potential. In both probe applications, xenon plasmas have magnetized electrons and non-magnetized ions with similar plasma densities (1010 - 1011 cm-3) . Though their electron temperatures differ by an order of magnitude (Penning 5 eV, HT 50 eV), this difference cannot explain the difference in measurement values of the hot floating potential because both temperatures are much higher than the emitting wire. In this work, we investigate how the ion velocity and other plasma parameters affect this discrepancy between probe measurements of the plasma potential. This work was supported by DOE contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

  8. The bactericidal effect of surface micro-discharge plasma under different ambient conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shimizu, T.; Zimmermann, J. L.; Morfill, G. E.

    2011-02-01

    A series of experiments on the bactericidal properties of plasmas using a surface micro-discharge (SMD) device in an atmosphere under different ambient temperatures and humidities was carried out. This plasma dispenser was developed for use as a disinfection system in private and public places (hospitals, medical practices, etc). The bactericidal effect is due to the interplay of the plasma and the chemical products produced via interactions with O2/N2 and H2O vapour in air. To use this device in different countries and therefore under various ambient conditions, it is important to understand its behaviour and efficiency, especially with respect to air temperature and humidity. The experimental results obtained in this study show that the bactericidal properties of the SMD plasma dispenser are not sensitive to the different temperatures and humidities.

  9. Plasma sterilization of polyethylene terephthalate bottles by pulsed corona discharge at atmospheric pressure.

    PubMed

    Masaoka, Satoshi

    2007-06-01

    A pulsed power supply was used to generate a corona discharge on a polyethylene terephthalate bottle, to conduct plasma sterilization at atmospheric pressure. Before generating such a discharge, minute quantities of water were attached to the inner surface of the bottle and to the surface of a high voltage (HV) electrode inserted into the bottle. Next, high-voltage pulses of electricity were discharged between electrodes for 6.0s, while rotating the bottle. The resulting spore log reduction values of Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger on the inner surface of the bottle were 5.5 and 6 or higher, respectively, and those on the HV electrode surface were each 6 or higher for both strains. The presence of the by-products gaseous ozone, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric ions resulting from the electrical discharge was confirmed.

  10. Generation of uniform low-temperature plasma in a pulsed non-self-sustained glow discharge with a large-area hollow cathode

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Akhmadeev, Yu. H.; Denisov, V. V., E-mail: volodyadenisov@yandex.ru; Koval, N. N.

    Generation of plasma in a pulsed non-self-sustained glow discharge with a hollow cathode with an area of ≥2 m{sup 2} at gas pressures of 0.4–1 Pa was studied experimentally. At an auxiliary arc-discharge current of 100 A and a main discharge voltage of 240 V, a pulse-periodic glow discharge with a current amplitude of 370 A, pulse duration of 340 μs, and repetition rate of 1 kHz was obtained. The possibility of creating a uniform gas-discharge plasma with a density of up to 10{sup 12} cm{sup −3} and an electron temperature of 1 eV in a volume of >0.2 m{supmore » 3} was demonstrated. Such plasma can be efficiently used to treat material surfaces and generate pulsed ion beams with a current density of up to 15 mA/cm{sup 2}.« less

  11. Investigation of complexity dynamics in a DC glow discharge magnetized plasma using recurrence quantification analysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mitra, Vramori; Sarma, Bornali; Sarma, Arun

    Recurrence is an ubiquitous feature which provides deep insights into the dynamics of real dynamical systems. A suitable tool for investigating recurrences is recurrence quantification analysis (RQA). It allows, e.g., the detection of regime transitions with respect to varying control parameters. We investigate the complexity of different coexisting nonlinear dynamical regimes of the plasma floating potential fluctuations at different magnetic fields and discharge voltages by using recurrence quantification variables, in particular, DET, L{sub max}, and Entropy. The recurrence analysis reveals that the predictability of the system strongly depends on discharge voltage. Furthermore, the persistent behaviour of the plasma time seriesmore » is characterized by the Detrended fluctuation analysis technique to explore the complexity in terms of long range correlation. The enhancement of the discharge voltage at constant magnetic field increases the nonlinear correlations; hence, the complexity of the system decreases, which corroborates the RQA analysis.« less

  12. Plasma characteristics of long-pulse discharges heated by neutral beam injection in the Large Helical Device

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takeiri, Y.; Nakamura, Y.; Noda, N.; Osakabe, M.; Kawahata, K.; Oka, Y.; Kaneko, O.; Tsumori, K.; Sato, M.; Mutoh, T.; Shimozuma, T.; Goto, M.; Ida, K.; Inagaki, S.; Kado, S.; Masuzaki, S.; Morita, S.; Nagayama, Y.; Narihara, K.; Peterson, B. J.; Sakakibara, S.; Sato, K.; Shoji, M.; Tanaka, K.; de Vries, P. C.; Sudo, S.; Ohyabu, N.; Motojima, O.

    2000-02-01

    Long-pulse neutral beam injection heating has been achieved in the large helical device (LHD). Two different confinement states are observed for different averaged densities in the long-pulse plasmas. A quasi-steady-state plasma was sustained for 21 s with an injection power of 0.6 MW, where the central plasma temperature was around 1 keV with a line-averaged electron density of 0.3 × 1019 m-3 . The discharge duration can be so extended as to keep the plasma properties in the short-pulse discharge. The energy confinement time is nearly the same as that of the short-pulse discharge, which is 1.3 times as long as the international stellarator scaling ISS95. At higher densities, a relaxation oscillation phenomenon, observed as if the plasma would breathe, lasted for 20 s with a period of 1-2 s. The phenomenon is characterized with profile expansion and contraction of the electron temperature. The density oscillation is out of phase with the temperature oscillation and is related to the density clamping phenomenon. The observed plasma properties are shown in detail for the `breathing' oscillation phenomenon. Possible mechanisms for the breathing oscillation are also discussed, with a view of the screening effect near the last closed magnetic surface and the power balance between the heating and the radiation powers. The long-pulse heating results indicate unique characteristics of the LHD where no special feedback stabilization is required due to absence of disruption and no need for current drive.

  13. The nonlocal electron kinetics for a low-pressure glow discharge dusty plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liang, Yonggan; Wang, Ying; Li, Hui; Tian, Ruihuan; Yuan, Chengxun; Kudryavtsev, A. A.; Rabadanov, K. M.; Wu, Jian; Zhou, Zhongxiang; Tian, Hao

    2018-05-01

    The nonlocal electron kinetic model based on the Boltzmann equation is developed in low-pressure argon glow discharge dusty plasmas. The additional electron-dust elastic and inelastic collision processes are considered when solving the kinetic equation numerically. The orbital motion limited theory and collision enhanced collection approximation are employed to calculate the dust surface potential. The electron energy distribution function (EEDF), effective electron temperature Teff, and dust surface potential are investigated under different plasma and dust conditions by solving the Boltzmann and the dust charging current balance equations self-consistently. A comparison of the calculation results obtained from nonlocal and local kinetic models is made. It is shown that the appearance of dust particles leads to a deviation of the EEDF from its original profile for both nonlocal and local kinetic models. With the increase in dust density and size, the effective electron temperature and dust surface potential decrease due to the high-energy electron loss on the dust surface. Meanwhile, the nonlocal and local results differ much from each other under the same calculation condition. It is concluded that, for low-pressure (PR ≤ 1 cm*Torr) glow discharge dusty plasmas, the existence of dust particles will amplify the difference of local and nonlocal EEDFs, which makes the local kinetic model more improper to determine the main parameters of the positive column. The nonlocal kinetic model should be used for the calculation of the EEDFs and dusty plasma parameters.

  14. Modeling of inhomogeneous mixing of plasma species in argon-steam arc discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jeništa, J.; Takana, H.; Uehara, S.; Nishiyama, H.; Bartlová, M.; Aubrecht, V.; Murphy, A. B.

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents numerical simulation of mixing of argon- and water-plasma species in an argon-steam arc discharge generated in a thermal plasma generator with the combined stabilization of arc by axial gas flow (argon) and water vortex. The diffusion of plasma species itself is described by the combined diffusion coefficients method in which the coefficients describe the diffusion of argon ‘gas,’ with respect to water vapor ‘gas.’ Diffusion processes due to the gradients of mass density, temperature, pressure, and an electric field have been considered in the model. Calculations for currents 150-400 A with 15-22.5 standard liters per minute (slm) of argon reveal inhomogeneous mixing of argon and oxygen-hydrogen species with the argon species prevailing near the arc axis. All the combined diffusion coefficients exhibit highly nonlinear distribution of their values within the discharge, depending on the temperature, pressure, and argon mass fraction of the plasma. The argon diffusion mass flux is driven mainly by the concentration and temperature space gradients. Diffusions due to pressure gradients and due to the electric field are of about 1 order lower. Comparison with our former calculations based on the homogeneous mixing assumption shows differences in temperature, enthalpy, radiation losses, arc efficiency, and velocity at 400 A. Comparison with available experiments exhibits very good qualitative and quantitative agreement for the radial temperature and velocity profiles 2 mm downstream of the exit nozzle.

  15. Study of surface atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma based on ultrathin laminated electrodes in air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Luxiang; Liu, Wenzheng; Li, Zhiyi; Ma, Chuanlong

    2018-05-01

    A method to generate large-area surface plasma in air by micro-discharge is proposed. Two ultrathin laminated electrode structures of non-insulating and insulating types were formed by using the nanoscale ITO conductive layer. The surface glow discharge in atmospheric air is realized in low discharge voltage by constructing the special electric field of two-dimensional unidirectional attenuation. In particular, the insulating electrode structure can avoid the loss of ITO electrodes so that the discharge stability can be increased, and the treated objects can be prevented from metal ion pollution caused by the electrode in the discharge. It has broad application prospects in the fields of aerodynamics and material surface treatment.

  16. Can a Penning ionization discharge simulate the tokamak scrape-off plasma conditions?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Finkenthal, M.; Littman, A.; Stutman, D.; Kovnovich, S.; Mandelbaum, P.; Schwob, J. L.; Bhatia, A. K.

    1990-01-01

    The tokamak scrape-off (the region between the vacuum vessel wall and the magnetically confined fusion plasma edge), represents a source/sink for the hot fusion plasma. The electron densities and temperatures are in the ranges 10 to the 11th - 10 to the 13th/cu cm and 1-40 eV, respectively (depending on the size, magnetic field intensity and configuration, plasma current, etc). In the work reported, the electron temperature and density have been estimated in a Penning ionization discharge by comparing its spectroscopic emission in the VUV with that predicted by a collisional radiative model. An attempt to directly compare this emission with that of the tokamak edge is briefly described.

  17. Reaction of Cl- ions in electrolyte solution induced electrical discharge plasma in the presence of argon fine bubbles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayashi, Yui; Takada, Noriharu; Wahyudiono, Kanda, Hideki; Goto, Motonobu

    2017-05-01

    Active chlorine species such as chlorine molecules and hypochlorous acid have been known as high performance sanitizers. They would act more reactive on chemical and biological substances when an electrical discharge was introduced in water containing an electrolyte substance. Here, the reaction of chloride (Cl-) ions were examined by introducing of a pulsed discharge plasma in sodium chloride (NaCl) solution as an electrolyte solution at room temperature. The results show that a large electrical current generated by the pulsed discharge plasma affected the reaction of Cl- ions to result available chlorine. The reaction pathway for available chlorine production was assumed similar with the reaction pathway as electrolysis. A pulsed discharge plasma in NaCl solution in the presence of argon (Ar) fine bubbles exhibited intense emissions and high electron density compared to when no Ar fine bubbles were introduced. At these conditions, the dissociation reaction rate of water increased drastically leads to the formation of 0 atoms. As a result, the reaction of Cl- ions and the available chlorine generation were also increased.

  18. [The study on the characteristics and particle densities of lightning discharge plasma].

    PubMed

    Wang, Jie; Yuan, Ping; Zhang, Hua-ming; Shen, Xiao-zhi

    2008-09-01

    According to the wavelengths, relative intensities and transition parameters of lines in cloud-to-ground lightning spectra obtained by a slit-less spectrograph in Qinghai province and Xizang municipality, and by theoretical calculations of plasma, the average temperature and electron density for individual lightning discharge channel were calculated, and then, using Saha equations, electric charge conservation equations and particle conservation equations, the particle densities of every ionized-state, the mass density, pressure and the average ionization degree were obtained. Moreover, the average ionization degree and characteristics of particle distributions in each lightning discharge channel were analyzed. Local thermodynamic equilibrium and an optically thin emitting gas were assumed in the calculations. The result shows that the characteristics of lightning discharge plasma have strong relationships with lightning intensities. For a certain return stroke channel, both temperatures and electron densities of different positions show tiny trend of falling away with increasing height along the discharge channel. Lightning channels are almost completely ionized, and the first ionized particles occupy the main station while N II has the highest particle density. On the other hand, the relative concentrations of N II and O II are near a constant in lightning channels with different intensities. Generally speaking, the more intense the lightning discharge, the higher are the values of channel temperature, electron density and relative concentrations of highly ionized particles, but the lower the concentration of the neutral atoms. After considering the Coulomb interactions between positive and negative particles in the calculations, the results of ionization energies decrease, and the particle densities of atoms and first ionized ions become low while high-ionized ions become high. At a temperature of 28000 K, the pressure of the discharge channel due to electrons

  19. The synergetic effect of UV rays on the decomposition of xylene in dielectric barrier discharge plasma and photocatalyst process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Wenjuan; Gu, Zhenyu; Teng, Fuhua; Lu, Jianhai; Dong, Shibi; Miao, Xiaoping; Wu, Zhongbiao

    2018-06-01

    The degradation of xylene in the dielectric barrier discharge plasma and photocatalyst process was studied, focusing on the synergetic effect of UV rays from plasma process and external UV lamps on the decomposition of xylene. The results showed that xylene could be decomposed by the discharge process in plasma system, whereas the UV rays from plasma process was very weak. After adding TiO2, the removal efficiency of xylene and energy yield in plasma process were enhanced since energetic particles activated the catalysis of TiO2. The removal efficiency of xylene and energy field in plasma and photocatalyst process combined with external UV lamps were further enhanced attributed to the degradation effect of plasma, the catalysis of TiO2 activated by plasma, the photolysis of UV rays and the photocatalysis of photocatalyst. The synergetic effect of UV rays from external UV lamps was obvious.

  20. Effects of pulse frequency of input power on the physical and chemical properties of pulsed streamer discharge plasmas in water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruma; Lukes, P.; Aoki, N.; Spetlikova, E.; Hosseini, S. H. R.; Sakugawa, T.; Akiyama, H.

    2013-03-01

    A repetitive pulsed-power modulator, which employs a magnetic pulse compression circuit with a high-speed thyristor switch, was used to study the effects of the pulse repetition rate of input power on the physical and chemical properties of pulsed discharges in water. Positive high-voltage pulses of 20 kV with repetition rates of up to 1 kHz were used to generate a discharge in water using the point-to-plane electrode geometry. By varying the pulse repetition rate, two distinct modes of the discharge plasma were formed in water. The first mode was characterized by the formation of a corona-like discharge propagating through water in the form of streamer channels. The second mode was formed typically above 500 Hz, when the formation of streamer channels in water was suppressed and all plasmas occurred inside a spheroidal aggregate of very fine gas bubbles surrounding the tip of the high-voltage electrode. The production of hydrogen peroxide, degradation of organic dye Acid Orange 7 (AO7) and inactivation of bacteria Escherichia coli by the discharge in water were studied under different discharge plasma modes in dependence on the pulse repetition rate of input power. The efficiency of both chemical and biocidal processes induced by the plasma in water decreased significantly with pulse repetition rates above 500 Hz.

  1. Should fee-for-service be for all guideline-advocated acute coronary syndrome (ACS) care? Observations from the Snapshot ACS study.

    PubMed

    Briffa, Thomas G; Hammett, Christopher J; Cross, David B; Macisaac, Andrew I; Rankin, James M; Board, Neville; Carr, Bridie; Hyun, Karice K; French, John; Brieger, David B; Chew, Derek P

    2015-09-01

    The aim of the present study was to explore the association of health insurance status on the provision of guideline-advocated acute coronary syndrome (ACS) care in Australia. Consecutive hospitalisations of suspected ACS from 14 to 27 May 2012 enrolled in the Snapshot study of Australian and New Zealand patients were evaluated. Descriptive and logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association of patient risk and insurance status with the receipt of care. In all, 3391 patients with suspected ACS from 247 hospitals (23 private) were enrolled in the present study. One-third of patients declared private insurance coverage; of these, 27.9% (304/1088) presented to private facilities. Compared with public patients, privately insured patients were more likely to undergo in-patient echocardiography and receive early angiography; furthermore, in those with a discharge diagnosis of ACS, there was a higher rate of revascularisation (P < 0.001). Each of these attracts potential fee-for-service. In contrast, proportionately fewer privately insured ACS patients were discharged on selected guideline therapies and were referred to a secondary prevention program (P = 0.056), neither of which directly attracts a fee. Typically, as GRACE (the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events) risk score rose, so did the level of ACS care; however, propensity-adjusted analyses showed lower in-hospital adverse events among the insured group (odds ratio 0.68; 95% confidence interval 0.52-0.88; P = 0.004). Fee-for-service reimbursement may explain differences in the provision of selected guideline-advocated components of ACS care between privately insured and public patients.

  2. Mass dependency of turbulent parameters in stationary glow discharge plasmas

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Titus, J. B.; Alexander, A. B.; Wiggins, D. L.

    A direct current glow discharge tube is used to determine how mass changes the effects of certain turbulence characteristics in a weakly ionized gas. Helium, neon, argon, and krypton plasmas were created, and an axial magnetic field, varied from 0.0 to 550.0 Gauss, was used to enhance mass dependent properties of turbulence. From the power spectra of light emission variations associated with velocity fluctuations, determination of mass dependency on turbulent characteristic unstable modes, energy associated with turbulence, and the rate at which energy is transferred from scale to scale are measured. The magnetic field strength is found to be toomore » weak to overcome particle diffusion to the walls to affect the turbulence in all four types of plasmas, though mass dependency is still detected. Though the total energy and the rate at which the energy moves between scales are mass invariant, the amplitude of the instability modes that characterize each plasma are dependent on mass.« less

  3. Discharging a DC bus capacitor of an electrical converter system

    DOEpatents

    Kajouke, Lateef A; Perisic, Milun; Ransom, Ray M

    2014-10-14

    A system and method of discharging a bus capacitor of a bidirectional matrix converter of a vehicle are presented here. The method begins by electrically shorting the AC interface of the converter after an AC energy source is disconnected from the AC interface. The method continues by arranging a plurality of switching elements of a second energy conversion module into a discharge configuration to establish an electrical current path from a first terminal of an isolation module, through an inductive element, and to a second terminal of the isolation module. The method also modulates a plurality of switching elements of a first energy conversion module, while maintaining the discharge configuration of the second energy conversion module, to at least partially discharge a DC bus capacitor.

  4. A study of the glow discharge plasma jet of the novel Hamburger-electrode

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, Wenzheng, E-mail: wzhliu@bjtu.edu.cn; Ma, Chuanlong, E-mail: 15121452@bjtu.edu.cn; Yang, Xiao

    2016-08-15

    To generate atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma jets (APGDPJs), a novel Hamburger-electrode was proposed. Through the study on electric field distributions, flow field distributions, and characteristics of the discharge and jet, we found that adopting the mode of dielectric barrier discharge with non-uniform thickness of dielectric, it was easy to form the strong electric field areas which were conducive to generate discharge and electric field distributions with large electric field intensity in the narrow gap and weak electric field intensity in the wide gap that were not inclined to form a filament discharge. Using the structure of evenly distributed innermore » electrodes, it was easy to weaken the pressure of strong electric field areas and form flow field distributions which is beneficial for taking out the high density charged particles and generating APGDPJs. Stable APGDPJs in nitrogen with 3.5 mm in diameter and 9 mm in length were formed by using the novel Hamburger-electrode.« less

  5. Coagulation of Dust Particles in Argon Plasma of RF Discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mankelevich, Yu. A.; Olevanov, M. A.; Pal, A. F.

    2008-09-07

    The experiments on coagulation of poly-disperse particles with various size distributions injected into the argon plasma of the magnetron radio-frequency discharge are discussed. The experiments were carried out under the conditions similar to those using dusty plasma for technology applications. Within the created theory the threshold behavior of the coagulation process was explained for the first time, the estimation of the critical particle size for onset of a fast coagulation was made, and the analytical calculation of the coagulation rate of dust particles was performed. The proposed coagulation mechanism makes it possible to describe the typical features of coagulation processesmore » observed in experiments and to explain the effects of attraction and coalescence of highly negatively charged microns size particles.« less

  6. Plasma characteristics in non-sinusoidally excited CCP discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lafleur, Trevor; Booth, Jean-Paul

    2012-10-01

    Using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations we perform a characterization of the plasma response to positive pulse-type voltage excitations (with a repetition frequency of 13.56 MHz) in a geometrically symmetric CCP reactor (with a gap length of 2 cm) operated with argon (for pressures between 20-500 mTorr). Use of these non-sinusoidal waveforms generates an electrical asymmetry effect in the system, which necessitates the formation of a DC bias. This DC bias, together with the shape of the voltage waveforms used, produces a number of new phenomena that are not present in typical sinusoidal discharges: (1) the plasma density and ion flux can be increased as the pulse width is reduced, (2) a significant asymmetry in the ion fluxes to the powered and grounded electrodes develops as the pressure increases, (3) the average ion energy striking the grounded electrode remains low and approximately constant as the pulse width decreases, and (4) the sheath at the grounded electrode never fully collapses; electrons are no longer lost in sharp pulses, but escape essentially throughout the rf cycle. Effects (1) and (3) above offer the possibility for a new form of control in these types of discharges, where the ion flux can be increased while the ion energy on the grounded electrode can be kept small and essentially constant. This effect has recently been exploited to control the crystallinity of silicon thin films [1], where the low ion bombarding energy was found to improve the quality of films grown. [4pt] [1] Johnson E V, Pouliquen S, Delattre P A, and Booth J P, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 2012, in press.

  7. Carbon dioxide splitting in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma: a combined experimental and computational study.

    PubMed

    Aerts, Robby; Somers, Wesley; Bogaerts, Annemie

    2015-02-01

    Plasma technology is gaining increasing interest for the splitting of CO2 into CO and O2 . We have performed experiments to study this process in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma with a wide range of parameters. The frequency and dielectric material did not affect the CO2 conversion and energy efficiency, but the discharge gap can have a considerable effect. The specific energy input has the most important effect on the CO2 conversion and energy efficiency. We have also presented a plasma chemistry model for CO2 splitting, which shows reasonable agreement with the experimental conversion and energy efficiency. This model is used to elucidate the critical reactions that are mostly responsible for the CO2 conversion. Finally, we have compared our results with other CO2 splitting techniques and we identified the limitations as well as the benefits and future possibilities in terms of modifications of DBD plasmas for greenhouse gas conversion in general. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Improvement of Technological Properties of a Vegetal Tanning Agent in Gas Discharge Plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khairullin, A. K.; Voznesensky, E. F.; Rakhmatullina, G. R.; Sabirov, A. M.; Tikhonova, N. V.

    2017-11-01

    The article considers the possibility of modification of the vegetal tanning agent quebracho in the plasma of a radio-frequency induction discharge at low pressure. It is established that plasma treatment leads to a decrease in the size of colloid fractions and a decrease in the molecular weight, while the functionality of the vegetal tanning agent is preserved. Application of the obtained product in the process of leather retanning allows improving its physical, mechanical and consumer properties.

  9. Non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma induces angiogenesis through reactive oxygen species.

    PubMed

    Arjunan, Krishna P; Clyne, Alisa Morss

    2011-01-01

    Vascularization plays a key role in processes such as wound healing and tissue engineering. Non-thermal plasma, which primarily produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), recently emerged as an efficient tool in medical applications. Liquids and endothelial cells were treated with a non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma. Plasma treatment of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and serum-free medium increased ROS concentration in a dose-dependent manner, with a higher concentration in serum-free medium. ROS concentration in cells peaked 1 hour after treatment. 4.2 J/cm(2) increased cell proliferation, 2D and 3D migration, as well as tube formation. A fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) neutralizing antibody and ROS scavengers for hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals abrogated these angiogenic effects. Non-thermal plasma may be a potential tool for applying ROS in precise doses to enhance vascularization.

  10. Development of a DC Glow Discharge Exhibit for the Demonstration of Plasma Behavior in a Magnetic Field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bruder, Daniel

    2010-11-01

    The DC Glow Discharge Exhibit is intended to demonstrate the effects a magnetic field produces on a plasma in a vacuum chamber. The display, which will be featured as a part of The Liberty Science Center's ``Energy Quest Exhibition,'' consists of a DC glow discharge tube and information panels to educate the general public on plasma and its relation to fusion energy. Wall posters and an information booklet will offer brief descriptions of fusion-based science and technology, and will portray plasma's role in the development of fusion as a viable source of energy. The display features a horse-shoe magnet on a movable track, allowing viewers to witness the effects of a magnetic field upon a plasma. The plasma is created from air within a vacuum averaging between 100-200 mTorr. Signage within the casing describes the hardware components. The display is pending delivery to The Liberty Science Center, and will replace a similar, older exhibit presently at the museum.

  11. Fast plasma discharge capillary design as a high power throughput soft x-ray emission source.

    PubMed

    Wyndham, E S; Favre, M; Valdivia, M P; Valenzuela, J C; Chuaqui, H; Bhuyan, H

    2010-09-01

    We present the experimental details and results from a low energy but high repetition rate compact plasma capillary source for extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray research and applications. Two lengths of capillary are mounted in two versions of a closely related design. The discharge operates in 1.6 and 3.2 mm inner diameter alumina capillaries of lengths 21 and 36 mm. The use of water both as dielectric and as coolant simplifies the compact low inductance design with nanosecond discharge periods. The stored electrical energy of the discharge is approximately 0.5 J and is provided by directly charging the capacitor plates from an inexpensive insulated-gate bipolar transistor in 1 μs or less. We present characteristic argon spectra from plasma between 30 and 300 Å as well as temporally resolved x-ray energy fluence in discrete bands on axis. The spectra also allow the level of ablated wall material to be gauged and associated with useful capillary lifetime according to the chosen configuration and energy storage. The connection between the electron beams associated with the transient hollow cathode mechanism, soft x-ray output, capillary geometry, and capillary lifetime is reported. The role of these e-beams and the plasma as measured on-axis is discussed. The relation of the electron temperature and the ionization stages observed is discussed in the context of some model results of ionization in a non-Maxwellian plasma.

  12. Driving Force of Plasma Bullet in Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yambe, Kiyoyuki; Masuda, Seiya; Kondo, Shoma

    2018-06-01

    When plasma is generated by applying high-voltage alternating current (AC), the driving force of the temporally and spatially varying electric field is applied to the plasma. The strength of the driving force of the plasma at each spatial position is different because the electrons constituting the atmospheric-pressure nonequilibrium (cold) plasma move at a high speed in space. If the force applied to the plasma is accelerated only by the driving force, the plasma will be accelerated infinitely. The equilibrium between the driving force and the restricting force due to the collision between the plasma and neutral particles determines the inertial force and the drift velocity of the plasma. Consequently, the drift velocity depends on the strength of the time-averaged AC electric field. The pressure applied by the AC electric field equilibrates with the plasma pressure. From the law of conservation of energy, the pressure equilibrium is maintained by varying the drift velocity of the plasma.

  13. Spontaneous Generation of a Sheared Plasma Rotation in a Field-Reversed θ-Pinch Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Omelchenko, Y. A.; Karimabadi, H.

    2012-08-01

    By conducting two-dimensional hybrid simulations of an infinitely long field-reversed θ-pinch discharge we discover a new type of plasma rotation, which rapidly develops at the plasma edge in the ion diamagnetic direction due to the self-consistent generation of a Hall-driven radial electric field. This effect is different from the previously identified end-shorting and particle-loss mechanisms. We also demonstrate flutelike perturbations frequently inferred in experiments and show that in the absence of axial contraction effects they may quickly alter the toroidal symmetry of the plasma.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kang, Chen; Hua, Liang

    2016-02-01

    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. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61503302, 51207169, and 51276197), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2014M562446), and the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province, China (Grant No. 2015JM1001).

  15. Focused beams of fast neutral atoms in glow discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grigoriev, S. N.; Melnik, Yu. A.; Metel, A. S.; Volosova, M. A.

    2017-06-01

    Glow discharge with electrostatic confinement of electrons in a vacuum chamber allows plasma processing of conductive products in a wide pressure range of p = 0.01 - 5 Pa. To assist processing of a small dielectric product with a concentrated on its surface beam of fast neutral atoms, which do not cause charge effects, ions from the discharge plasma are accelerated towards the product and transformed into fast atoms. The beam is produced using a negatively biased cylindrical or a spherical grid immersed in the plasma. Ions accelerated by the grid turn into fast neutral atoms at p > 0.1 Pa due to charge exchange collisions with gas atoms in the space charge sheaths adjoining the grid. The atoms form a diverging neutral beam and a converging beam propagating from the grid in opposite directions. The beam propagating from the concave surface of a 0.24-m-wide cylindrical grid is focused on a target within a 10-mm-wide stripe, and the beam from the 0.24-m-diameter spherical grid is focused within a 10-mm-diameter circle. At the bias voltage U = 5 kV and p ˜ 0.1 Pa, the energy of fast argon atoms is distributed continuously from zero to eU ˜ 5 keV. The pressure increase to 1 Pa results in the tenfold growth of their equivalent current and a decrease in the mean energy by an order of magnitude, which substantially raises the efficiency of material etching. Sharpening by the beam of ceramic knife-blades proved that the new method for the generation of concentrated fast atom beams can be effectively used for the processing of dielectric materials in vacuum.

  16. Controlled growth of aligned carbon nanotube using pulsed glow barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nozaki, Tomohiro; Kimura, Yoshihito; Okazaki, Ken

    2002-10-01

    We first achieved a catalytic growth of aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) using atmospheric pressure pulsed glow barrier discharge combined with DC bias (1000 V). Aligned CNT can grow with the directional electric field, and this is a big challenge in barrier discharges since dielectric barrier does not allow DC bias and forces to use AC voltage to maintain stable plasma conditions. To overcome this, we developed a power source generating Gaussian-shape pulses at 20 kpps with 4% duty, and DC bias was applied to the GND electrode where Ni-, Fe-coated substrate existed. With positive pulse, i.e. substrate was the cathode, random growth of CNT was observed at about 10^9 cm-2. Growth rate significantly reduced when applied negative pulse; Negative glow formation near substrate is essential for sufficient supply of radical species to the catalyst. If -DC was biased, aligned CNT with 20 nm was synthesized because negative bias enhanced negative glow formation. Interestingly, 2 to 3 CNTs stuck each other with +DC bias, resulting in 50-70 nm and non-aligned CNT. Atmospheric pressure glow barrier discharges can be highly controlled and be a potential alternative to vacuum plasmas for CVD, micro-scale, nano-scale fabrication.

  17. Spatially resolved high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy of high-current plasma-focus discharges.

    PubMed

    Zając, S; Rzadkiewicz, J; Rosmej, O; Scholz, M; Yongtao, Zhao; Gójska, A; Paduch, M; Zielińska, E

    2010-10-01

    Soft x-ray emission from a Mather-type plasma-focus device (PF-1000) operated at ∼400 kJ was measured. The high density and temperature plasma were generated by the discharge in the deuterium-argon gas mixture in the modified (high-current) plasma-focus configuration. A spherically bent mica crystal spectrograph viewing the axial output of the pinch region was used to measure the x-ray spectra. Spatially resolved spectra including the characteristic x-ray lines of highly ionized Ar and continua were recorded by means of an x-ray film. The x-ray emission of PF-1000 device was studied at different areas of the pinch.

  18. Spatially resolved high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy of high-current plasma-focus discharges

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    ZajaPc, S.; Rzadkiewicz, J.; Scholz, M.

    Soft x-ray emission from a Mather-type plasma-focus device (PF-1000) operated at {approx}400 kJ was measured. The high density and temperature plasma were generated by the discharge in the deuterium-argon gas mixture in the modified (high-current) plasma-focus configuration. A spherically bent mica crystal spectrograph viewing the axial output of the pinch region was used to measure the x-ray spectra. Spatially resolved spectra including the characteristic x-ray lines of highly ionized Ar and continua were recorded by means of an x-ray film. The x-ray emission of PF-1000 device was studied at different areas of the pinch.

  19. Effect of corona discharge plasma jet on surface-borne microorganisms and sprouting of broccoli seeds.

    PubMed

    Kim, Je-Wook; Puligundla, Pradeep; Mok, Chulkyoon

    2017-01-01

    Different pathogenic microorganisms have been reported to cause sprouts-associated outbreaks. In order to sterilise and enhance the germination of seeds, non-thermal plasma has been increasingly investigated in the field of agricultural science as an alternative to the traditional pre-sowing seed treatments. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of corona discharge plasma jet (CDPJ) on disinfection of the natural bio-contaminants of broccoli seed and also studied the plasma effect on sprout seed germination rate and physico-chemical properties of sprouts. Aerobic bacteria, moulds and yeasts, B. cereus, E. coli, Salmonella spp. were detected on the broccoli seed surface. After 0-3 min treatment using CDPJ, the detected microorganisms were reduced in the range of 1.2-2.3 log units. Inactivation patterns were better explained using pseudo-first-order kinetics. The plasma treatment of seeds up to 2 min exhibited a positive effect on germination rate, seedling growth. The physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of sprouts were unaffected due to the CDPJ treatment of their respective seeds. Corona discharge plasma jet can potentially be used for microbial decontamination of broccoli seeds. In addition, the plasma treatment of broccoli sprout seeds has enabled a significant enhancement in their germination rate and seedling growth without compromising physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of their corresponding sprouts. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  20. Investigation of microscale dielectric barrier discharge plasma devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zito, Justin C.

    This dissertation presents research performed on reduced-scale dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators. A first generation of microscale DBD actuators are designed and manufactured using polymeric dielectric layers, and successfully demonstrate operation at reduced scales. The actuators are 1 cm long and vary in width from tens of microns to several millimeters. A thin-film polymer or ceramic material is used as the dielectric barrier with thicknesses from 5 to 20 microns. The devices are characterized for their electrical, fluidic and mechanical performance. With electrical input of 5 kVpp, 1 kHz, the microscale DBD actuators induce a wall jet with velocity reaching up to 2 m/s and produce 3.5 mN/m of thrust, while consuming an average power of 20 W/m. A 5 mN/m plasma body force was observed, acting on the surrounding air. Failure of the microscale DBD actuators is investigated using thermal measurements of the dielectric surface in addition to both optical and scanning electron microscopy. The cause of device failure is identified as erosion of the dielectric surface due to collisions with ions from the discharge. A second generation of microscale actuators is then designed and manufactured using a more reliable dielectric material, namely silicon dioxide. These actuators demonstrate a significant improvement in device lifetime compared with first-generation microscale DBD actuators. The increase in actuator lifetime allowed the electrical, fluidic and mechanical characterization to be repeated over several input voltages and frequencies. At 7 kVpp, 1 kHz, the actuators with SiO2 dielectric induced velocities up to 1.5 m/s and demonstrated 1.4 mN/m of thrust while consuming an average power of 41 W/m. The plasma body force reached up to 2.5 mN/m. Depending on electrical input, the induced velocity and thrust span an order of magnitude in range. Comparisons are made with macroscale DBD actuators which relate the actuator's output performance and power

  1. Theoretical models of the electrical discharge machining process. III. The variable mass, cylindrical plasma model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eubank, Philip T.; Patel, Mukund R.; Barrufet, Maria A.; Bozkurt, Bedri

    1993-06-01

    A variable mass, cylindrical plasma model (VMCPM) is developed for sparks created by electrical discharge in a liquid media. The model consist of three differential equations—one each from fluid dynamics, an energy balance, and the radiation equation—combined with a plasma equation of state. A thermophysical property subroutine allows realistic estimation of plasma enthalpy, mass density, and particle fractions by inclusion of the heats of dissociation and ionization for a plasma created from deionized water. Problems with the zero-time boundary conditions are overcome by an electron balance procedure. Numerical solution of the model provides plasma radius, temperature, pressure, and mass as a function of pulse time for fixed current, electrode gap, and power fraction remaining in the plasma. Moderately high temperatures (≳5000 K) and pressures (≳4 bar) persist in the sparks even after long pulse times (to ˜500 μs). Quantitative proof that superheating is the dominant mechanism for electrical discharge machining (EDM) erosion is thus provided for the first time. Some quantitative inconsistencies developed between our (1) cathode, (2) anode, and (3) plasma models (this series) are discussed with indication as to how they will be rectified in a fourth article to follow shortly in this journal. While containing oversimplifications, these three models are believed to contain the respective dominant physics of the EDM process but need be brought into numerical consistency for each time increment of the numerical solution.

  2. Dissipated power and induced velocity fields data of a micro single dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator for active flow control☆

    PubMed Central

    Pescini, E.; Martínez, D.S.; De Giorgi, M.G.; Francioso, L.; Ficarella, A.

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, single dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuators have gained great interest among all the active flow control devices typically employed in aerospace and turbomachinery applications [1,2]. Compared with the macro SDBDs, the micro single dielectric barrier discharge (MSDBD) actuators showed a higher efficiency in conversion of input electrical power to delivered mechanical power [3,4]. This article provides data regarding the performances of a MSDBD plasma actuator [5,6]. The power dissipation values [5] and the experimental and numerical induced velocity fields [6] are provided. The present data support and enrich the research article entitled “Optimization of micro single dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator models based on experimental velocity and body force fields” by Pescini et al. [6]. PMID:26425667

  3. Gas discharge plasmas are effective in inactivating Bacillus and Clostridium spores.

    PubMed

    Tseng, Shawn; Abramzon, Nina; Jackson, James O; Lin, Wei-Jen

    2012-03-01

    Bacterial spores are the most resistant form of life and have been a major threat to public health and food safety. Nonthermal atmospheric gas discharge plasma is a novel sterilization method that leaves no chemical residue. In our study, a helium radio-frequency cold plasma jet was used to examine its sporicidal effect on selected strains of Bacillus and Clostridium. The species tested included Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Clostridium sporogenes, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium difficile, and Clostridium botulinum type A and type E. The plasmas were effective in inactivating selected Bacillus and Clostridia spores with D values (decimal reduction time) ranging from 2 to 8 min. Among all spores tested, C. botulinum type A and C. sporogenes were significantly more resistant to plasma inactivation than other species. Observations by phase contrast microscopy showed that B. subtilis spores were severely damaged by plasmas and the majority of the treated spores were unable to initiate the germination process. There was no detectable fragmentation of the DNA when the spores were treated for up to 20 min. The release of dipicolinic acid was observed almost immediately after the plasma treatment, indicating the spore envelope damage could occur quickly resulting in dipicolinic acid release and the reduction of spore resistance.

  4. Treatment of Candida albicans biofilms with low-temperature plasma induced by dielectric barrier discharge and atmospheric pressure plasma jet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koban, Ina; Matthes, Rutger; Hübner, Nils-Olaf; Welk, Alexander; Meisel, Peter; Holtfreter, Birte; Sietmann, Rabea; Kindel, Eckhard; Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter; Kramer, Axel; Kocher, Thomas

    2010-07-01

    Because of some disadvantages of chemical disinfection in dental practice (especially denture cleaning), we investigated the effects of physical methods on Candida albicans biofilms. For this purpose, the antifungal efficacy of three different low-temperature plasma devices (an atmospheric pressure plasma jet and two different dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs)) on Candida albicans biofilms grown on titanium discs in vitro was investigated. As positive treatment controls, we used 0.1% chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX) and 0.6% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). The corresponding gas streams without plasma ignition served as negative treatment controls. The efficacy of the plasma treatment was determined evaluating the number of colony-forming units (CFU) recovered from titanium discs. The plasma treatment reduced the CFU significantly compared to chemical disinfectants. While 10 min CHX or NaOCl exposure led to a CFU log10 reduction factor of 1.5, the log10 reduction factor of DBD plasma was up to 5. In conclusion, the use of low-temperature plasma is a promising physical alternative to chemical antiseptics for dental practice.

  5. Multi-dimensional optical and laser-based diagnostics of low-temperature ionized plasma discharges

    DOE PAGES

    Barnat, Edward V.

    2011-09-15

    In this paper, a review of work centered on the utilization of multi-dimensional optical diagnostics to study phenomena arising in radiofrequency plasma discharges is given. The diagnostics range from passive techniques such as optical emission to more active techniques utilizing nanosecond lasers capable of both high temporal and spatial resolution. In this review, emphasis is placed on observations that would have been more difficult, if not impossible, to make without the use of such diagnostic techniques. Examples include the sheath structure around an electrode consisting of two different metals, double layers that arise in magnetized hydrogen discharges, or a largemore » region of depleted argon 1s 4 levels around a biased probe in an rf discharge.« less

  6. Large-aperture Tunable Plasma Meta-material to Interact with Electromagnetic Waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Corke, Thomas; Matlis, Eric

    2016-11-01

    The formation of spatially periodic arrangements of glow discharge plasma resulting from charge instabilities were investigated as a tuneable plasma meta-material. The plasma was formed between two 2-D parallel dielectric covered electrodes: one consisting of an Indium-Tin-Oxide coated glass sheet, and the other consisting of a glass-covered circular electrode. The dielectric covered electrodes were separated by a gap that formed a 2-D channel. The gap spacing was adjustable. The electrodes were powered by a variable amplitude AC generator. The parallel electrode arrangement was placed in a variable pressure vacuum chamber. Various combinations of gap spacing, pressure and voltage resulted in the formation of spatially periodic arrangements (lattice) of glow discharge plasma. The lattice spacing perfectly followed 2-D packing theory, and was fully adjustable through the three governing parameters. Lattice arrangements were designed to interact with electromagnetic (EM) waves in the frequency range between 10GHz-80GHz. Its feasibility was investigate through an EM wave simulation that we adapted to allow for plasma permittivity. The results showed a clear suppression of the EM wave amplitude through the plasma gratings. Supported by AFOSR.

  7. Energy dissipation in plasma treated Nb and Secondary Electron Emission for modeling of multipactor discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samolov, Ana; Popovic, Svetozar; Vuskovic, Leposava; Basovic, Milos; Cuckov, Filip; Raitses, Yevgeny; Kaganovich, Igor

    2013-09-01

    Electron-induced Secondary Electron Emission (SEE) is important in many gas discharge applications such as Hall thrusters, surface and multipactor discharges. Often they present the inhibiting phenomena in designing and operating of these systems, examples being the Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) accelerator cavities. The multipactor discharges depend on the resonant field configuration and on the SEE from the cavity surface. SEE is proportional to the energy dissipated by the primary electrons near the surface. Our analysis of energy spectra of secondary electrons indicates that the fraction of dissipated energy of primary electrons in solid reaches the maximum at the primary energies that produce the maximum yield. The better understanding of this mechanism is crucial for successful modeling of the multipactor discharge and design of vacuum electronic devices. We have developed an experimental set up to measure energy distribution of SEE from Nb coupons under different incident angles, since Nb is used for manufacturing of SRF accelerating cavities. Samples are placed in carousel target manifolds which are manipulated by robotic arm providing multiple degrees of freedom of a whole target system. Work supported by JSA/DOE contract No. DE-AC05-06OR23177.

  8. Numerical study on xenon positive column discharges of mercury-free lamp

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ouyang, Jiting; He, Feng; Miao, Jinsong

    2007-02-15

    In this paper, the numerical study has been performed on the xenon positive column discharges of mercury-free fluorescent lamp. The plasma discharge characteristics are analyzed by numerical simulation based on two-dimensional fluid model. The effects of cell geometry, such as the dielectric layer, the electrode width, the electrode gap, and the cell height, and the filling gas including the pressure and the xenon percentage are investigated in terms of discharge current and discharge efficiency. The results show that a long transient positive column will form in the xenon lamp when applying ac sinusoidal power and the lamp can operate inmore » a large range of voltage and frequency. The front dielectric layer of the cell plays an important role in the xenon lamp while the back layer has little effect. The ratio of electrode gap to cell height should be large to achieve a long positive column xenon lamp and higher efficiency. Increase of pressure or xenon concentration results in an increase of discharge efficiency and voltage. The discussions will be helpful for the design of commercial xenon lamp cells.« less

  9. Measurements of the populations of metastable and resonance levels in the plasma of an RF capacitive discharge in argon

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vasilieva, A. N.; Voloshin, D. G.; Kovalev, A. S., E-mail: kovalev@dnph.phys.msu.su

    2015-05-15

    The behavior of the populations of two metastable and two lower resonance levels of argon atoms in the plasma of an RF capacitive discharge was studied. The populations were measured by two methods: the method of emission self-absorption and the method based on measurements of the intensity ratios of spectral lines. It is shown that the populations of resonance levels increase with increasing power deposited in the discharge, whereas the populations of metastable levels is independent of the RF power. The distribution of the populations over energy levels is not equilibrium under these conditions. The population kinetics of argon atomicmore » levels in the discharge plasma is simulated numerically. The distribution function of plasma electrons recovered from the measured populations of atomic levels and numerical simulations is found to be non-Maxwellian.« less

  10. (RTO) Characterization of the Time-dependent Behaviour of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuators

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-06-19

    excited by a sine -wave signal with peak- to-peak amplitudes between 7.2 kV and 10 kV, and frequencies of 2.5 kHz and 4 kHz. The results indicate that the...side length of 0.68 m, made of transparent PMMA, to isolate it from ambient disturbances. The plasma actuator was excited by a sine -wave signal, which... Portugal , 2008. 6Hanson, R., Houser, N., and Lavoie, P., “Dielectric material degradation monitoring of dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

  11. Dielectric Barrier Discharge based Mercury-free plasma UV-lamp for efficient water disinfection.

    PubMed

    Prakash, Ram; Hossain, Afaque M; Pal, U N; Kumar, N; Khairnar, K; Mohan, M Krishna

    2017-12-12

    A structurally simple dielectric barrier discharge based mercury-free plasma UV-light source has been developed for efficient water disinfection. The source comprises of a dielectric barrier discharge arrangement between two co-axial quartz tubes with an optimized gas gap. The outer electrode is an aluminium baked foil tape arranged in a helical form with optimized pitch, while the inner electrode is a hollow aluminium metallic rod, hermetically sealed. Strong bands peaking at wavelengths 172 nm and 253 nm, along with a weak band peaking at wavelength 265 nm have been simultaneously observed due to plasma radiation from the admixture of xenon and iodine gases. The developed UV source has been used for bacterial deactivation studies using an experimental setup that is an equivalent of the conventional house-hold water purifier system. Deactivation studies for five types of bacteria, i.e., E. coli, Shigella boydii, Vibrio, Coliforms and Fecal coliform have been demonstrated with 4 log reductions in less than ten seconds.

  12. Nitric Oxide Studies in Low Temperature Plasmas Generated with a Nanosecond Pulse Sphere Gap Electrical Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burnette, David Dean

    This dissertation presents studies of NO kinetics in a plasma afterglow using various nanosecond pulse discharges across a sphere gap. The discharge platform is developed to produce a diffuse plasma volume large enough to allow for laser diagnostics in a plasma that is rich in vibrationally-excited molecules. This plasma is characterized by current and voltage traces as well as ICCD and NO PLIF images that are used to monitor the plasma dimensions and uniformity. Temperature and vibrational loading measurements are performed via coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS). Absolute NO concentrations are obtained by laser-induce fluorescence (LIF) measurements, and N and O densities are found using two photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF). For all dry air conditions studied, the NO behavior is characterized by a rapid rate of formation consistent with an enhanced Zeldovich process involving electronically-excited nitrogen species that are generated within the plasma. After several microseconds, the NO evolution is entirely controlled by the reverse Zeldovich process. These results show that under the chosen range of conditions and even in extreme instances of vibrational loading, there is no formation channel beyond ~2 musec. Both the NO formation and consumption mechanisms are strongly affected by the addition of fuel species, producing much greater NO concentrations in the afterglow.

  13. Cold atmospheric plasma discharged in water and its potential use in cancer therapy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Zhitong; Cheng, Xiaoqian; Lin, Li; Keidar, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has emerged as a novel technology for cancer treatment. CAP can directly treat cells and tissue but such direct application is limited to skin or can be invoked as a supplement during open surgery. In this study we report indirect plasma treatment using CAP discharged in deionized (DI) water using three gases as carriers (argon (Ar), helium (He), and nitrogen (N2)). Plasma stimulated water was applied to the human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231). MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay tests showed that using Ar plasma had the strongest effect on inducing apoptosis in cultured human breast cancer cells. This result is attributed to the elevated production of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species in water.

  14. Emission characteristics of 6.78-MHz radio-frequency glow discharge plasma in a pulsed mode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xinyue; Wagatsuma, Kazuaki

    2017-07-01

    This paper investigated Boltzmann plots for both atomic and ionic emission lines of iron in an argon glow discharge plasma driven by 6.78-MHz radio-frequency (RF) voltage in a pulsed operation, in order to discuss how the excitation/ionization process was affected by the pulsation. For this purpose, a pulse frequency as well as a duty ratio of the pulsed RF voltage was selected as the experimenter parameters. A Grimm-style radiation source was employed at a forward RF power of 70 W and at an argon pressures of 670 Pa. The Boltzmann plot for low-lying excited levels of iron atom was on a linear relationship, which was probably attributed to thermal collisions with ultimate electrons in the negative glow region; in this case, the excitation temperature was obtained in a narrow range of 3300-3400 K, which was hardly affected by the duty ratio as well as the pulse frequency of the pulsed RF glow discharge plasma. This observation suggested that the RF plasma could be supported by a self-stabilized negative glow region, where the kinetic energy distribution of the electrons would be changed to a lesser extent. Additional non-thermal excitation processes, such as a Penning-type collision and a charge-transfer collision, led to deviations (overpopulation) of particular energy levels of iron atom or iron ion from the normal Boltzmann distribution. However, their contributions to the overall excitation/ionization were not altered so greatly, when the pulse frequency or the duty ratio was varied in the pulsed RF glow discharge plasma.

  15. Dielectric barrier discharges: progress on plasma sources and on the understanding of regimes and single filaments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brandenburg, Ronny

    2017-05-01

    Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) are plasmas generated in configurations with an insulating (dielectric) material between the electrodes which is responsible for a self-pulsing operation. DBDs are a typical example of nonthermal atmospheric or normal pressure gas discharges. Initially used for the generation of ozone, they have opened up many other fields of application. Therefore DBDs are a relevant tool in current plasma technology as well as an object for fundamental studies. Another motivation for further research is the fact that so-called partial discharges in insulated high voltage systems are special types of DBDs. The breakdown processes, the formation of structures, and the role of surface processes are currently under investigation. This review is intended to give an update to the already existing literature on DBDs considering the research and development within the last two decades. The main principles and different modes of discharge generation are summarized. A collection of known as well as special electrode configurations and reactor designs will be presented. This shall demonstrate the different and broad possibilities, but also the similarities and common aspects of devices for different fields of applications explored within the last years. The main part is devoted to the progress on the investigation of different aspects of breakdown and plasma formation with the focus on single filaments or microdischarges. This includes a summary of the current knowledge on the electrical characterization of filamentary DBDs. In particular, the recent new insights on the elementary volume and surface memory mechanisms in these discharges will be discussed. An outlook for the forthcoming challenges on research and development will be given.

  16. Infrared gas phase study on plasma-polymer interactions in high-current diffuse dielectric barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Y.; Welzel, S.; Starostin, S. A.; van de Sanden, M. C. M.; Engeln, R.; de Vries, H. W.

    2017-06-01

    A roll-to-roll high-current diffuse dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure was operated in air and Ar/N2/O2 gas mixtures. The exhaust gas from the discharge was studied using a high-resolution Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer in the range from 3000 to 750 cm-1 to unravel the plasma-polymer interactions. The absorption features of HxNyOz, COx, and HCOOH (formic acid) were identified, and the relative densities were deduced by fitting the absorption bands of the detected molecules. Strong interactions between plasma and polymer (Polyethylene-2,6-naphthalate, or PEN) in precursor-free oxygen-containing gas mixtures were observed as evidenced by a high COx production. The presence of HCOOH in the gas effluent, formed through plasma-chemical synthesis of COx, turns out to be a sensitive indicator for etching. By adding tetraethylorthosilicate precursor in the plasma, dramatic changes in the COx production were measured, and two distinct deposition regimes were identified. At high precursor flows, a good agreement with the precursor combustion and the COx production was observed, whereas at low precursor flows an etching-deposition regime transpires, and the COx production is dominated by polymer etching.

  17. Application of filter method for detection of secondary electron emission in the auto-oscillating mode of beam plasma discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balovnev, A. V.; Vizgalov, I. V.; Salahutdinov, G. H.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we studied the non-self mode of the auto-oscillation secondary- emission discharge (ASED) in a longitudinal magnetic field with autonomous electron gun to ignite the primary beam-plasma discharge (PPD).

  18. Effect of Electron Energy Distribution on the Hysteresis of Plasma Discharge: Theory, Experiment, and Modeling.

    PubMed

    Lee, Hyo-Chang; Chung, Chin-Wook

    2015-10-20

    Hysteresis, which is the history dependence of physical systems, is one of the most important topics in physics. Interestingly, bi-stability of plasma with a huge hysteresis loop has been observed in inductive plasma discharges. Despite long plasma research, how this plasma hysteresis occurs remains an unresolved question in plasma physics. Here, we report theory, experiment, and modeling of the hysteresis. It was found experimentally and theoretically that evolution of the electron energy distribution (EED) makes a strong plasma hysteresis. In Ramsauer and non-Ramsauer gas experiments, it was revealed that the plasma hysteresis is observed only at high pressure Ramsauer gas where the EED deviates considerably from a Maxwellian shape. This hysteresis was presented in the plasma balance model where the EED is considered. Because electrons in plasmas are usually not in a thermal equilibrium, this EED-effect can be regarded as a universal phenomenon in plasma physics.

  19. Effect of Electron Energy Distribution on the Hysteresis of Plasma Discharge: Theory, Experiment, and Modeling

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Hyo-Chang; Chung, Chin-Wook

    2015-01-01

    Hysteresis, which is the history dependence of physical systems, is one of the most important topics in physics. Interestingly, bi-stability of plasma with a huge hysteresis loop has been observed in inductive plasma discharges. Despite long plasma research, how this plasma hysteresis occurs remains an unresolved question in plasma physics. Here, we report theory, experiment, and modeling of the hysteresis. It was found experimentally and theoretically that evolution of the electron energy distribution (EED) makes a strong plasma hysteresis. In Ramsauer and non-Ramsauer gas experiments, it was revealed that the plasma hysteresis is observed only at high pressure Ramsauer gas where the EED deviates considerably from a Maxwellian shape. This hysteresis was presented in the plasma balance model where the EED is considered. Because electrons in plasmas are usually not in a thermal equilibrium, this EED-effect can be regarded as a universal phenomenon in plasma physics. PMID:26482650

  20. Effect of the radio frequency discharge on the dust charging process in a weakly collisional and fully ionized plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Motie, Iman; Bokaeeyan, Mahyar, E-mail: Mehyar9798@gmail.com

    2015-02-15

    A close analysis of dust charging process in the presence of radio frequency (RF) discharge on low pressure and fully ionized plasma for both weak and strong discharge's electric field is considered. When the electromagnetic waves pass throughout fully ionized plasma, the collision frequency of the plasma is derived. Moreover, the disturbed distribution function of plasma particles in the presence of the RF discharge is obtained. In this article, by using the Krook model, we separate the distribution function in two parts, the Maxwellian part and the perturbed part. The perturbed part of distribution can make an extra current, so-calledmore » the accretion rate of electron (or ion) current, towards a dust particle as a function of the average electron-ion collision frequency. It is proven that when the potential of dust grains increases, the accretion rate of electron current experiences an exponential reduction. Furthermore, the accretion rate of electron current for a strong electric field is relatively smaller than that for a weak electric field. The reasons are elaborated.« less

  1. Nonthermal Biological Treatments Using Discharge Plasma Produced by Pulsed Power 4. Cleaning of Lakes and Marshes by Pulsed Power Produced Streamer Discharges in Water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akiyama, Hidenori; Katsuki, Sunao; Namihira, Takao; Ishibashi, Kazuo; Kiyosaki, Noriaki

    Pulsed power has been used to produce non-thermal plasmas in atmospheric pressure gases that generate a high electric field at the tips of streamer discharges, where high energy electrons, free radicals, ultraviolet rays, and ozone are produced. These manifestations of streamer discharges have been used in the treatment of exhaust gases, removal of volatile and toxic compounds such as dioxin, and the sterilization of microorganisms. Here, large volume streamer discharges in water are described. These streamer discharges in liquids are able to produce a high electric field, high energy electrons, ozone, chemically active species, ultraviolet rays, and shock waves, which readily sterilize microorganisms and decompose molecules and materials. An application of this phenomenon to the cleaning of lakes and marshes is also described.

  2. Variation in dose and plasma level of lamotrigine in patients discharged from a mental health trust.

    PubMed

    Douglas-Hall, Petrina; Dzahini, Olubanke; Gaughran, Fiona; Bile, Ahmed; Taylor, David

    2017-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to investigate the dose of lamotrigine when prescribed with an enzyme inhibitor or enzyme inducer in patients discharged from a mental health trust and to determine the corresponding lamotrigine plasma concentrations and the factors that may affect these. All patients discharged on lamotrigine between October 2007 and September 2012 were identified using the pharmacy dispensing database. We recorded demographic details, lamotrigine dose and plasma levels and coprescribed medication. During the designated period, 187 patients were discharged on lamotrigine of whom 117 had their plasma levels recorded. The mean lamotrigine daily dose was 226.1 mg (range 12.5-800 mg) and the mean plasma level 5.9 mg/l (range 0.8-18.1 mg/l). Gender, ethnicity, diagnosis and smoking status had no significant effect on dose or plasma levels. Patients taking an enzyme-inducing drug ( n = 6) had significantly lower plasma levels [mean (SD) 3.40 (1.54) mg/l] than those not taking enzyme inducers [ n = 111; 6.03 (3.13) mg/l; p = 0.043]. Patients taking an enzyme-inhibiting drug ( n = 23) had significantly higher levels [7.47 (3.99) mg/l] than those not taking an inhibitor [ n = 94; 5.52 (2.75) mg/l; p = 0.035]. No significant difference was found between the doses of lamotrigine in patients taking an enzyme inhibitor and those not taking one ( p = 0.376). No significant difference was found between the doses of lamotrigine in patients taking an enzyme-inducing drug and those not taking any ( p = 0.574). Current dosing recommendations indicate that lamotrigine doses should be halved in individuals taking enzyme inhibitors and doubled in those on enzyme inducers. In our survey these recommendations were rarely followed with the consequence that patients received too high or too low a dose of lamotrigine, respectively.

  3. Degradation of selected organophosphate pesticides in wastewater by dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

    PubMed

    Hu, Yingmei; Bai, Yanhong; Yu, Hu; Zhang, Chunhong; Chen, Jierong

    2013-09-01

    In this paper, degradation of selected organophosphate pesticides (dichlorvos and dimethoate) in wastewater by dielectric barrier discharge plasma (DBD) was studied. DBD parameters, i.e. discharge powers and air-gap distances, differently affect their degradation efficiency. The results show that better degradation efficiency is obtained with a higher discharge power and a shorter air-gap distance. The effect of radical intervention degradation was also investigated by adding radical scavenger (tert-butyl alcohol) to the pesticide solution during the experiments. The result shows that the degradation efficiency is restrained in the presence of radical scavenger. It clearly demonstrates that hydroxyl radicals are most likely the main driver for degradation process. Moreover, the kinetics indicate that the disappearance rate of pesticides follows the first-order rate law when the initial concentration of the solution is low, but shifts to zero-order at a higher initial concentration.

  4. Evaluation of pulsed corona discharge plasma for the treatment of petroleum-contaminated soil.

    PubMed

    Li, Rui; Liu, Yanan; Mu, Ruiwen; Cheng, Wenyan; Ognier, Stéphanie

    2017-01-01

    Petroleum hydrocarbons released to the environment caused by leakage or illegal dumping pose a threat to human health and the natural environment. In this study, the potential of a pulsed corona discharge plasma system for treating petroleum-polluted soils was evaluated. This system removed 76.93 % of the petroleum from the soil in 60 min with an energy efficiency of 0.20 mg/kJ. Furthermore, the energy and degradation efficiencies for the remediation of soil contaminated by single polyaromatic hydrocarbons, such as phenanthrene and pyrene, were also compared, and the results showed that this technology had potential in organic-polluted soil remediation. In addition, the role of water molecules was investigated for their direct involvement in the formation and transportation of active species. The increase of soil moisture to a certain extent clearly benefitted degradation efficiency. Then, treated soils were analyzed by FTIR and GC-MS for proposing the degradation mechanism of petroleum. During the plasma discharging processes, the change of functional group and the detection of small aromatic hydrocarbons indicated that the plasma active species attached petroleum hydrocarbons and degradation occurred. This technique reported herein demonstrated significant potential for the remediation of heavily petroleum-polluted soil, as well as for the treatment of organic-polluted soils.

  5. Hybrid flow control of a transport truck side-mirror using AC-DBD plasma actuated guide vane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michelis, Theodoros; Kotsonis, Marios

    2014-11-01

    A wind-tunnel study is conducted towards hybrid flow control of a full-scale transport truck side-mirror (Re = 4 ×105) . The mirror is mounted on a structure that models the truck cabin. PIV measurements are performed at a range of velocities from 15 to 25 m/s and from leeward to windward angles of -5° to +5° . A slim guide vane of 6cm chord is employed along the span of the hub of the mirror for redirecting high momentum flow towards the wake region. Separation from the leading edge of the guide vane is reduced or eliminated by means of AC-DBD plasma actuator, operating at voltage of 35 kV peak-to-peak and frequency of 200 Hz. Time-averaged velocity fields are obtained at the centre of the mirror for three scenarios: a) reference case lacking any control elements; b) guide vane only and c) combination of the guide vane and the AC-DBD. The comparison of cases demonstrates that at 25 m/s windward conditions (-5°) the guide vane is capable of increasing momentum (+20%) in the wake of the mirror with additional improvement when plasma actuation is applied (+21%). In contrast, at leeward conditions (+5°) , the guide vane reduces momentum (-20%), though with actuation an increase is observed (+5%). Total recovered momentum is 25%.

  6. Effect of Inductive Coil Geometry on the Thrust Efficiency of a Microwave Assisted Discharge Inductive Plasma Accelerator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hallock, Ashley; Polzin, Kurt; Emsellem, Gregory

    2012-01-01

    Pulsed inductive plasma thrusters [1-3] are spacecraft propulsion devices in which electrical energy is capacitively stored and then discharged through an inductive coil. The thruster is electrodeless, with a time-varying current in the coil interacting with a plasma covering the face of the coil to induce a plasma current. Propellant is accelerated and expelled at a high exhaust velocity (O(10-100 km/s)) by the Lorentz body force arising from the interaction of the magnetic field and the induced plasma current. While this class of thruster mitigates the life-limiting issues associated with electrode erosion, pulsed inductive plasma thrusters require high pulse energies to inductively ionize propellant. The Microwave Assisted Discharge Inductive Plasma Accelerator (MAD-IPA) [4, 5] is a pulsed inductive plasma thruster that addressees this issue by partially ionizing propellant inside a conical inductive coil via an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge. The ECR plasma is produced using microwaves and permanent magnets that are arranged to create a thin resonance region along the inner surface of the coil, restricting plasma formation, and in turn current sheet formation, to a region where the magnetic coupling between the plasma and the inductive coil is high. The use of a conical theta-pinch coil is under investigation. The conical geometry serves to provide neutral propellant containment and plasma plume focusing that is improved relative to the more common planar geometry of the Pulsed Inductive Thruster (PIT) [2, 3], however a conical coil imparts a direct radial acceleration of the current sheet that serves to rapidly decouple the propellant from the coil, limiting the direct axial electromagnetic acceleration in favor of an indirect acceleration mechanism that requires significant heating of the propellant within the volume bounded by the current sheet. In this paper, we describe thrust stand measurements performed to characterize the performance

  7. Static gas-liquid interfacial direct current discharge plasmas using ionic liquid cathode

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kaneko, T.; CREST/JST, Tokyo 102-0075; Baba, K.

    Due to the unique properties of ionic liquids such as their extremely low vapor pressure and high heat capacity, we have succeeded in creating the static and stable gas (plasmas)-liquid (ionic liquids) interfacial field using a direct current discharge under a low gas pressure condition. It is clarified that the ionic liquid works as a nonmetal liquid electrode, and furthermore, a secondary electron emission coefficient of the ionic liquid is larger than that of conventional metal electrodes. The plasma potential structure of the gas-liquid interfacial region, and resultant interactions between the plasma and the ionic liquid are revealed by changingmore » a polarity of the electrode in the ionic liquid. By utilizing the ionic liquid as a cathode electrode, the positive ions in the plasma region are found to be irradiated to the ionic liquid. This ion irradiation causes physical and chemical reactions at the gas-liquid interfacial region without the vaporization of the ionic liquid.« less

  8. Biosurfactant assisted synthesis of Fe3O4@rhamnolipid@BiOBr and its behaviour in plasma discharge system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Li; Yu, Zebin; Hou, Yanping; Peng, Zhenbo; Zhang, Li; Meng, Zhengcheng; Li, Fengyuan; He, Jun; Huang, Junlin

    2016-06-01

    A novel Fe3O4@rhamnolipid@BiOBr (FRB) was synthesized via a modified precipitation method and applied in the plasma discharge system. Rhamnolipid was used as biosurfactant to modify Fe3O4 by interacting with Fe3O4 via its aliphatic chain. The results show that the prepared FRB magnetic photocatalyst exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity and Fenton reaction behavior in the plasma discharge system. Meanwhile, the addition of FRB could improve energy efficiency of defluorination by 21.29 mg kW-1 h-1.

  9. Spectroscopic diagnosis of plasma in atmospheric pressure negative pulsed gas-liquid discharge with nozzle-cylinder electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ming, SUN; Zhan, TAO; Zhipeng, ZHU; Dong, WANG; Wenjun, PAN

    2018-05-01

    The plasma characteristics of a gas-liquid phase discharge reactor were investigated by optical and electrical methods. The nozzle-cylinder electrode in the discharge reactor was supplied with a negative nanosecond pulsed generator. The optical emission spectrum diagnosis revealed that OH (A2∑+ → X2Π, 306–309 nm), N2 (C3Π→B3Πg, 337 nm), O (3p5p→3s5s0, 777.2 nm) and O (3p3p→3s3s0, 844.6 nm) were produced in the discharge plasma channels. The electron temperature (T e) was calculated from the emission relative intensity ratio between the atomic O 777.2 nm and 844.6 nm, and it increased with the applied voltage and the pulsed frequency and fell within the range of 0.5–0.8 eV. The gas temperature (T g) that was measured by Lifbase was in a range from 400 K to 600 K.

  10. Plasma Discharge Initiation of Explosives in Rock Blasting Application: A Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jae-Ou, Chae; Young-Jun, Jeong; V, M. Shmelev; A, A. Denicaev; V, M. Poutchkov; V, Ravi

    2006-07-01

    A plasma discharge initiation system for the explosive volumetric combustion charge was designed, investigated and developed for practical application. Laboratory scale experiments were carried out before conducting the large scale field tests. The resultant explosions gave rise to less noise, insignificant seismic vibrations and good specific explosive consumption for rock blasting. Importantly, the technique was found to be safe and environmentally friendly.

  11. Particle-in-cell simulations of bounded plasma discharges applied to low pressure high density sources and positive columns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kawamura, Emi

    Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of bounded plasma discharges are attractive because the fields and the particle motion can be obtained self-consistently from first principles. Thus, we can accurately model a wide range of nonlocal and kinetic behavior. The only disadvantage is that PIC may be computationally expensive compared to other methods. Fluid codes, for example, may run faster but make assumptions about the bulk plasma velocity distributions and ignore kinetic effects. In Chapter 1, we demonstrate methods of accelerating PIC simulations of bounded plasma discharges. We find that a combination of physical and numerical methods makes run-times for PIC codes much more competitive with other types of codes. In processing plasmas, the ion energy distributions (IEDs) arriving at the wafer target are crucial in determining ion anisotropy and etch rates. The current trend for plasma reactors is towards lower gas pressure and higher plasma density. In Chapter 2, we review and analyze IEDs arriving at the target of low pressure high density rf plasma reactors. In these reactors, the sheath is typically collisionless. We then perform PIC simulations of collisionless rf sheaths and find that the key parameter governing the shape of the TED at the wafer is the ratio of the ion transit time across the sheath over the rf period. Positive columns are the source of illumination in fluorescent mercury-argon lamps. The efficiency of light production increases with decreasing gas pressure and decreasing discharge radius. Most current lamp software is based on the local concept even though low pressure lighting discharges tend to be nonlocal. In Chapter 3, we demonstrate a 1d3v radial PIC model to conduct nonlocal kinetic simulations of low pressure, small radius positive columns. When compared to other available codes, we find that our PIC code makes the least approximations and assumptions and is accurate and stable over a wider parameter range. We analyze the PIC

  12. Inactivation of Bacteria in Oil Field Injected Water by a Pulsed Plasma Discharge Process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xin, Qing; Li, Zhongjian; Lei, Lecheng; Yang, Bin

    2016-09-01

    Pulsed plasma discharge was employed to inactivate bacteria in the injection water for an oil field. The effects of water conductivity and initial concentration of bacteria on elimination efficiency were investigated in the batch and continuous flow modes. It was demonstrated that Fe2+ contained in injection water could enhance the elimination efficiency greatly. The addition of reducing agent glutathione (GSH) indicated that active radicals generated by pulsed plasma discharges played an important role in the inactivation of bacteria. Moreover, it was found that the microbial inactivation process for both batch and continuous flow mode well fitted the model based on the Weibull's survival function. supported by Zhejiang Province Welfare Technology Applied Research Project of China (No. 2014C31137), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21436007 and U1462201), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (No. 2015QNA4032)

  13. Modification of the Steel Surface Treated by a Volume Discharge Plasma in Nitrogen at Atmospheric Pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erofeev, M. V.; Shulepov, M. A.; Ivanov, Yu. F.; Oskomov, K. V.; Tarasenko, V. F.

    2016-03-01

    Effect of volume discharge plasma initiated by an avalanche electron beam on the composition, structure, and properties of the surface steel layer is investigated. Voltage pulses with incident wave amplitude up to 30 kV, full width at half maximum of about 4 ns, and wave front of about 2.5 ns were applied to the gap with an inhomogeneous electric field. Changes indicating the hardening effect of the volume discharge initiated by an avalanche electron beam are revealed in St3-grade steel specimens treated by the discharge of this type.

  14. First measurements of the temporal evolution of the plasma density in HiPIMS discharges using THz time domain spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meier, Steffen M.; Hecimovic, Ante; Tsankov, Tsanko V.; Luggenhölscher, Dirk; Czarnetzki, Uwe

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, the novel technique of THz time domain spectroscopy has been applied to obtain time-resolved measurements of the plasma density in the active zone of a HiPIMS discharge with a titanium target. The obtained peak values are in the range of 1012-1013 cm-3 for discharge current densities of 1-4 A cm-2 at 0.5 and 2 Pa argon pressure. The measured densities show good correlation with the discharge current and voltage and the intensity of various atomic and ionic lines. The well known phases of the discharge have been identified and related to the variation of the electron density. The measurement results show that the plasma density remains nearly constant during the runaway/self-sputtering phase. Based on that, it is conjectured that singly charged titanium ions are the dominant ion species during this phase.

  15. Optical Characteristics of a Gas Discharge Plasma Based on a Mixture of Mercury Diiodide Vapor, Nitrogen, and Helium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malinina, A. A.; Malinin, A. N.

    2016-09-01

    The results of studies of spectral, temporal, and energy characteristics of radiation in a gas discharge plasma based on a mixture of mercury diiodide vapor with helium and nitrogen in the spectral range of 350-800 nm are presented. Plasma was produced by a barrier discharge in a device with a cylindrical aperture. The electrodes 0.2 m in length were placed at a distance of 0.015 m. The amplitude of the pump pulses, their duration, and frequency were equal to 20-30 kV, 150 ns, and 1-20 kHz, respectively. Radiation of mercury monoiodide exciplex molecules was revealed in the visible spectra region. Dependences of the plasma optical characteristics on the partial pressures of the mixture components were established.

  16. Influence of ion transport on discharge propagation of nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hua, Weizhuo; Koji, Fukagata

    2017-11-01

    A numerical study has been conducted to understand the streamer formation and propagation of nanosecond pulsed surface dielectric barrier discharge of positive polarity. First we compared the result of different grid configuration to investigate the influence of x and y direction grid spacing on the streamer propagation. The streamer propagation is sensitive to y grid spacing especially at the dielectric surface. The streamer propagation velocity can reach 0.2 cm/ns when the voltage magnitude is 12 kV. A narrow gap was found between the streamer and dielectric barrier, where the plasma density is several orders of magnitude smaller than the streamer region. Analyses on the ion transport in the gap and streamer regions show the different ion transport mechanisms in the two different region. In the gap region, the diffusion of electron toward the dielectric layer decreases the seed electron in the beginning of voltage pulse, resulting that ionization avalanche does not occur. The streamer region is not significantly affected by the diffusion flux toward the dielectric layer, so that ionization avalanche takes place and leads to dramatic increase of plasma density.

  17. Multiple solutions in the theory of direct current glow discharges: Effect of plasma chemistry and nonlocality, different plasma-producing gases, and 3D modelling

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Almeida, P. G. C.; Benilov, M. S.

    2013-10-15

    The work is aimed at advancing the multiple steady-state solutions that have been found recently in the theory of direct current (DC) glow discharges. It is shown that an account of detailed plasma chemistry and non-locality of electron transport and kinetic coefficients results in an increase of the number of multiple solutions but does not change their pattern. Multiple solutions are shown to exist for discharges in argon and helium provided that discharge pressure is high enough. This result indicates that self-organization in DC glow microdischarges can be observed not only in xenon, which has been the case until recently,more » but also in other plasma-producing gases; a conclusion that has been confirmed by recent experiments. Existence of secondary bifurcations can explain why patterns of spots grouped in concentric rings, observed in the experiment, possess in many cases higher number of spots in outer rings than in inner ones.« less

  18. Methane chemistry involved in a low-pressure electron cyclotron wave resonant plasma discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morrison, N. A.; William, C.; Milne, W. I.

    2003-12-01

    Radio frequency (rf) generated methane plasmas are commonly employed in the deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) thin films. However, very little is known about the rf discharge chemistry and how it relates to the deposition process. Consequently, we have characterized a low-pressure methane plasma and compared the results with those obtained theoretically by considering the steady-state kinetics of the chemical processes present in a low-pressure plasma reactor, in order to elucidate the dominant reaction channels responsible for the generation of the active precursors required for film growth. Mass spectrometry measurements of the gas phase indicated little variation in the plasma chemistry with increasing electron temperature. This was later attributed to the partial saturation of the electron-impact dissociation and ionization rate constants at electron temperatures in excess of ˜4 eV. The ion densities in the plasma were also found to be strongly dependent upon the parent neutral concentration in the gas phase, indicating that direct electron-impact reactions exerted greater influence on the plasma chemistry than secondary ion-neutral reactions.

  19. Discharge Chamber Plasma Structure of a 30-cm NSTAR-Type Ion Engine

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Herman, Daniel A.; Gallimore, Alec D.

    2006-01-01

    Single Langmuir probe measurements are presented over a two-dimensional array of locations in the near Discharge Cathode Assembly (DCA) region of a 30-cm diameter ring cusp ion thruster over a range of thruster operating conditions encompassing the high-power half of the NASA throttling table. The Langmuir probe data were analyzed with two separate methods. All data were analyzed initially assuming an electron population consisting of Maxwellian electrons only. The on-axis data were then analyzed assuming both Maxwellian and primary electrons. Discharge plasma data taken with beam extraction exhibit a broadening of the higher electron temperature plume boundary compared to similar discharge conditions without beam extraction. The opposite effect is evident with the electron/ion number density as the data without began, extraction appears to be more collimated than the corresponding data with beam extraction. Primary electron energy and number densities are presented for one operating condition giving an order of magnitude of their value and the error associated with this calculation.

  20. High Power ECR Ion Thruster Discharge Characterization

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foster, John E.; Kamhawi, Hani; Haag, Thomas; Carpenter, Christian; Williams, George W.

    2006-01-01

    Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) based ion thrusters with carbon based ion optics can potentially satisfy lifetime requirements for long duration missions (approximately 10 years) because grid erosion and cathode insert depletion issues are virtually eliminated. Though the ECR plasma discharge has been found to typically operate at slightly higher discharge losses than conventional DC ion thrusters (for high total thruster power applications), the discharge power fraction is small (less than 1 percent at 25 kW). In this regard, the benefits of increased life, low discharge plasma potentials, and reduced complexity are welcome tradeoffs for the associated discharge efficiency decrease. Presented here are results from discharge characterization of a large area ECR plasma source for gridded ion thruster applications. These measurements included load matching efficacy, bulk plasma properties via Langmuir probe, and plasma uniformity as measured using current probes distributed at the exit plane. A high degree of plasma uniformity was observed (flatness greater than 0.9). Additionally, charge state composition was qualitatively evaluated using emission spectroscopy. Plasma induced emission was dominated by xenon ion lines. No doubly charged xenon ions were detected.

  1. Co-axial discharges

    DOEpatents

    Luce, J. S.; Smith, L. P.

    1960-11-22

    An apparatus is described for producing coaxial arc discharges in an evacuated enclosure and within a strong, confining magnetic field. The arcs are maintained at a high potential difference. Electrons diffuse to the more positive arc from the negative arc, and positive ions diffuse from the more positive arc to the negative arc. Coaxial arc discharges have the advantuge that ions that return to strike the positive arc discharge will lose no energy since they do not strike a solid wall or electrode. These discharges are useful in confining an ionized plasma between the discharges and have the advantage of preventing impurities from the walls of the enclosure from entering the plasma area because of the arc barrier set up by the cylindrical outer arc. (auth)

  2. Plasma density enhancement in atmospheric-pressure dielectric-barrier discharges by high-voltage nanosecond pulse in the pulse-on period: a PIC simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sang, Chaofeng; Sun, Jizhong; Wang, Dezhen

    2010-02-01

    A particle-in-cell (PIC) plus Monte Carlo collision simulation is employed to investigate how a sustainable atmospheric pressure single dielectric-barrier discharge responds to a high-voltage nanosecond pulse (HVNP) further applied to the metal electrode. The results show that the HVNP can significantly increase the plasma density in the pulse-on period. The ion-induced secondary electrons can give rise to avalanche ionization in the positive sheath, which widens the discharge region and enhances the plasma density drastically. However, the plasma density stops increasing as the applied pulse lasts over certain time; therefore, lengthening the pulse duration alone cannot improve the discharge efficiency further. Physical reasons for these phenomena are then discussed.

  3. Non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma induces angiogenesis through reactive oxygen species.

    PubMed

    Arjunan, Krishna Priya; Friedman, Gary; Fridman, Alexander; Clyne, Alisa Morss

    2012-01-07

    Vascularization plays a key role in processes such as wound healing and tissue engineering. Non-thermal plasma, which primarily produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), has recently emerged as an efficient tool in medical applications including blood coagulation, sterilization and malignant cell apoptosis. Liquids and porcine aortic endothelial cells were treated with a non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma in vitro. Plasma treatment of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and serum-free medium increased ROS concentration in a dose-dependent manner, with a higher concentration observed in serum-free medium compared with PBS. Species concentration inside cells peaked 1 h after treatment, followed by a decrease 3 h post treatment. Endothelial cells treated with a plasma dose of 4.2 J cm(-2) had 1.7 times more cells than untreated samples 5 days after plasma treatment. The 4.2 J cm(-2) plasma dose increased two-dimensional migration distance by 40 per cent compared with untreated control, while the number of cells that migrated through a three-dimensional collagen gel increased by 15 per cent. Tube formation was also enhanced by plasma treatment, with tube lengths in plasma-treated samples measuring 2.6 times longer than control samples. A fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) neutralizing antibody and ROS scavengers abrogated these angiogenic effects. These data indicate that plasma enhanced proliferation, migration and tube formation is due to FGF-2 release induced by plasma-produced ROS. Non-thermal plasma may be used as a potential tool for applying ROS in precise doses to enhance vascularization.

  4. Non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma induces angiogenesis through reactive oxygen species

    PubMed Central

    Arjunan, Krishna Priya; Friedman, Gary; Fridman, Alexander; Clyne, Alisa Morss

    2012-01-01

    Vascularization plays a key role in processes such as wound healing and tissue engineering. Non-thermal plasma, which primarily produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), has recently emerged as an efficient tool in medical applications including blood coagulation, sterilization and malignant cell apoptosis. Liquids and porcine aortic endothelial cells were treated with a non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma in vitro. Plasma treatment of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and serum-free medium increased ROS concentration in a dose-dependent manner, with a higher concentration observed in serum-free medium compared with PBS. Species concentration inside cells peaked 1 h after treatment, followed by a decrease 3 h post treatment. Endothelial cells treated with a plasma dose of 4.2 J cm–2 had 1.7 times more cells than untreated samples 5 days after plasma treatment. The 4.2 J cm–2 plasma dose increased two-dimensional migration distance by 40 per cent compared with untreated control, while the number of cells that migrated through a three-dimensional collagen gel increased by 15 per cent. Tube formation was also enhanced by plasma treatment, with tube lengths in plasma-treated samples measuring 2.6 times longer than control samples. A fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) neutralizing antibody and ROS scavengers abrogated these angiogenic effects. These data indicate that plasma enhanced proliferation, migration and tube formation is due to FGF-2 release induced by plasma-produced ROS. Non-thermal plasma may be used as a potential tool for applying ROS in precise doses to enhance vascularization. PMID:21653568

  5. The predictive value of plasma biomarkers in discharged heart failure patients: role of plasma NT-proBNP.

    PubMed

    Leto, Laura; Testa, Marzia; Feola, Mauro

    2016-04-01

    Natriuretic peptides (NPs) have demonstrated their value to support clinical diagnosis of heart failure (HF); furthermore they are also studied for their prognostic role using them to guide appropriate management strategies. The present review gathers available evidence on prognostic role of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). We searched Medline for English-language studies with the sequent key-words: "acute heart failure/acute decompensated heart failure", "NT-proBNP/N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide" and "prognosis/mortality/readmission". Almost 30 studies were included. NT-proBNP plasma levels at admission are strongly associated with all-cause short-term mortality (2-3 months), mid-term (6-11 months) or long- term mortality (more than one year) of follow-up. Regarding the prognostic power on cardiac death fewer data are available with uncertain results. NT-proBNP at discharge demonstrated its prognostic role for all-cause mortality at mid and long-term follow-up. The relation between NT-proBNP at discharge and cardiovascular mortality or composite end-point is under investigation. A decrease in NT-proBNP values during hospitalization provided prognostic prospects mainly for cardiovascular mortality and HF readmission. A 30% variation in NT-proBNP levels during in-hospital stay seemed to be an optimal cut-off for prognostic role. SNT-proBNP plasma levels proved to have a strong correlation with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, morbidity and composite outcomes in patients discharged after an ADHF. A better definition of the correct time of serial measurements and the cut-off values might be the challenge for the future investigations.

  6. Charging of moving surfaces by corona discharges sustained in air

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Jun-Chieh, E-mail: junchwan@umich.edu; Kushner, Mark J., E-mail: mjkush@umich.edu; Zhang, Daihua, E-mail: dhzhang@tju.edu.cn

    Atmospheric pressure corona discharges are used in electrophotographic (EP) printing technologies for charging imaging surfaces such as photoconductors. A typical corona discharge consists of a wire (or wire array) biased with a few hundred volts of dc plus a few kV of ac voltage. An electric discharge is produced around the corona wire from which electrons drift towards and charge the underlying dielectric surface. The surface charging reduces the voltage drop across the gap between the corona wire and the dielectric surface, which then terminates the discharge, as in a dielectric barrier discharge. In printing applications, this underlying surface ismore » continuously moving throughout the charging process. For example, previously charged surfaces, which had reduced the local electric field and terminated the local discharge, are translated out of the field of view and are replaced with uncharged surface. The uncharged surface produces a rebound in the electric field in the vicinity of the corona wire which in turn results in re-ignition of the discharge. The discharge, so reignited, is then asymmetric. We found that in the idealized corona charging system we investigated, a negatively dc biased corona blade with a dielectric covered ground electrode, the discharge is initially sustained by electron impact ionization from the bulk plasma and then dominated by ionization from sheath accelerated secondary electrons. Depending on the speed of the underlying surface, the periodic re-ignition of the discharge can produce an oscillatory charging pattern on the moving surface.« less

  7. Design and development of a low cost, high current density power supply for streamer free atmospheric pressure DBD plasma generation in air.

    PubMed

    Jain, Vishal; Visani, Anand; Srinivasan, R; Agarwal, Vivek

    2018-03-01

    This paper presents a new power supply architecture for generating a uniform dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma in air medium at atmospheric pressure. It is quite a challenge to generate atmospheric pressure uniform glow discharge plasma, especially in air. This is because air plasma needs very high voltage for initiation of discharge. If the high voltage is used along with high current density, it leads to the formation of streamers, which is undesirable for most applications like textile treatment, etc. Researchers have tried to generate high-density plasma using a RF source, nanosecond pulsed DC source, and medium frequency AC source. However, these solutions suffer from low current discharge and low efficiency due to the addition of an external resistor to control the discharge current. Moreover, they are relatively costly and bulky. This paper presents a new power supply configuration which is very compact and generates high average density (∼0.28 W/cm 2 ) uniform glow DBD plasma in air at atmospheric pressure. The efficiency is also higher as no external resistor is required to control the discharge current. An inherent feature of this topology is that it can drive higher current oscillations (∼50 A peak and 2-3 MHz frequency) into the plasma that damp out due to the plasma dissipation only. A newly proposed model has been used with experimental validation in this paper. Simulations and experimental validation of the proposed topology are included. Also, the application of the generated plasma for polymer film treatment is demonstrated.

  8. Design and development of a low cost, high current density power supply for streamer free atmospheric pressure DBD plasma generation in air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jain, Vishal; Visani, Anand; Srinivasan, R.; Agarwal, Vivek

    2018-03-01

    This paper presents a new power supply architecture for generating a uniform dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma in air medium at atmospheric pressure. It is quite a challenge to generate atmospheric pressure uniform glow discharge plasma, especially in air. This is because air plasma needs very high voltage for initiation of discharge. If the high voltage is used along with high current density, it leads to the formation of streamers, which is undesirable for most applications like textile treatment, etc. Researchers have tried to generate high-density plasma using a RF source, nanosecond pulsed DC source, and medium frequency AC source. However, these solutions suffer from low current discharge and low efficiency due to the addition of an external resistor to control the discharge current. Moreover, they are relatively costly and bulky. This paper presents a new power supply configuration which is very compact and generates high average density (˜0.28 W/cm2) uniform glow DBD plasma in air at atmospheric pressure. The efficiency is also higher as no external resistor is required to control the discharge current. An inherent feature of this topology is that it can drive higher current oscillations (˜50 A peak and 2-3 MHz frequency) into the plasma that damp out due to the plasma dissipation only. A newly proposed model has been used with experimental validation in this paper. Simulations and experimental validation of the proposed topology are included. Also, the application of the generated plasma for polymer film treatment is demonstrated.

  9. Influence of Plasma Jet Temperature Profiles in Arc Discharge Methods of Carbon Nanotubes Synthesis

    PubMed Central

    Raniszewski, Grzegorz; Wiak, Slawomir; Pietrzak, Lukasz; Szymanski, Lukasz; Kolacinski, Zbigniew

    2017-01-01

    One of the most common methods of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesis is application of an electric-arc plasma. However, the final product in the form of cathode deposit is composed of carbon nanotubes and a variety of carbon impurities. An assay of carbon nanotubes produced in arc discharge systems available on the market shows that commercial cathode deposits contain about 10% CNTs. Given that the quality of the final product depends on carbon–plasma jet parameters, it is possible to increase the yield of the synthesis by plasma jet control. Most of the carbon nanotubes are multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). It was observed that the addition of catalysts significantly changes the plasma composition, effective ionization potential, the arc channel conductance, and in effect temperature of the arc and carbon elements flux. This paper focuses on the influence of metal components on plasma-jet forming containing carbon nanotubes cathode deposit. The plasma jet temperature control system is presented. PMID:28336884

  10. Influence of Plasma Jet Temperature Profiles in Arc Discharge Methods of Carbon Nanotubes Synthesis.

    PubMed

    Raniszewski, Grzegorz; Wiak, Slawomir; Pietrzak, Lukasz; Szymanski, Lukasz; Kolacinski, Zbigniew

    2017-02-23

    One of the most common methods of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesis is application of an electric-arc plasma. However, the final product in the form of cathode deposit is composed of carbon nanotubes and a variety of carbon impurities. An assay of carbon nanotubes produced in arc discharge systems available on the market shows that commercial cathode deposits contain about 10% CNTs. Given that the quality of the final product depends on carbon-plasma jet parameters, it is possible to increase the yield of the synthesis by plasma jet control. Most of the carbon nanotubes are multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). It was observed that the addition of catalysts significantly changes the plasma composition, effective ionization potential, the arc channel conductance, and in effect temperature of the arc and carbon elements flux. This paper focuses on the influence of metal components on plasma-jet forming containing carbon nanotubes cathode deposit. The plasma jet temperature control system is presented.

  11. Dose-current discharge correlation analysis in a Mather type Plasma Focus device for medical applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sumini, M.; Mostacci, D.; Tartari, A.; Mazza, A.; Cucchi, G.; Isolan, L.; Buontempo, F.; Zironi, I.; Castellani, G.

    2017-11-01

    In a Plasma Focus device the plasma collapses into the pinch where it reaches thermonuclear conditions for a few tens of nanoseconds, becoming a multi-radiation source. The nature of the radiation generated depends on the gas filling the chamber and the device working parameters. The self-collimated electron beam generated in the backward direction with respect to the plasma motion is one of the main radiation sources of interest also for medical applications. The electron beam may be guided against a high Z material target to produce an X-ray beam. This technique offers an ultra-high dose rate source of X-rays, able to deliver during the pinch a massive dose (up to 1 Gy per discharge for the PFMA-3 test device), as measured with EBT3 GafchromicⒸfilm tissue equivalent dosimeters. Given the stochastic behavior of the discharge process, a reliable on-line estimate of the dose-delivered is a very challenging task, in some way preventing a systematic application as a potentially interesting therapy device. This work presents an approach to linking the dose registered by the EBT3 GafchromicⒸfilms with the information contained in the signal recorded during the current discharge process. Processing the signal with the Wigner-Ville distribution, a spectrogram was obtained, displaying the information on intensity at various frequency scales, identifying the band of frequencies representative of the pinch events and define some patterns correlated with the dose.

  12. Transfer of a cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet through a long flexible plastic tube

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kostov, Konstantin G.; Machida, Munemasa; Prysiazhnyi, Vadym; Honda, Roberto Y.

    2015-04-01

    This work proposes an experimental configuration for the generation of a cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet at the downstream end of a long flexible plastic tube. The device consists of a cylindrical dielectric chamber where an insulated metal rod that serves as high-voltage electrode is inserted. The chamber is connected to a long (up to 4 m) commercial flexible plastic tube, equipped with a thin floating Cu wire. The wire penetrates a few mm inside the discharge chamber, passes freely (with no special support) along the plastic tube and terminates a few millimeters before the tube end. The system is flushed with Ar and the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is ignited inside the dielectric chamber by a low frequency ac power supply. The gas flow is guided by the plastic tube while the metal wire, when in contact with the plasma inside the DBD reactor, acquires plasma potential. There is no discharge inside the plastic tube, however an Ar plasma jet can be extracted from the downstream tube end. The jet obtained by this method is cold enough to be put in direct contact with human skin without an electric shock. Therefore, by using this approach an Ar plasma jet can be generated at the tip of a long plastic tube far from the high-voltage discharge region, which provides the safe operation conditions and device flexibility required for medical treatment.

  13. Current-voltage characteristics of a cathodic plasma contactor with discharge chamber for application in electrodynamic tether propulsion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, Kan; Martinez, Rafael A.; Williams, John D.

    2014-04-01

    This paper focuses on the net electron-emission current as a function of bias voltage of a plasma source that is being used as the cathodic element in a bare electrodynamic tether system. An analysis is made that enables an understanding of the basic issues determining the current-voltage (C-V) behaviour. This is important for the efficiency of the electrodynamic tether and for low impedance performance without relying on the properties of space plasma for varying orbital altitudes, inclinations, day-night cycles or the position of the plasma contactor relative to the wake of the spacecraft. The cathodic plasma contactor considered has a cylindrical discharge chamber (10 cm in diameter and ˜11 cm in length) and is driven by a hollow cathode. Experiments and a 1D spherical model are both used to study the contactor's C-V curves. The experiments demonstrate how the cathodic contactor would emit electrons into space for anode voltages in the range of 25-40 V, discharge currents in the range of 1-2.5 A, and low xenon gas flows of 2-4 sccm. Plasma properties are measured and compared with (3 A) and without net electron emission. A study of the dependence of relevant parameters found that the C-V behaviour strongly depends on electron temperature, initial ion energy and ion emission current at the contactor exit. However, it depended only weakly on ambient plasma density. The error in the developed model compared with the experimental C-V curves is within 5% at low electron-emission currents (0-2 A). The external ionization processes and high ion production rate caused by the discharge chamber, which dominate the C-V behaviour at electron-emission currents over 2 A, are further highlighted and discussed.

  14. Plasma inhomogeneities near the electrodes of a capacitively-coupled radio-frequency discharge containing dust particles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tawidian, H.; Mikikian, M.; Couëdel, L.; Lecas, T.

    2011-11-01

    Small plasma spheroids are evidenced and analyzed in front of the electrodes of a capacitively-coupled radio-frequency discharge in which dust particles are growing. These regions are characterized by a spherical shape, a slightly enhanced luminosity and are related to instabilities induced by the presence of dust particles. Several types of behaviors are identified and particularly their chaotic appearance or disappearance and their rotational motion along the electrode periphery. Correlations with the unstable behavior of the global plasma glow are performed. These analyses are obtained thanks to high-speed imaging which is the only diagnostics able to evidence these plasma spheroids.

  15. Megawatt low-temperature DC plasma generator with divergent channels of gas-discharge tract

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gadzhiev, M. Kh.; Isakaev, E. Kh.; Tyuftyaev, A. S.; Yusupov, D. I.; Sargsyan, M. A.

    2017-04-01

    We have developed and studied a new effective megawatt double-unit generator of low-temperature argon plasma, which belongs to the class of dc plasmatrons and comprises the cathode and anode units with divergent gas-discharge channels. The generator has an efficiency of about 80-85% and ensures a long working life at operating currents up to 4000 A.

  16. The investigation of an electric arc in the long cylindrical channel of the powerful high-voltage AC plasma torch

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rutberg, Ph G.; Popov, S. D.; Surov, A. V.; Serba, E. O.; Nakonechny, Gh V.; Spodobin, V. A.; Pavlov, A. V.; Surov, A. V.

    2012-12-01

    The comparison of conductivity obtained in experiments with calculated values is made in this paper. Powerful stationary plasma torches with prolonged period of continuous work are popular for modern plasmachemical applications. The maximum electrode lifetime with the minimum erosion can be reached while working on rather low currents. Meanwhile it is required to provide voltage arc drop for the high power achievement. Electric field strength in the arc column of the high-voltage plasma torch, using air as a plasma-forming gas, does not exceed 15 V/cm. It is possible to obtain the high voltage drop in the long arc stabilized in the channel by the intensive gas flow under given conditions. Models of high voltage plasma torches with rod electrodes with power up to 50 kW have been developed and investigated. The plasma torch arcs are burning in cylindrical channels. Present investigations are directed at studying the possibility of developing long arc plasma torches with higher power. The advantage of AC power supplies usage is the possibility of the loss minimization due to the reactive power compensation. The theoretical maximum of voltage arc drop for power supplies with inductive current limitations is about 50 % of the no-load voltage for a single-phase circuit and about 30 % for the three-phase circuit. Burning of intensively blown arcs in the long cylindrical channel using the AC power supply with 10 kV no-load voltage is experimentally investigated in the work. Voltage drops close to the maximum possible had been reached in the examined arcs in single-phase and three-phase modes. Operating parameters for single-phase mode were: current -30 A, voltage drop -5 kV, air flow rate 35 g/s; for three-phase mode: current (40-85) A, voltage drop (2.5-3.2) kV, air flow rate (60-100) g/s. Arc length in the installations exceeded 2 m.

  17. CO-AXIAL DISCHARGES

    DOEpatents

    Luce, J.S.; Smith, L.P.

    1960-11-22

    A method and apparatus are given for producing coaxial arc discharges in an evacuated enclosure and within a strong, confining magnetic field. The arcs are maintained at a high potential difference. Electrons will diffuse to the more positive arc from the negative arc, and positive ions will diffuse from the more positive arc to the negative arc. Coaxial arc discharges have the advantage that ions which return to strike the positive arc discharge will lose no energy since they do not strike a solid wall or electrode. Those discharges are useful in confining an ionized plasma between the discharges, and have the advantage of preventing impurities from the walls of the enclosure from entering ihe plasma area because of the arc barrier set up bv the cylindrical outer arc.

  18. Study on the characteristics of hysteresis loop and resistance of glow discharge plasma using argon gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mathew, Prijil; Sajith Mathews, T.; Kurian, P. J.; Chattopadyay, P. K.

    2018-05-01

    Hysteresis in discharge current is produced in a low-pressure, magnetic field free, Glow discharge plasma by varying discharge voltage. The variation in area of the hysteresis loops with pressure, electrode distance and load resistor studied. To understand, the nonlinear behaviour of the I-V characteristics, the changes in gas resistance with electrode voltage, pressure and load resistor were studied. After many trials we propose the best suitable empirical equation for the exponential decrease of the gas resistance with electrode voltage as; R = Rmin + Ae-0.008V, which is a novel one and matches well with our experimental results.

  19. The relation between doses or post-plasma time points and apoptosis of leukemia cells induced by dielectric barrier discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Chao; Zhang, Haixia; Xue, Zhixiao; Yin, Huijuan; Niu, Qing; Chen, Hongli

    2015-12-01

    The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was applied to induce apoptosis of LT-12 leukemia cells. Plasma effects on cell death was evaluated by MTT assay and FCM apoptosis assay with Annexin V/PI double staining, suggesting that plasma killing cells rate and inducing cell apoptosis rate both positively were related to the plasma doses or the post-plasma time points. The cell death rates increased from 15.2% to 33.1% and the apoptosis rate raise from 23.8% to 28% when the dose raise from 60s to 120 s at 8 h post-plasma, while they increased from 15.4% to 34.9% and from 48% to 55.3% respectively at the same doses at 12 h post-plasma. Furthermore, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), gene and protein expression for Caspases and Bcl-2 family members were measured for exploring the related apoptotic mechanisms phenomenon. We found ROS immediately increased to 1.24 times of the original amount, then increasing to 5.39-fold at 20 h after treatment. The gene and protein expression for Caspases and Bcl-2 family members are very active at 8-12 h post-plasma. Our results demonstrate that DBD plasma can effectively induce tumor cell death through primarily related apoptotic mechanisms.

  20. Effect of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma on the biological activity of naringin.

    PubMed

    Kim, Hyun-Joo; Yong, Hae In; Park, Sanghoo; Kim, Kijung; Kim, Tae Hoon; Choe, Wonho; Jo, Cheorun

    2014-10-01

    The biological activity of naringin treated with atmospheric pressure plasma was evaluated to investigate whether exposure to plasma can be used as a method to improve the biological activity of natural materials. Naringin was dissolved in methanol (at 500 ppm) and transferred to a container. A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) (250 W, 15 kHz, ambient air) was then generated. Treatment with the plasma for 20 min increased the radical-scavenging activity, FRAP value, and the total phenolic compound content of naringin from 1.45% to 38.20%, from 27.78 to 207.78 μM/g, and from 172.50 to 225.83 ppm, respectively. Moreover, the tyrosinase-inhibition effect of naringin increased from 6.12% to 83.30% upon plasma treatment. Naringin treated with plasma exhibited antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens, especially Salmonella Typhimurium; an activity that was absent before plasma treatment. Structural modifications induced in the naringin molecule by plasma might be responsible for improving the biological activity of naringin. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. AE activity during transient beta drops in high poloidal beta discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, J.; Gong, X. Z.; Ren, Q. L.; Ding, S. Y.; Qian, J. P.; Pan, C. K.; Li, G. Q.; Heidbrink, W. W.; Garofalo, A. M.; McClenaghan, J.

    2016-10-01

    Enhanced AE activity has been observed during transient beta drops in high poloidal beta DIII-D discharges with internal transport barriers (ITBs). These drops in beta are believed to be caused by n=1 external kink modes. In some discharges, beta recovers within 200 ms but, in others, beta stays suppressed. A typical discharge has βP 3, qmin 3, and q95 12. The drop in beta affects both fast ions and thermal particles, and a drop is also observed in the density and rotation. The enhanced AE activity follows the instability that causes the beta drop, is largest at the lowest beta, and subsides as beta recovers. MHD stability analysis is planned. A database study of the plasma conditions associated with the collapse will be also presented. Supported in part by the US Department of Energy under DE-FC02-04ER54698, DE-AC05-06OR23100, and by the National Natural Science Foundation of China 11575249, and the National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Program of China No. 2015GB110005.

  2. Fast discharge in a spherical cavity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Antsiferov, P. S., E-mail: Ants@isan.troitsk.ru; Dorokhin, L. A.

    2014-04-15

    The work is devoted to the study of the plasma, created by a fast discharge in a spherical cavity. The discharge was driven by an inductive storage with plasma erosion opening switch (dI/dt ∼10{sup 12} A/s). The plasma was produced in a spherical cavity (alumina, 11 mm diameter). Xe, Ar, and He at the pressure 80 Pa were used as working gases. The time evolution of the spatial structure and of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectra of the discharge plasma was studied by means of micro channel plate detector. The discharges with Xe and Ar resulted in the stable appearance of the spherically shapedmore » plasma with the diameter about 1–3 mm. The plasma emission in the EUV region lasts ∼500 ns. The EUV spectrum of Ar discharge at the moment of maximum of the electron temperature T{sub e} contains the lines of Ar X (ionization potential 478.7 eV), that indicates a value of T{sub e} in the range 50–100 eV. The mechanism of plasma appearance can be the cumulation of the convergent spherical shock wave, generated by fast heat deposition and magnetic pressure in working media near the inner surface of the discharge volume.« less

  3. Influence of barrier on partial discharge activity by a conducting particle in liquid nitrogen under AC voltages adopting UHF technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sarathi, R.; Giridhar, A. V.; Sethupathi, K.

    2011-02-01

    The UHF signals are generated due to PD formed by particle movement in liquid nitrogen under AC voltages. The levitation voltage of a particle in liquid nitrogen measured through UHF technique and by conventional PD measurement technique is the same, confirming the sensitivity of UHF technique for identification of PD activity. The frequency content of UHF signal generated due to particle movement in liquid nitrogen, under AC voltages, lies in the range 0.5-1.5 GHz. The characteristics of UHF signal generated due to particle movement between the barrier and high voltage/ground electrode is much similar to the signal generated by particle movement in clean electrode gap. Pseudo resonance phenomena can occur in liquid nitrogen due to particle movement. It is also observed that the partial discharge magnitude, in general, be high when the particle moves between the barrier and high voltage electrode when compared to the barrier and the ground electrode. Percentage of clay in epoxy nanocomposites has not altered the levitation voltage of the particle in the electrode gap. Zero span analysis clearly indicates that pseudo resonance occurs when particle moves (in a short gap) between the barrier and high voltage/ground electrode.

  4. Overview of plasma technology used in medicine

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ryan, Thomas P.; Stalder, Kenneth R.; Woloszko, Jean

    2013-02-01

    Plasma Medicine is a growing field that is having an impact in several important areas in therapeutic patient care, combining plasma physics, biology, and clinical medicine. Historically, plasmas in medicine were used in electrosurgery for cautery and non-contact hemostasis. Presently, non-thermal plasmas have attained widespread use in medicine due to their effectiveness and compatibility with biological systems. The paper will give a general overview of how low temperature, non-equilibrium, gas plasmas operate, both from physics and biology perspectives. Plasma is commonly described as the fourth state of matter and is typically comprised of charged species, active molecules and atoms, as well as a source of UV and photons. The most active areas of plasma technology applications are in wound treatment; tissue regeneration; inactivation of pathogens, including biofilms; treating skin diseases; and sterilization. There are several means of generating plasmas for use in medical applications, including plasma jets, dielectric barrier discharges, capacitively or inductively coupled discharges, or microplasmas. These systems overcome the former constraints of high vacuum, high power requirements and bulky systems, into systems that use room air and other gases and liquids at low temperature, low power, and hand-held operation at atmospheric pressure. Systems will be discussed using a variety of energy sources: pulsed DC, AC, microwave and radiofrequency, as well as the range of frequency, pulse duration, and gas combinations in an air environment. The ionic clouds and reactive species will be covered in terms of effects on biological systems. Lastly, several commercial products will be overviewed in light of the technology utilized, health care problems being solved, and clinical trial results.

  5. Effect of the scheme of plasmachemical processes on the calculated characteristics of a barrier discharge in xenon

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Avtaeva, S. V.; Kulumbaev, E. B.

    2008-06-15

    The dynamics of a repetitive barrier discharge in xenon at a pressure of 400 Torr is simulated using a one-dimensional drift-diffusion model. The thicknesses of identical barriers with a dielectric constant of 4 are 2 mm, and the gap length is 4 mm. The discharge is fed with an 8-kV ac voltage at a frequency of 25 or 50 kHz. The development of the ionization wave and the breakdown and afterglow phases of a barrier discharge are analyzed using two different kinetic schemes of elementary processes in a xenon plasma. It is shown that the calculated waveforms of the dischargemore » voltage and current, the instant of breakdown, and the number of breakdowns per voltage half-period depend substantially on the properties of the kinetic scheme of plasmachemical processes.« less

  6. Laser guiding of Tesla coil high voltage discharges.

    PubMed

    Henriksson, Markus; Daigle, Jean-Francois; Théberge, Francis; Châteauneuf, Marc; Dubois, Jacques

    2012-06-04

    We have investigated the guiding and triggering of discharges from a Tesla coil type 280 kHz AC high voltage source using filaments created by a femtosecond Terawatt laser pulse. Without the laser the discharges were maximum 30 cm long. With the laser straight, guided discharges up to 110 cm length were detected. The discharge length was limited by the voltage amplitude of the Tesla coil.

  7. Demonstrating the Physics Basis for the ITER 15 MA Inductive Discharge on Alcator C-Mod

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kessel, C. E.; Wolfe, S. M.; Hutchinson, I. H.; Hughes, J. W.; Lin, Y.; Ma, Y.; Mikkelsen, D. R.; Poli, F.; Reinke, M. L.; Wukitch, S. J.

    2012-10-01

    Rampup discharges in C-Mod, matching ITE's current diffusion times show ICRF heating can save V-s but results in only weak effects on the current profile, despite strong modifications of the central electron temperature. Simulation of these discharges with TSC, and TORIC for ICRF, using multiple transport models, do not reproduce the temperature profile evolution, or the experimental internal self-inductance li, by sufficiently large amounts to be unacceptable for projections to ITER operation. For the flattop phase experiments EDA H-modes approach the ITER parameter targets of q95=3, H98=1, n/nGr=0.85, betaN=1.7, and k=1.8, and sustain them similar to a normalized ITER flattop time. The discharges show a degradation of energy confinement at higher densities, but increasing H98 with increasing net power to the plasma. For these discharges intrinsic impurities (B, Mo) provided radiated power fractions of 25-37%. Experiments show the plasma can remain in H-mode in rampdown with ICRF injection, the density will decrease with Ip while in the H-mode, and the back transition occurs when the net power reaches about half the L-H transition power. C-Mod indicates that faster rampdowns are preferable. Work supported by US Dept of Energy under DE-AC02-CH0911466 and DE-FC02-99ER54512.

  8. Degradation of pentachlorophenol in soil by pulsed corona discharge plasma.

    PubMed

    Wang, Tie Cheng; Lu, Na; Li, Jie; Wu, Yan

    2010-08-15

    The remediation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) contaminated soil using pulsed corona discharge plasma was reported in this study. The effect of practical run parameters such as peak pulse voltage, pulse frequency, gas atmospheres (air, O(2), Ar and N(2)), air flow rate and pollution time on PCP degradation was investigated, and the intermediate products were also studied. The results indicated that PCP degradation efficiency increased with an increase in peak pulse voltage or pulse frequency, due to the enhancement of energy input. There existed a maximal PCP degradation efficiency with the change of air flow rate. PCP degradation efficiencies under oxygen and air atmospheres were achieved 92% and 77% after 45 min of discharge treatment at 14.0 kV, respectively, which were only 19% and 8% under argon and nitrogen atmospheres, respectively. O(3) played an important role in PCP degradation. However, other processes also contributed to PCP degradation, such as N, N(2)(+), N(+) and OH. The pollution time evidenced slight influence on PCP degradation. The main intermediate products produced during the treatment process were identified as tetrachlorocatechol, tetrachlorohydroquinone, acetic acid, formic acid and oxalic acid by HPLC/MS and ion chromatography. This study is expected to provide reference for the application of pulsed corona discharge in soil remediation. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Photocatalytic Degradation Effect of μ-Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Treated Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Environmental Contaminant.

    PubMed

    Seo, Hyeon Jin; Hwang, Ki-Hwan; Na, Young Hoon; Boo, Jin-Hyo

    2018-09-01

    This study focused on the photocatalytic degradation effect of the μ-dielectric barrier discharge (μ-DBD) plasma treated titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on environmental contaminant such as formaldehyde. TiO2 nanoparticles were treated by a μ-DBD plasma source with nitrogen gas. We analyzed the degradation of formaldehyde with the plasma treated TiO2 nanoparticles by UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV-VIS), and demonstrated that the photocatalytic activity of the μ-DBD plasma-treated TiO2 nanoparticles showed significantly high catalytic efficiency rather than without plasma treated TiO2 nanoparticles. Field emission scanning electron microscopes (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and water contact angle analyzer were used to measure the effects of photocatalytic degradation for the plasma treated TiO2 nanoparticles.

  10. Plasma microreactor in supercritical xenon and its application to diamondoid synthesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oshima, F.; Stauss, S.; Ishii, C.; Pai, D. Z.; Terashima, K.

    2012-10-01

    The generation of plasmas in a microreactor is demonstrated in xenon from atmospheric pressure up to supercritical conditions. Ac high voltage at a frequency of 15 kHz was applied across a 25-µm discharge gap between a tungsten wire and a fused silica micro-capillary tube in a coaxial configuration. Using this continuous flow supercritical fluid microreactor, it was possible to synthesize diamantane and other diamondoids up to nonamantane, using adamantane as a precursor and seed. It is anticipated that plasmas generated in supercritical fluid microreactors may not only allow faster fabrication of diamondoids, but also offer opportunities for the fabrication of other nanomaterials.

  11. Time-resolved characteristics of deuteron-beam generated by plasma focus discharge.

    PubMed

    Lim, Lian-Kuang; Yap, Seong-Ling; Bradley, D A

    2018-01-01

    The plasma focus device discussed herein is a Z-pinch pulsed-plasma arrangement. In this, the plasma is heated and compressed into a cylindrical column, producing a typical density of > 1025 particles/m3 and a temperature of (1-3) × 107 oC. The plasma focus has been widely investigated as a radiation source, including as ion-beams, electron-beams and as a source of x-ray and neutron production, providing considerable scope for use in a variety of technological situations. Thus said, the nature of the radiation emission depends on the dynamics of the plasma pinch. In this study of the characteristics of deuteron-beam emission, in terms of energy, fluence and angular distribution were analyzed. The 2.7 kJ plasma focus discharge has been made to operate at a pressure of less than 1 mbar rather than at its more conventional operating pressure of a few mbar. Faraday cup were used to determine deuteron-beam energy and deuteron-beam fluence per shot while CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors were employed in studying the angular distribution of deuteron emission. Beam energy and deuteron-beam fluence per shot have been found to be pressure dependent. The largest value of average deuteron energy measured for present conditions was found to be (52 ± 7) keV, while the deuteron-beam fluence per shot was of the order of 1015 ions/m2 when operated at a pressure of 0.2 mbar. The deuteron-beam emission is in the forward direction and is observed to be highly anisotropic.

  12. Time-resolved characteristics of deuteron-beam generated by plasma focus discharge

    PubMed Central

    Bradley, D. A.

    2018-01-01

    The plasma focus device discussed herein is a Z-pinch pulsed-plasma arrangement. In this, the plasma is heated and compressed into a cylindrical column, producing a typical density of > 1025 particles/m3 and a temperature of (1–3) × 107 oC. The plasma focus has been widely investigated as a radiation source, including as ion-beams, electron-beams and as a source of x-ray and neutron production, providing considerable scope for use in a variety of technological situations. Thus said, the nature of the radiation emission depends on the dynamics of the plasma pinch. In this study of the characteristics of deuteron-beam emission, in terms of energy, fluence and angular distribution were analyzed. The 2.7 kJ plasma focus discharge has been made to operate at a pressure of less than 1 mbar rather than at its more conventional operating pressure of a few mbar. Faraday cup were used to determine deuteron-beam energy and deuteron-beam fluence per shot while CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors were employed in studying the angular distribution of deuteron emission. Beam energy and deuteron-beam fluence per shot have been found to be pressure dependent. The largest value of average deuteron energy measured for present conditions was found to be (52 ± 7) keV, while the deuteron-beam fluence per shot was of the order of 1015 ions/m2 when operated at a pressure of 0.2 mbar. The deuteron-beam emission is in the forward direction and is observed to be highly anisotropic. PMID:29309425

  13. Skeletal Cell Differentiation Is Enhanced by Atmospheric Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Treatment

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jun; Kurpad, Deepa S.; Fridman, Gregory; Fridman, Alexander; Freeman, Theresa A.

    2013-01-01

    Enhancing chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation is of paramount importance in providing effective regenerative therapies and improving the rate of fracture healing. This study investigated the potential of non-thermal atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge plasma (NT-plasma) to enhance chondrocyte and osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. Although the exact mechanism by which NT-plasma interacts with cells is undefined, it is known that during treatment the atmosphere is ionized generating extracellular reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) and an electric field. Appropriate NT-plasma conditions were determined using lactate-dehydrogenase release, flow cytometric live/dead assay, flow cytometric cell cycle analysis, and Western blots to evaluate DNA damage and mitochondrial integrity. We observed that specific NT-plasma conditions were required to prevent cell death, and that loss of pre-osteoblastic cell viability was dependent on intracellular ROS and RNS production. To further investigate the involvement of intracellular ROS, fluorescent intracellular dyes Mitosox (superoxide) and dihydrorhodamine (peroxide) were used to assess onset and duration after NT-plasma treatment. Both intracellular superoxide and peroxide were found to increase immediately post NT-plasma treatment. These increases were sustained for one hour but returned to control levels by 24 hr. Using the same treatment conditions, osteogenic differentiation by NT-plasma was assessed and compared to peroxide or osteogenic media containing β-glycerolphosphate. Although both NT-plasma and peroxide induced differentiation-specific gene expression, neither was as effective as the osteogenic media. However, treatment of cells with NT-plasma after 24 hr in osteogenic or chondrogenic media significantly enhanced differentiation as compared to differentiation media alone. The results of this study show that NT-plasma can selectively initiate and amplify ROS signaling to enhance

  14. Skeletal cell differentiation is enhanced by atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment.

    PubMed

    Steinbeck, Marla J; Chernets, Natalie; Zhang, Jun; Kurpad, Deepa S; Fridman, Gregory; Fridman, Alexander; Freeman, Theresa A

    2013-01-01

    Enhancing chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation is of paramount importance in providing effective regenerative therapies and improving the rate of fracture healing. This study investigated the potential of non-thermal atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge plasma (NT-plasma) to enhance chondrocyte and osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. Although the exact mechanism by which NT-plasma interacts with cells is undefined, it is known that during treatment the atmosphere is ionized generating extracellular reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) and an electric field. Appropriate NT-plasma conditions were determined using lactate-dehydrogenase release, flow cytometric live/dead assay, flow cytometric cell cycle analysis, and Western blots to evaluate DNA damage and mitochondrial integrity. We observed that specific NT-plasma conditions were required to prevent cell death, and that loss of pre-osteoblastic cell viability was dependent on intracellular ROS and RNS production. To further investigate the involvement of intracellular ROS, fluorescent intracellular dyes Mitosox (superoxide) and dihydrorhodamine (peroxide) were used to assess onset and duration after NT-plasma treatment. Both intracellular superoxide and peroxide were found to increase immediately post NT-plasma treatment. These increases were sustained for one hour but returned to control levels by 24 hr. Using the same treatment conditions, osteogenic differentiation by NT-plasma was assessed and compared to peroxide or osteogenic media containing β-glycerolphosphate. Although both NT-plasma and peroxide induced differentiation-specific gene expression, neither was as effective as the osteogenic media. However, treatment of cells with NT-plasma after 24 hr in osteogenic or chondrogenic media significantly enhanced differentiation as compared to differentiation media alone. The results of this study show that NT-plasma can selectively initiate and amplify ROS signaling to enhance

  15. Electron-Driven Processes: From Single Collision Experiments to High-Pressure Discharge Plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Becker, Kurt

    2001-10-01

    Plasmas are complex systems which consist of various groups of interacting particles (neutral atoms and molecules in their ground states and in excite states, electrons, and positive and negative ions). In principle, one needs to understand and describe all interactions between these particles in order to model the properties of the plasma and to predict its behavior. However, two-body interactions are often the only processes of relevance and only a subset of all possible collisional interactions are important. The focus of this talk is on collisional and radiative processes in low-temperature plasmas, both at low and high pressures. We will limit the discussion (i) to ionization and dissociation processes in molecular low-pressure plasmas and (ii) to collisional and radiative processes in high-pressure plasmas in rare gases and mixtures of rare gases and N2, O2, and H2. Electron-impact dissociation processes can be divided into dissociative excitation and dissociation into neutral ground-state fragments. Neutral molecular dissociation has only recently received attention from experimentalists and theorists because of the serious difficulties associated with the investigation of these processes. Collisional and radiative processes in high-pressure plasmas provide a fertile environment to the study of interactions that go beyond binary collisions involving ground-state species. Step-wise processes and three-body collisions begin to dominate the behavior of such plasmas. We will discuss examples of such processes as they relate to high-pressure rare gas discharge plasmas. Work supported by NSF, DOE, DARPA, NASA, and ABA Inc.

  16. A comparative study for the inactivation of multidrug resistance bacteria using dielectric barrier discharge and nano-second pulsed plasma

    PubMed Central

    Hoon Park, Ji; Kumar, Naresh; Hoon Park, Dae; Yusupov, Maksudbek; Neyts, Erik C.; Verlackt, Christof C. W.; Bogaerts, Annemie; Ho Kang, Min; Sup Uhm, Han; Ha Choi, Eun; Attri, Pankaj

    2015-01-01

    Bacteria can be inactivated through various physical and chemical means, and these have always been the focus of extensive research. To further improve the methodology for these ends, two types of plasma systems were investigated: nano-second pulsed plasma (NPP) as liquid discharge plasma and an Argon gas-feeding dielectric barrier discharge (Ar-DBD) as a form of surface plasma. To understand the sterilizing action of these two different plasma sources, we performed experiments with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria (wild type) and multidrug resistant bacteria (Penicillum-resistant, Methicillin-resistant and Gentamicin-resistant). We observed that both plasma sources can inactivate both the wild type and multidrug-resistant bacteria to a good extent. Moreover, we observed a change in the surface morphology, gene expression and β-lactamase activity. Furthermore, we used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate the variation in functional groups (C-H/C-C, C-OH and C=O) of the peptidoglycan (PG) resulting from exposure to plasma species. To obtain atomic scale insight in the plasma-cell interactions and support our experimental observations, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations to study the effects of plasma species, such as OH, H2O2, O, O3, as well as O2 and H2O, on the dissociation/formation of above mentioned functional groups in PG. PMID:26351132

  17. Study on optical emission analysis of AC air water discharges under He, Ar and N2 environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, J. Y.; Kostyuk, P. V.; Han, S. B.; Kim, J. S.; Vu, C. N.; Lee, H. W.

    2006-09-01

    In this paper, hybrid air-water discharges were used to develop an optimal condition for providing a high level of water decomposition for hydrogen evolution. Electrical and optical phenomena accompanying the discharges were investigated along with feeding gases, flow rates and point-to-plane electrode gap distance. The experiments were primarily focused on the optical emission of the near UV range, providing a sufficient energy threshold for water dissociation and excitation. The OH(A 2Σ+ → X 2Π, Δν = 0) band optical emission intensity indicated the presence of plasma chemical reactions involving hydrogen formation. Despite the fact that energy input was high, the OH(A-X) optical emission was found to be negligible at the zero gap distance between the tip of the metal rod and water surface. In the gas atmosphere saturated with water vapour the OH(A-X) intensity was relatively high compared with the liquid and transient phases although the optical emission strongly depended on the flow rate and type of feeding gas. The gas phase was found to be more favourable because of less energy consumption in the cases of He and Ar carrier gases, and quenching mechanisms of oxygen in the N2 carrier gas atmosphere, preventing hydrogen from recombining with oxygen. In the gas phase the discharge was at a steady state, in contrast to the other phases, in which bubbles interrupted propagation of the plasma channel. Optical emission intensity of OH(A-X) band increased according to the flow rate or residence time of the He feeding gas. Nevertheless, a reciprocal tendency was acquired for N2 and Ar carrier gases. The peak value of OH(A-X) band optical emission intensity was observed near the water surface; however in the cases of Ar and N2 with a 0.5 SLM flow rate, it was shifted below the water surface. Rotational temperature was estimated to be in the range of 900-3600 K, according to the carrier gas and flow rate, which is sufficient for hydrogen production.

  18. Analysis of Ar plasma jets induced by single and double dielectric barrier discharges at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Judée, F.; Merbahi, N.; Wattieaux, G.; Yousfi, M.

    2016-09-01

    The aim is the comparison of different plasma parameters of single and double dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet configurations (S-DBD and D-DBD) which are potentially usable in biomedical applications. Both configurations are studied in terms of electric field distribution, electrical discharge characteristics, plasma parameters (estimated by optical emission spectroscopy analysis), and hydrodynamics of the plasma jet for electrical parameters of power supplies corresponding to an applied voltage of 10 kV, pulse duration of 1 μs, frequency of 9.69 kHz, and Ar flow of 2 l/min. We observed that the D-DBD configuration requires half the electrical power one needs to provide in the S-DBD case to generate a plasma jet with similar characteristics: excitation temperature around 4700 K, electron density around 2.5 × 1014 cm-3, gas temperature of about 320 K, a relatively high atomic oxygen concentration reaching up to 1000 ppm, the presence of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (nitric oxide, hydroxyl radical, and atomic oxygen), and an irradiance in the UV-C range of about 20 μW cm-2. Moreover, it has been observed that D-DBD plasma jet is more sensitive to short pulse durations, probably due to the charge accumulation over the dielectric barrier around the internal electrode. This results in a significantly longer plasma length in the D-DBD configuration than in the S-DBD one up to a critical flow rate (2.25 l/min) before the occurrence of turbulence in the D-DBD case. Conversely, ionization wave velocities are significantly higher in the S-DBD setup (3.35 × 105 m/s against 1.02 × 105 m/s for D-DBD), probably due to the higher electrostatic field close to the high voltage electrode in the S-DBD plasma jet.

  19. Dynamics of Ion Beam Charge Neutralization by Ferroelectric Plasma Sources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stepanov, Anton D.; Gilson, Erik P.; Grisham, Larry R.; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Davidson, Ronald C.; Ji, Qing; Persaud, Arun; Seidl, Peter A.; Schenkel, Thomas

    2016-10-01

    Ferroelectric Plasma Sources (FEPSs) can generate plasma that provides effective space-charge neutralization of intense high-perveance ion beams. Here we present experimental results on charge neutralization of a high-perveance 38 keV Ar+ beam by a FEPS plasma. By comparing the measured beam radius with the envelope model for space-charge expansion, it is shown that a charge neutralization fraction of 98% is attainable. The transverse electrostatic potential of the ion beam is reduced from 15 V before neutralization to 0.3 V, implying that the energy of the neutralizing electrons is below 0.3 eV. Near-complete charge neutralization is established 5 μs after the driving pulse is applied to the FEPS, and can last for 35 μs. It is argued that the duration of neutralization is much longer than a reasonable lifetime of the plasma produced in the sub- μs surface discharge. Measurements of current flow in the driving circuit of the FEPS suggest that plasma can be generated for tens of μs after the high voltage pulse is applied. This is confirmed by fast photography of the plasma in the 1-meter long FEPS on NDCX-II, where effective charge neutralization of the beam was achieved with the optimized FEPS timing. This work was supported by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy under contracts DE-AC0209CH11466 (PPPL) and DE-AC0205CH11231 (LBNL).

  20. Fractal structure of low-temperature plasma of arc discharge as a consequence of the interaction of current sheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smolanov, N. A.

    2016-01-01

    The structure of the particles deposited from the plasma arc discharge were studied. The flow of plasma spreading from the cathode spot to the walls of the vacuum chamber. Electric and magnetic fields to influence the plasma flow. The fractal nature of the particles from the plasma identified by small-angle X-ray scattering. Possible cause of their formation is due to the instability of the growth front and nonequilibrium conditions for their production - a high speed transition of the vapor-liquid-solid or vapor - crystal. The hypothesis of a plasma arc containing dust particles current sheets was proposed.

  1. Fundamental experiment of ion thruster using ECR discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yasui, Toshiaki; Kitayama, Jiro; Tahara, Hirokazu; Onoe, Ken-Ichi; Yoshikawa, Takao

    A microwave ion thruster has the potential to overcome a lifetime problem of electric propulsion by eliminating electrodes. Two types of microwave ion thruster have been investigated to examine the operational characteristics. The one is the thruster using cavity-resonance microwave discharge, and the other is the thruster using Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) discharge. Cavity-resonance microwave discharge produced plasmas by strong electric field in the resonant cavity and sustained plasmas at argon mass flow rates above 10 sccm. However, ECR discharge was capable of sustaining plasmas at lower mass flow rate, because ECR discharge efficiently produced plasmas by resonance absorption. From these generated microwave plasmas, ions were electrostatically extracted by two multiaperture grids. In ECR discharge, the maximum ion beam current of 75 mA and the highest mass utilization efficiency of 18.7% were achieved at a total extraction voltage of 950 V.

  2. Three-dimensional modeling of the neutral gas depletion effect in a helicon discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kollasch, Jeffrey; Schmitz, Oliver; Norval, Ryan; Reiter, Detlev; Sovinec, Carl

    2016-10-01

    Helicon discharges provide an attractive radio-frequency driven regime for plasma, but neutral-particle dynamics present a challenge to extending performance. A neutral gas depletion effect occurs when neutrals in the plasma core are not replenished at a sufficient rate to sustain a higher plasma density. The Monte Carlo neutral particle tracking code EIRENE was setup for the MARIA helicon experiment at UW Madison to study its neutral particle dynamics. Prescribed plasma temperature and density profiles similar to those in the MARIA device are used in EIRENE to investigate the main causes of the neutral gas depletion effect. The most dominant plasma-neutral interactions are included so far, namely electron impact ionization of neutrals, charge exchange interactions of neutrals with plasma ions, and recycling at the wall. Parameter scans show how the neutral depletion effect depends on parameters such as Knudsen number, plasma density and temperature, and gas-surface interaction accommodation coefficients. Results are compared to similar analytic studies in the low Knudsen number limit. Plans to incorporate a similar Monte Carlo neutral model into a larger helicon modeling framework are discussed. This work is funded by the NSF CAREER Award PHY-1455210.

  3. Control of plasma properties in a short direct-current glow discharge with active boundaries

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Adams, S. F.; Demidov, V. I., E-mail: vladimir.demidov@mail.wvu.edu; West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506

    2016-02-15

    To demonstrate controlling electron/metastable density ratio and electron temperature by applying negative voltages to the active (conducting) discharge wall in a low-pressure plasma with nonlocal electron energy distribution function, modeling has been performed in a short (lacking the positive-column region) direct-current glow discharge with a cold cathode. The applied negative voltage can modify the trapping of the low-energy part of the energetic electrons that are emitted from the cathode sheath and that arise from the atomic and molecular processes in the plasma within the device volume. These electrons are responsible for heating the slow, thermal electrons, while production of slowmore » electrons (ions) and metastable atoms is mostly due to the energetic electrons with higher energies. Increasing electron temperature results in increasing decay rate of slow, thermal electrons (ions), while decay rate of metastable atoms and production rates of slow electrons (ions) and metastable atoms practically are unchanged. The result is in the variation of electron/metastable density ratio and electron temperature with the variation of the wall negative voltage.« less

  4. Study of the physical discharge properties of a Ar/O2 DC plasma jet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barkhordari, A.; Ganjovi, A.; Mirzaei, I.; Falahat, A.

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, the physical properties of plasma discharge in a manufactured DC plasma jet operating with the Ar/O2 gaseous mixture are studied. Moreover, the optical emission spectroscopy technique is used to perform the experimental measurements. The obtained emission spectra are analyzed and, the plasma density, rotational, vibrational and electronic temperature are calculated. The NO emission lines from {NO }γ( A2 Σ^{+} \\to {X}2 Πr ) electronic transition are observed. It is seen that, at the higher argon contributions in Ar/O2 gaseous mixture, the emission intensities from argon ions will increase. Moreover, while the vibrational and excitation temperatures are increased at the higher input DC currents, they will decrease at the higher Ar percentages in the Ar/O2 gaseous mixture. Furthermore, at the higher DC currents and Ar contributions, both the plasma electron density and dissociation fraction of oxygen atoms are increased.

  5. Current discharge management of acute coronary syndromes: baseline results from a national quality improvement initiative.

    PubMed

    Wai, A; Pulver, L K; Oliver, K; Thompson, A

    2012-05-01

    Evidence-practice gaps exist in the continuum of care for patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), particularly at hospital discharge. We aimed to describe the methodology and baseline results of the Discharge Management of Acute Coronary Syndromes (DMACS) project, focusing on the prescription of guideline-recommended medications, referral to cardiac rehabilitation and communication between the hospital, patient and their primary healthcare professionals. DMACS employed Drug Use Evaluation methodology involving data collection, evaluation and feedback, and targeted educational interventions. Adult patients with ACS discharged during a 4-month period were eligible to participate. Data were collected (maximum 50 patients) at each site through an inpatient medical record review, a general practitioner (GP) postal/fax survey conducted 14 days post discharge and a patient telephone survey 3 months post discharge. Forty-nine hospitals participated in the audit recruiting 1545 patients. At discharge, 57% of patients were prescribed a combination of antiplatelet agent(s), beta-blocker, statin and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and/or angiotensin II-antagonist. At 3 months post discharge, 48% of patients reported using the same combination. Some 67% of patients recalled being referred to cardiac rehabilitation; of these, 33% had completed the programme. In total, 83% of patients had a documented ACS management plan at discharge. Of these, 90% included a medication list, 56% a chest pain action plan and 54% risk factor modification advice. Overall, 65% of GPs rated the quality of information received in the discharge summary as 'very good' to 'excellent'. The findings of our baseline audit showed that despite the robust evidence base and availability of national guidelines, the management of patients with ACS can be improved. These findings will inform a multifaceted intervention strategy to improve adherence to guidelines for the discharge management of

  6. Production of high-density highly-ionized helicon plasmas in the ProtoMPEX

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Caneses, J. F.; Kafle, N.; Showers, M.; Goulding, R. H.; Biewer, T. M.; Caughman, J. B. O.; Bigelow, T.; Rapp, J.

    2017-10-01

    High-density (2-6e19 m-3) Deuterium helicon plasmas in the ProtoMPEX have been produced that successfully use differential pumping to produce neutral gas pressures suitable for testing the RF electron and ion heating concepts. To minimize collisional losses when heating electrons and ions, plasmas with very low neutral gas content (<< 0.1 Pa) in the heating sections are required. This requirement is typically not compatible with the neutral gas pressures (1-2 Pa) commonly used in high-density light-ion helicon sources. By using skimmers, a suitable gas injection scheme and long duration discharges (>0.3 s), high-density plasmas with very low neutral gas pressures (<< 0.1 Pa) in the RF heating sections have been produced. Measurements indicate the presence of a highly-ionized plasma column and that discharges lasting at least 0.3 s are required to significantly reduce the neutral gas pressure in the RF heating sections to levels suitable for investigating electron/ion RF heating concepts in this linear configuration. This work was supported by the US. D.O.E. contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.

  7. Numerical simulation of Trichel pulses of negative DC corona discharge based on a plasma chemical model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Xiaoyue; Lan, Lei; Lu, Hailiang; Wang, Yu; Wen, Xishan; Du, Xinyu; He, Wangling

    2017-10-01

    A numerical simulation method of negative direct current (DC) corona discharge based on a plasma chemical model is presented, and a coaxial cylindrical gap is adopted. There were 15 particle species and 61 kinds of collision reactions electrons involved, and 22 kinds of reactions between ions are considered in plasma chemical reactions. Based on this method, continuous Trichel pulses are calculated on about a 100 us timescale, and microcosmic physicochemical process of negative DC corona discharge in three different periods is discussed. The obtained results show that the amplitude of Trichel pulses is between 1-2 mA, and that pulse interval is in the order of 10-5 s. The positive ions produced by avalanche ionization enhanced the electric field near the cathode at the beginning of the pulse, then disappeared from the surface of cathode. The electric field decreases and the pulse ceases to develop. The negative ions produced by attachment slowly move away from the cathode, and the electric field increases gradually until the next pulse begins to develop. The positive and negative ions with the highest density during the corona discharge process are O4+ and O3- , respectively.

  8. Discharge start-up and ramp-up development for NSTX-U and MAST-U

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Battaglia, D. J.; Boyer, M. D.; Gerhardt, S. P.; Menard, J. E.; Mueller, D.; Cunningham, G.; Kirk, A.; Kogan, L.; McArdle, G.; Pangione, L.; Thornton, A. J.; Ren, E.

    2017-10-01

    A collaborative modeling effort is underway to develop robust inductive start-up and ramp-up scenarios for NSTX-U and MAST-U. These complementary spherical tokamak devices aim to generate the physics basis for achieving steady-state, high-beta and high-confinement plasma discharges with a self-consistent solution for managing the divertor heat flux. High-performance discharges in these devices require sufficient plasma elongation (κ = 2.4 - 2.8) to maximize the bootstrap and beam-driven current drive, increase MHD stability at high Ip and high βN, and realize advanced divertor geometries such as the snowflake and super-X. Achieving the target elongation on NSTX-U is enabled by an L-H transition in the current ramp-up that slows the current diffusion and maintains a low internal inductance (li <= 0.8). Modeling focuses on developing scenarios that achieve a suitable field null for breakdown and discharge conditions conducive to an early L-H transition while maintaining vertical and MHD stability, with appropriate margin for variation in experimental conditions. The toroidal currents induced in conducting structures and the specifications of the real-time control and power supply systems are unique constraints for the two devices. Work Supported by U.S. DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-09CH11466 and the RCUK Energy Programme [Grant Number EP/P012450/1].

  9. Topological structures of vortex flow on a flying wing aircraft, controlled by a nanosecond pulse discharge plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Du, Hai; Shi, Zhiwei; Cheng, Keming; Wei, Dechen; Li, Zheng; Zhou, Danjie; He, Haibo; Yao, Junkai; He, Chengjun

    2016-06-01

    Vortex control is a thriving research area, particularly in relation to flying wing or delta wing aircraft. This paper presents the topological structures of vortex flow on a flying wing aircraft controlled by a nanosecond plasma dielectric barrier discharge actuator. Experiments, including oil flow visualization and two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV), were conducted in a wind tunnel with a Reynolds number of 0.5 × 106. Both oil and PIV results show that the vortex can be controlled. Oil topological structures on the aircraft surface coincide with spatial PIV flow structures. Both indicate vortex convergence and enhancement when the plasma discharge is switched on, leading to a reduced region of separated flow.

  10. Current/Pressure Profile Effects on Tearing Mode Stability in DIII-D Hybrid Discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, K.; Park, J. M.; Murakami, M.; La Haye, R. J.; Na, Yong-Su

    2015-11-01

    It is important to understand the onset threshold and the evolution of tearing modes (TMs) for developing a high-performance steady state fusion reactor. As initial and basic comparisons to determine TM onset, the measured plasma profiles (such as temperature, density, rotation) were compared with the calculated current profiles between a pair of discharges with/without n=1 mode based on the database for DIII-D hybrid plasmas. The profiles were not much different, but the details were analyzed to determine their characteristics, especially near the rational surface. The tearing stability index calculated from PEST3, Δ' tends to increase rapidly just before the n=1 mode onset for these cases. The modeled equilibrium with varying pressure or current profiles parametrically based on the reference discharge is reconstructed for checking the onset dependency on Δ' or neoclassical effects such as bootstrap current. Simulations of TMs with the modeled equilibrium using resistive MHD codes will also be presented and compared with experiments to determine the sensibility for predicting TM onset. Work supported by US DOE under DE-FC02-04ER54698 and DE-AC52-07NA27344.

  11. Interferometric and schlieren characterization of the plasmas and shock wave dynamics during laser-triggered discharge in atmospheric air

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wei, Wenfu; Li, Xingwen, E-mail: xwli@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; Wu, Jian

    2014-08-15

    This paper describes our efforts to reveal the underlying physics of laser-triggered discharges in atmospheric air using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and schlieren photography. Unlike the hemispherical shock waves that are produced by laser ablation, bell-like morphologies are observed during laser-triggered discharges. Phase shifts are recovered from the interferograms at a time of 1000 ns by the 2D fast Fourier transform method, and then the values of the refractive index are deduced using the Abel inversion. An abundance of free electrons is expected near the cathode surface. The schlieren photographs visualize the formation of stagnation layers at ∼600 ns in the interaction zonesmore » of the laser- and discharge-produced plasmas. Multiple reflected waves are observed at later times with the development of shock wave propagations. Estimations using the Taylor-Sedov self-similar solution indicated that approximately 45.8% and 51.9% of the laser and electrical energies are transferred into the gas flow motions, respectively. Finally, numerical simulations were performed, which successfully reproduced the main features of the experimental observations, and provided valuable insights into the plasma and shock wave dynamics during the laser-triggered discharge.« less

  12. Kinetic study on non-thermal volumetric plasma decay in the early afterglow of air discharge generated by a short pulse microwave or laser

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Wei, E-mail: yangwei861212@126.com; Zhou, Qianhong; Dong, Zhiwei

    This paper reports a kinetic study on non-thermal plasma decay in the early afterglow of air discharge generated by short pulse microwave or laser. A global self-consistent model is based on the particle balance of complex plasma chemistry, electron energy equation, and gas thermal balance equation. Electron-ion Coulomb collision is included in the steady state Boltzmann equation solver to accurately describe the electron mobility and other transport coefficients. The model is used to simulate the afterglow of microsecond to nanosecond pulse microwave discharge in N{sub 2}, O{sub 2}, and air, as well as femtosecond laser filament discharge in dry andmore » humid air. The simulated results for electron density decay are in quantitative agreement with the available measured ones. The evolution of plasma decay under an external electric field is also investigated, and the effect of gas heating is considered. The underlying mechanism of plasma density decay is unveiled through the above kinetic modeling.« less

  13. The plasma electrolytic oxidation micro-discharge channel model and its microstructure characteristic based on Ti tracer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Fangyuan; Hao, Li; Li, Guang; Xia, Yuan

    2018-02-01

    This study focuses on the individual discharge channel of ceramic coating prepared by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), and attempts to reveal the mechanism of breakdown discharge at low voltage. Titanium (Ti) was employed as a substrate with the layer of aluminum deposited on it (aluminized Ti). The shape and microstructure of the discharge channels in PEO coatings were investigated using transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A schematic model of the individual discharge channel was proposed based on Ti tracer method. The shape of the discharge channel was mainly cylinder-shaped in the compact coating, with a groove-like oxidation region existed at the coating/substrate interface. In the groove-like oxidation region, the phase composition mainly composed of amorphous and mixed polycrystalline (aluminum titanate and mullite). β-Al2O3 was found in the ceramic coating. TEM morphology showed that nanometer sized micro channels existed in the ceramic coatings.

  14. Baking and helium glow discharge cleaning of SST-1 Tokamak with graphite plasma facing components

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Semwal, P.; Khan, Z.; Raval, D. C.; Dhanani, K. R.; George, S.; Paravastu, Y.; Prakash, A.; Thankey, P.; Ramesh, G.; Khan, M. S.; Saikia, P.; Pradhan, S.

    2017-04-01

    Graphite plasma facing components (PFCs) were installed inside the SST-1 vacuum vessel. Prior to installation, all the graphite tiles were baked at 1000 °C in a vacuum furnace operated below 1.0 × 10-5 mbar. However due to the porous structure of graphite, they absorb a significant amount of water vapour from air during the installation process. Rapid desorption of this water vapour requires high temperature bake-out of the PFCs at ≥ 250 °C. In SST-1 the PFCs were baked at 250 °C using hot nitrogen gas facility to remove the absorbed water vapour. Also device with large graphite surface area has the disadvantage that a large quantity of hydrogen gets trapped inside it during plasma discharges which makes density control difficult. Helium glow discharge cleaning (He-GDC) effectively removes this stored hydrogen as well as other impurities like oxygen and hydrocarbon within few nano-meters from the surface by particle induced desorption. Before plasma operation in SST-1 tokamak, both baking of PFCs and He-GDC were carried out so that these impurities were removed effectively. The mean desorption yield of hydrogen was found to be 0.24. In this paper the results of baking and He-GDC experiments of SST-1 will be presented in detail.

  15. Interactions between surface discharges induced by volume discharges in a dielectric barrier discharge system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gao, Yenan; Dong, Lifang, E-mail: donglfhbu@163.com; Zhao, Longhu

    2014-10-15

    The interaction between micro-discharges involved in surface discharges (SDs) is studied in dielectric barrier discharge system. Instantaneous images taken by high speed cameras show that the SDs are induced by volume discharges (VDs). They cannot cross the midperpendicular of two neighbouring volume charges at low voltage while they stretch along it at high voltage, indicating that there is interaction between SDs. The differences of plasma parameters between SD and VD are studied by optical emission spectroscopy. The simulation of the electric fields of the wall charges accumulated by VD further confirms the existence of the interaction.

  16. FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Plasma agents in bio-decontamination by dc discharges in atmospheric air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Machala, Zdenko; Chládeková, Lenka; Pelach, Michal

    2010-06-01

    Bio-decontamination of water and surfaces contaminated by bacteria (Salmonella typhimurium) was investigated in two types of positive dc discharges in atmospheric pressure air, in needle-to-plane geometry: the streamer corona and its transition to a novel regime called transient spark with short high current pulses of limited energy. Both generate a cold non-equilibrium plasma. Electro-spraying of treated water through a needle electrode was applied for the first time and resulted in fast bio-decontamination. Experiments providing separation of various biocidal plasma agents, along with the emission spectra and coupled with oxidation stress measurements in the cell membranes helped to better understand the mechanisms of microbial inactivation. The indirect exposure of contaminated surfaces to neutral active species was almost as efficient as the direct exposure to the plasma, whereas applying only UV radiation from the plasma had no biocidal effects. Radicals and reactive oxygen species were identified as dominant biocidal agents.

  17. Leading edge vortex control on a delta wing with dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Lu; Wen, Chih-yung

    2017-06-01

    This paper presents an experimental investigation of the application of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators on a slender delta wing to control the leading edge vortices (LEVs). The experiments are conducted in a wind tunnel with a Reynolds number of 50 000 based on the chord length. The smoke flow visualization reveals that the DBD plasma actuators at the leading edges significantly modify the vortical flow structure over the delta wing. It is noted that symmetric control at both semi-spans and asymmetric control at a single semi-span leads to opposite effects on the local LEVs. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) indicates that the shear layer is deformed by the actuators. Therefore, both the strength and the shape of the LEV cores are deeply affected. The six-component force measurement shows that the DBD plasma actuators have a limited effect on lift and drag while inducing relatively large moments. This suggests that the DBD plasma actuator is a promising technique for delta wing maneuvering.

  18. Nitrate Contamination in the groundwater of the Lake Acıgöl Basin, SW Turkey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karaman, Muhittin; Budakoǧlu, Murat; Taşdelen, Suat

    2017-04-01

    The lacustrine Acıgöl basin, formed as an extensional half-graben, hosts various bodies of water, such as cold-hot springs, lakes, streams, and wells. The hydrologically closed basin contains a hypersaline lake (Lake Acıgöl) located in the southern part of the basin. The brackish springs and deep waters discharged along the Acıgöl fault zone in the southern part of the basin feed the hypersaline lake. Groundwater is used as drinking, irrigation, and domestic water in the closed Acıgöl Basin. Groundwater flows into the hypersaline lake from the highland. The Acıgöl basin hosts large plains (Hambat, Başmakçı, and Evciler). Waters in agricultural areas contain high amounts of nitrate; groundwater samples in agricultural areas contain nitrate levels higher than 10 mg/L. Nitrate concentrations in the groundwater samples varied from 0 to 487 mg/L (n=165); 25.4 % of the groundwater samples from the basin had nitrate concentrations above 10 mg/L (the WHO drinking guideline) and 52.2% of the groundwater samples from the basin had nitrate concentrations above 3.0 mg/L, and these high values were regarded as the result of human activity. The highest nitrate values were measured in the Hambat plain (480 and 100 mg/L) and Yirce Pinari spring (447 mg/L), which discharges along the Acıgöl fault zone in the southern part of the basin. The average multi-temporal nitrate concentration of the Yirce Pınarı spring was 3.3 mg/L. Extreme nitrate values were measured in the Yirce Pınarı spring during periods when sheep wool was washed (human activity). The lowest nitrate concentrations were observed in some springs that discharged along the Acıgöl fault zone in the southern part of the basin. Nitrate was not detected in deep groundwater discharged along the Acıgöl fault zone. Nitrate concentrations in deep groundwater and some springs discharged along the Acıgöl fault zone and those feeding the hypersaline lake were significantly affected by redox conditions

  19. OH and O radicals production in atmospheric pressure air/Ar/H2O gliding arc discharge plasma jet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    N, C. ROY; M, R. TALUKDER; A, N. CHOWDHURY

    2017-12-01

    Atmospheric pressure air/Ar/H2O gliding arc discharge plasma is produced by a pulsed dc power supply. An optical emission spectroscopic (OES) diagnostic technique is used for the characterization of plasmas and for identifications of {{OH}} and {{O}} radicals along with other species in the plasmas. The OES diagnostic technique reveals the excitation T x ≈ 5550-9000 K, rotational T r ≈ 1350-2700 K and gas T g ≈ 850-1600 K temperatures, and electron density {n}{{e}}≈ ({1.1-1.9})× {10}14 {{{cm}}}-3 under different experimental conditions. The production and destruction of {{OH}} and {{O}} radicals are investigated as functions of applied voltage and air flow rate. Relative intensities of {{OH}} and {{O}} radicals indicate that their production rates are increased with increasing {{Ar}} content in the gas mixture and applied voltage. {n}{{e}} reveals that the higher densities of {{OH}} and {{O}} radicals are produced in the discharge due to more effective electron impact dissociation of {{{H}}}2{{O}} and {{{O}}}2 molecules caused by higher kinetic energies as gained by electrons from the enhanced electric field as well as by enhanced {n}{{e}}. The productions of {{OH}} and {{O}} are decreasing with increasing air flow rate due to removal of Joule heat from the discharge region but enhanced air flow rate significantly modifies discharge maintenance properties. Besides, {T}{{g}} significantly reduces with the enhanced air flow rate. This investigation reveals that {{Ar}} plays a significant role in the production of {{OH}} and {{O}} radicals.

  20. Visible camera imaging of plasmas in Proto-MPEX

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mosby, R.; Skeen, C.; Biewer, T. M.; Renfro, R.; Ray, H.; Shaw, G. C.

    2015-11-01

    The prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX) is a linear plasma device being developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This machine plans to study plasma-material interaction (PMI) physics relevant to future fusion reactors. Measurements of plasma light emission will be made on Proto-MPEX using fast, visible framing cameras. The cameras utilize a global shutter, which allows a full frame image of the plasma to be captured and compared at multiple times during the plasma discharge. Typical exposure times are ~10-100 microseconds. The cameras are capable of capturing images at up to 18,000 frames per second (fps). However, the frame rate is strongly dependent on the size of the ``region of interest'' that is sampled. The maximum ROI corresponds to the full detector area, of ~1000x1000 pixels. The cameras have an internal gain, which controls the sensitivity of the 10-bit detector. The detector includes a Bayer filter, for ``true-color'' imaging of the plasma emission. This presentation will exmine the optimized camera settings for use on Proto-MPEX. This work was supported by the US. D.O.E. contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.

  1. Development of Repulsive Barrier Discharge from Twin Needles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ueno, Hideki; Hata, Koji; Nakayama, Hiroshi

    2007-03-01

    Barrier discharge characteristics have been investigated for a twin needles-to-plane electrode configuration in dry air. The characteristics of barrier discharge under ac voltage application have been investigated for various distances between two needle tips (d=1.0--4.0 mm). We have found that corona discharge behavior strongly depends on needle-tip distance. In the case of a twin-needles configuration with a long needle-tip distance (d=4.0 mm), discharges from the two needle tips develop into a dielectric barrier with almost a straight path. On the contrary, the development of repulsive discharges from two needle tips in the gap between needles and a barrier was obtained for the shortest needle-tip distance investigated here (d=1.0 mm) and it was enhanced by increasing the peak voltage. From detailed time-resolved observations, development of repulsive discharge was observed only during positive polarity upon ac voltage application. Moreover, the degree of repulsion increased with increasing applied voltage of positive polarity. The observed unique discharge behavior can be interpreted as the effect of field relaxation induced not only by charge accumulation on the barrier surface, which is markedly enhanced at a short needle-tip distance, but also by space charge by coronas between two needles.

  2. Formation of Ion Beam from High Density Plasma of ECR Discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Izotov, I.; Razin, S.; Sidorov, A.

    2005-03-15

    One of the most promising directions of ECR multicharged ion sources evolution is related with increase in frequency of microwave pumping. During last years microwave generators of millimeter wave range - gyrotrons have been used more frequently. Creation of plasma with density 1013 cm-3 with medium charged ions and ion flux density through a plug of a magnetic trap along magnetic field lines on level of a few A/cm2 is possible under pumping by powerful millimeter wave radiation and quasigasdynamic (collisional) regime of plasma confinement in the magnetic trap. Such plasma has great prospects for application in plasma based ionmore » implantation systems for processing of surfaces with complicated and petit relief. Use it for ion beam formation seams to be difficult because of too high ion current density. This paper continues investigations described elsewhere and shows possibility to arrange ion extraction in zone of plasma expansion from the magnetic trap along axis of system and magnetic field lines.Plasma was created at ECR gas discharge by means of millimeter wave radiation of a gyrotron with frequency 37.5 GHz, maximum power 100 kW, pulse duration 1.5 ms. Two and three electrode quasi-Pierce extraction systems were used for ion beam formation.It is demonstrated that there is no changes in ion charge state distribution along expansion routing of plasma under collisional confinement. Also ion flux density decreases with distance from plug of the trap, it allows to control extracting ion current density. Multicharged ion beam of Nitrogen with total current up to 2.5 mA at diameter of extracting hole 1 mm, that corresponds current density 320 mA/cm2, was obtained. Magnitude of total ion current was limited due to extracting voltage (60 kV). Under such conditions characteristic transversal dimension of plasma equaled 4 cm, magnetic field value in extracting zone was about 0.1 T at axisymmetrical configuration.« less

  3. Potential of electric discharge plasma methods in abatement of volatile organic compounds originating from the food industry.

    PubMed

    Preis, S; Klauson, D; Gregor, A

    2013-01-15

    Increased volatile organic compounds emissions and commensurate tightening of applicable legislation mean that the development and application of effective, cost-efficient abatement methods are areas of growing concern. This paper reviews the last two decades' publications on organic vapour emissions from food processing, their sources, impacts and treatment methods. An overview of the latest developments in conventional air treatment methods is presented, followed by the main focus of the paper, non-thermal plasma technology. The results of the review suggest that non-thermal plasma technology, in its pulsed corona discharge configuration, is an emerging treatment method with potential for low-cost, effective abatement of a wide spectrum of organic air pollutants. It is found that the combination of plasma treatment with catalysis is a development trend that demonstrates considerable potential. The as yet relatively small number of plasma treatment applications is considered to be due to the novelty of pulsed electric discharge techniques and a lack of reliable pulse generators and reactors. Other issues acting as barriers to widespread adoption of the technique include the possible formation of stable oxidation by-products, residual ozone and nitrogen oxides, and sensitivity towards air humidity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Low-frequency, self-sustained oscillations in inductively coupled plasmas used for optical pumping

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Coffer, J.; Encalada, N.; Huang, M.

    We have investigated very low frequency, on the order of one hertz, self-pulsing in alkali-metal inductively-coupled plasmas (i.e., rf-discharge lamps). This self-pulsing has the potential to significantly vary signal-to-noise ratios and (via the ac-Stark shift) resonant frequencies in optically pumped atomic clocks and magnetometers (e.g., the atomic clocks now flying on GPS and Galileo global navigation system satellites). The phenomenon arises from a nonlinear interaction between the atomic physics of radiation trapping and the plasma's electrical nature. To explain the effect, we have developed an evaporation/condensation theory (EC theory) of the self-pulsing phenomenon.

  5. Large discharge-volume, silent discharge spark plug

    DOEpatents

    Kang, Michael

    1995-01-01

    A large discharge-volume spark plug for providing self-limiting microdischarges. The apparatus includes a generally spark plug-shaped arrangement of a pair of electrodes, where either of the two coaxial electrodes is substantially shielded by a dielectric barrier from a direct discharge from the other electrode, the unshielded electrode and the dielectric barrier forming an annular volume in which self-terminating microdischarges occur when alternating high voltage is applied to the center electrode. The large area over which the discharges occur, and the large number of possible discharges within the period of an engine cycle, make the present silent discharge plasma spark plug suitable for use as an ignition source for engines. In the situation, where a single discharge is effective in causing ignition of the combustible gases, a conventional single-polarity, single-pulse, spark plug voltage supply may be used.

  6. Study on the effect of hydrogen addition on the variation of plasma parameters of argon-oxygen magnetron glow discharge for synthesis of TiO{sub 2} films

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Saikia, Partha, E-mail: partha.008@gmail.com; Institute of Physics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago; Saikia, Bipul Kumar

    2016-04-15

    We report the effect of hydrogen addition on plasma parameters of argon-oxygen magnetron glow discharge plasma in the synthesis of H-doped TiO{sub 2} films. The parameters of the hydrogen-added Ar/O{sub 2} plasma influence the properties and the structural phases of the deposited TiO{sub 2} film. Therefore, the variation of plasma parameters such as electron temperature (T{sub e}), electron density (n{sub e}), ion density (n{sub i}), degree of ionization of Ar and degree of dissociation of H{sub 2} as a function of hydrogen content in the discharge is studied. Langmuir probe and Optical emission spectroscopy are used to characterize the plasma.more » On the basis of the different reactions in the gas phase of the magnetron discharge, the variation of plasma parameters and sputtering rate are explained. It is observed that the electron and heavy ion density decline with gradual addition of hydrogen in the discharge. Hydrogen addition significantly changes the degree of ionization of Ar which influences the structural phases of the TiO{sub 2} film.« less

  7. Visualization by discharge illumination technique and modification by plasma actuator of rarefied Mach 2 airflow around a cylinder

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leger, L.; Sellam, M.; Barbosa, E.; Depussay, E.

    2013-06-01

    The use of plasma actuators for flow control has received considerable attention in recent years. This kind of device seems to be an appropriate means of raising abilities in flow control thanks to total electric control, no moving parts and a fast response time. The experimental work presented here shows, firstly, the non-intrusive character of the visualization of the density field of an airflow around a cylinder obtained using a plasma luminescence technique. Experiments are made in a continuous supersonic wind tunnel. The static pressure in the flow is 8 Pa, the mean free path is about 0.3 mm and the airflow velocity is 510 m s-1. Pressure measurements obtained by means of glass Pitot tube without the visualization discharge are proposed. Measured and simulated pressure profiles are in good agreement in the region near the cylinder. There is good correlation between numerical simulations of the supersonic flow field, analytical model predictions and experimental flow visualizations obtained by a plasma luminescence technique. Consequently, we show that the plasma luminescence technique is non-intrusive. Secondly, the effect of a dc discharge on a supersonic rarefied air flow around a cylinder is studied. An electrode is flush mounted on the cylinder. Stagnation pressure profiles are examined for different electrode positions on the cylinder. A shock wave modification depending on the electrode location is observed. The discharge placed at the upstream stagnation point induces an upstream shift of the bow shock, whereas a modification of the shock wave shape is observed when it is placed at 45° or 90°.

  8. Load Designs For MJ Dense Plasma Foci

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Link, A.; Povlius, A.; Anaya, R.; Anderson, M. G.; Angus, J. R.; Cooper, C. M.; Falabella, S.; Goerz, D.; Higginson, D.; Holod, I.; McMahon, M.; Mitrani, J.; Koh, E. S.; Pearson, A.; Podpaly, Y. A.; Prasad, R.; van Lue, D.; Watson, J.; Schmidt, A. E.

    2017-10-01

    Dense plasma focus (DPF) Z-pinches are compact pulse power driven devices with coaxial electrodes. The discharge of DPF consists of three distinct phases: first generation of a plasma sheath, plasma rail gun phase where the sheath is accelerated down the electrodes and finally an implosion phase where the plasma stagnates into a z-pinch geometry. During the z-pinch phase, DPFs can produce MeV ion beams, x-rays and neutrons. Megaampere class DPFs with deuterium fills have demonstrated neutron yields in the 1012 neutrons/shot range with pulse durations of 10-100 ns. Kinetic simulations using the code Chicago are being used to evaluate various load configurations from initial sheath formation to the final z-pinch phase for DPFs with up to 5 MA and 1 MJ coupled to the load. Results will be presented from the preliminary design simulations. LLNL-ABS-734785 This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and with support from the Computing Grand Challenge program at LLNL.

  9. HOLLOW CARBON ARC DISCHARGE

    DOEpatents

    Luce, J.S.

    1960-10-11

    A device is described for producing an energetic, direct current, hollow, carbon-arc discharge in an evacuated container and within a strong magnetic field. Such discharges are particularly useful not only in dissociation and ionization of high energy molecular ion beams, but also in acting as a shield or barrier against the instreaming of lowenergy neutral particles into a plasma formed within the hollow discharge when it is used as a dissociating mechanism for forming the plasma. There is maintained a predetermined ratio of gas particles to carbon particles released from the arc electrodes during operation of the discharge. The carbon particles absorb some of the gas particles and are pumped along and by the discharge out of the device, with the result that smaller diffusion pumps are required than would otherwise be necessary to dispose of the excess gas.

  10. Irregular-regular-irregular mixed mode oscillations in a glow discharge plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ghosh, Sabuj, E-mail: sabuj.ghosh@saha.ac.in; Shaw, Pankaj Kumar, E-mail: pankaj.shaw@saha.ac.in; Saha, Debajyoti, E-mail: debajyoti.saha@saha.ac.in

    2015-05-15

    Floating potential fluctuations of a glow discharge plasma are found to exhibit different kinds of mixed mode oscillations. Power spectrum analysis reveals that with change in the nature of the mixed mode oscillation (MMO), there occurs a transfer of power between the different harmonics and subharmonics. The variation in the chaoticity of different types of mmo was observed with the study of Lyapunov exponents. Estimates of correlation dimension and the Hurst exponent suggest that these MMOs are of low dimensional nature with an anti persistent character. Numerical modeling also reflects the experimentally found transitions between the different MMOs.

  11. Radiographic research of the Bi plasma jet formed by the vacuum arc discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Artyomov, A. P.; Rousskikh, A. G.; Fedunin, A. V.; Chaikovsky, S. A.; Zhigalin, A. S.; Oreshkin, V. I.

    2017-05-01

    The results of experiments on a soft x-ray radiography (≈ 1-2 keV) of a bismuth plasma formed by the high-current vacuum arc discharge are represented. The plasma gun with the arc current ≈ 60 kA and the current rise time ≈ 7 μs was used to produce the Bi plasma jet. The compact pulsed radiograph XPG-1 (250 kA, 220 ns) with an X-pinch load consisting of four Mo wires with a diameter 25 μm was used as a source of the soft X-ray radiation. The X-ray backlighting images of the researched plasma jet and the Bi step-wedge with a step thickness of ≈ 100 nm were recorded simultaneously in the course of the experiment. A comparison of the plasma jet x-ray image with the current trace has enabled to estimate dependencies of the linear mass on the arc current. The experiments have shown that when the arc current density reaches ≈ 3·105 A/cm2, the evaporation rate of the electrode material reaches ≈ 100 μg/μs, that under the plasma velocity ≈ 0.5 cm/μs, provides a plasma jet linear mass ≈ 200 μg/cm. At a distance of ≈ 1-2 mm from the arc cathode surface, the sharp increase of the jet linear mass (up to ≈ 500 μg/cm) occurred.

  12. Experimental characterization of plasma formation and shockwave propagation induced by high power pulsed underwater electrical discharge.

    PubMed

    Claverie, A; Deroy, J; Boustie, M; Avrillaud, G; Chuvatin, A; Mazanchenko, E; Demol, G; Dramane, B

    2014-06-01

    High power pulsed electrical discharges into liquids are investigated for new industrial applications based on the efficiency of controlled shock waves. We present here new experimental data obtained by combination of detailed high speed imaging equipments. It allows the visualization of the very first instants of plasma discharge formation, and then the pulsations of the gaseous bubble with an accurate timing of events. The time history of the expansion/compression of this bubble leads to an estimation of the energy effectively transferred to water during the discharge. Finally, the consecutive shock generation driven by this pulsating bubble is optically monitored by shadowgraphs and schlieren setup. These data provide essential information about the geometrical pattern and chronometry associated with the shock wave generation and propagation.

  13. Interplay between intrinsic plasma rotation and magnetic island evolution in disruptive discharges

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ronchi, G.; Severo, J. H. F.; Salzedas, F.

    The behavior of the intrinsic toroidal rotation of the plasma column during the growth and eventual saturation of m/n = 2/1 magnetic islands, triggered by programmed density rise, has been carefully investigated in disruptive discharges in TCABR. The results show that, as the island starts to grow and rotate at a speed larger than that of the plasma column, the angular frequency of the intrinsic toroidal rotation increases and that of the island decreases, following the expectation of synchronization. As the island saturates at a large size, just before a major disruption, the angular speed of the intrinsic rotation decreasesmore » quite rapidly, even though the island keeps still rotating at a reduced speed. This decrease of the toroidal rotation is quite reproducible and can be considered as an indicative of disruption.« less

  14. Post-breakdown secondary discharges at the electrode/dielectric interface of a cylindrical barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carman, Robert; Ward, Barry; Kane, Deborah

    2011-10-01

    The electrical breakdown characteristics of a double-walled cylindrical dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) lamp with a neon buffer gas under pulsed voltage excitation have been investigated. Following the formation of plasma in the main discharge gap, we have observed secondary breakdown phenomena at the inner and outer mesh electrode/dielectric interfaces under specific operating conditions. Plasma formation at these interfaces is investigated by monitoring the Ozone production rate in controlled flows of ultra high purity oxygen together with the overall electrical voltage-charge characteristics of the lamp. The results show that this secondary breakdown only occurs after the main discharge plasma has been established, and that significant electrical power may be dissipated in generating these spurious secondary plasmas. The results are important with regards to optimising the design and identifying efficient operating regimes of DBD based devices that employ mesh-type or wire/strip electrodes.

  15. The electrical characteristics of the dielectric barrier discharges

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yehia, Ashraf, E-mail: yehia30161@yahoo.com; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut 71516

    2016-06-15

    The electrical characteristics of the dielectric barrier discharges have been studied in this paper under different operating conditions. The dielectric barrier discharges were formed inside two reactors composed of electrodes in the shape of two parallel plates. The dielectric layers inside these reactors were pasted on the surface of one electrode only in the first reactor and on the surfaces of the two electrodes in the second reactor. The reactor under study has been fed by atmospheric air that flowed inside it with a constant rate at the normal temperature and pressure, in parallel with applying a sinusoidal ac voltagemore » between the electrodes of the reactor. The amount of the electric charge that flows from the reactors to the external circuit has been studied experimentally versus the ac peak voltage applied to them. An analytical model has been obtained for calculating the electrical characteristics of the dielectric barrier discharges that were formed inside the reactors during a complete cycle of the ac voltage. The results that were calculated by using this model have agreed well with the experimental results under the different operating conditions.« less

  16. Growth and male reproduction improvement of non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment on chickens

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiao Zhang, Jiao; Luong Huynh, Do; Chandimali, Nisansala; Kang, Tae Yoon; Kim, Nameun; Mok, Young Sun; Kwon, Taeho; Jeong, Dong Kee

    2018-05-01

    This study investigated whether plasma treatment of fertilized eggs before hatching could affect the growth and reproduction of chickens. Three point five-day-incubated fertilized eggs exposed to non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma at 2.81 W of power for 2 min resulted in the highest growth in chickens. Plasma growth-promoting effect was regulated by the reactive oxygen species homeostasis and the improvement of energy metabolism via increasing serum hormones and adenosine triphosphate levels which were resulted from the regulation of genes involved in antioxidant defense, hormone biosynthesis and energetic metabolism. Interestingly, plasma-treated male chickens conspicuously grew faster than females. Further, aspects of male reproductive system (testosterone level and sperm quality) were improved by the plasma treatment but female reproduction (estradiol and progesterone levels, egg-laying rate and egg weight) had no significant changes. Unfortunately, offspring whose parents were the optimal plasma-treated chickens did not show any difference on growth characteristics and failed to inherit excellent growth features from their parents. Our results suggest a new method to improve the growth rate and male reproductive capacity in poultry but it is only effective in the plasma direct-treated generation.

  17. Study of a contracted glow in low-frequency plasma-jet discharges operating with argon

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Minotti, F.; Giuliani, L.; Xaubet, M.

    2015-11-15

    In this work, we present an experimental and theoretical study of a low frequency, atmospheric plasma-jet discharge in argon. The discharge has the characteristics of a contracted glow with a current channel of submillimeter diameter and a relatively high voltage cathode layer. In order to interpret the measurements, we consider the separate modeling of each region of the discharge: main channel and cathode layer, which must then be properly matched together. The main current channel was modeled, extending a previous work, as similar to an arc in which joule heating is balanced by lateral heat conduction, without thermal equilibrium betweenmore » electrons and heavy species. The cathode layer model, on the other hand, includes the emission of secondary electrons by ion impact and by additional mechanisms, of which we considered emission due to collision of atoms excited at metastable levels, and field-enhanced thermionic emission (Schottky effect). The comparison of model and experiment indicates that the discharge can be effectively sustained in its contracted form by the secondary electrons emitted by collision of excited argon atoms, whereas thermionic emission is by far insufficient to provide the necessary electrons.« less

  18. Pulsed electromagnetic gas accelleration. [incorporation of hollow cathode in plasma discharge and suitability determination of MPD discharge as plasmadynamic laser source

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jahn, R. G.

    1973-01-01

    Direct measurement with thermocouples of the power deposited in the anode of a multi-megawatt magnetoplasmadynamic discharge has shown the fractional anode power to decrease from 50% at 200 kW to 10% at 20 MW. Using local measurements of current density, electric potential, and electron temperature, the traditional model for heat conduction to the anode is found to be inadequate. Other experiments in which the voltage-current characteristics and exhaust velocities of MPD arcs using Plexiglas and boron nitride chamber insulators and various mass injection configurations show that ablation can affect nominal accelerator operation in several distinct ways. The incorporation of a hollow cathode in a 7 kA plasma discharge has shown that a stable current attachment can be realized in the cavity without the aid of cathode heaters, keeper electrodes, or emissive coatings.

  19. Experimental evidence of intermittent chaos in a glow discharge plasma without external forcing and its numerical modelling

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ghosh, S., E-mail: sabuj.ghosh@saha.ac.in; Kumar Shaw, Pankaj; Sekar Iyengar, A. N.

    Intermittent chaos was observed in a glow discharge plasma as the system evolved from regular type of relaxation oscillations (of larger amplitude) to an irregular type of oscillations (of smaller amplitude) as the discharge voltage was increased. Floating potential fluctuations were analyzed by different statistical and spectral methods. Features like a gradual change in the normal variance of the interpeak time intervals, a dip in the skewness, and a hump in the kurtosis with variation in the control parameter have been seen, which are strongly indicative of intermittent behavior in the system. Detailed analysis also suggests that the intrinsic noisemore » level in the experiment increases with the increasing discharge voltage. An attempt has been made to model the experimental observations by a second order nonlinear ordinary differential equation derived from the fluid equations for an unmagnetized plasma. Though the experiment had no external forcing, it was conjectured that the intrinsic noise in the experiment could be playing a vital role in the dynamics of the system. Hence, a constant bias and noise as forcing terms were included in the model. Results from the theoretical model are in close qualitative agreement with the experimental results.« less

  20. Vacuum ultraviolet emission characteristics from He-Ne-Xe gas discharge in an alternating current plasma display panel cell

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seo, Jeong Hyun; Jeong, Heui Seob; Lee, Joo Yul; Yoon, Cha Keun; Kim, Joong Kyun; Whang, Ki-Woong

    2000-08-01

    We measured the time integrated vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) emission spectra of He-Ne-Xe gas mixture from a surface type alternating current (ac) plasma display panel cell. The measured emission lines are the resonance line (147 nm) from Xe*(1s4), the first continuum (150 nm) and the second continuum (173 nm) from Xe dimer excited states. The relative intensities of VUV spectral lines from Xe* and Xe2* are dependent on the He/Ne mixing ratio as well as the Xe partial and total pressure. The intensity of 147 nm VUV increases with the Ne content increase and Xe2* molecular emission increases with the He content increase. Infrared (IR) spectra and the time variation of VUV were measured to explain the reaction pathway and the effect of the mixing ratio of He/Ne on the spectral intensity. A detailed study for the decay time shows that the decay time of 147 nm has two time constants and the radiation of 150 and 173 nm results mainly from Xe*(1s5). The IR spectra shows that the contribution from Xe**(>6 s) to Xe*(1s5) and Xe*(1s4) in He-Xe is different from that of Ne-Xe. The change of IR intensity explains the spectral intensity variations of He-Xe and Ne-Xe discharge.

  1. Consumption of the electric power inside silent discharge reactors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yehia, Ashraf, E-mail: yehia30161@yahoo.com

    An experimental study was made in this paper to investigate the relation between the places of the dielectric barriers, which cover the surfaces of the electrodes in the coaxial cylindrical reactors, and the rate of change of the electric power that is consumed in forming silent discharges. Therefore, silent discharges have been formed inside three coaxial cylindrical reactors. The dielectric barriers in these reactors were pasted on both the internal surface of the outer electrode in the first reactor and the external surface of the inner electrode in the second reactor as well as the surfaces of the two electrodesmore » in the third reactor. The reactor under study has been fed by atmospheric air that flowed inside it with a constant rate at normal temperature and pressure, in parallel with the application of a sinusoidal ac voltage between the electrodes of the reactor. The electric power consumed in forming the silent discharges inside the three reactors was measured as a function of the ac peak voltage. The validity of the experimental results was investigated by applying Manley's equation on the same discharge conditions. The results have shown that the rate of consumption of the electric power relative to the ac peak voltage per unit width of the discharge gap improves by a ratio of either 26.8% or 80% or 128% depending on the places of the dielectric barriers that cover the surfaces of the electrodes inside the three reactors.« less

  2. Self-Organization Phenomena in a Cryogenic Gas Discharge Plasma: Formation of a Nanoparticle Cloud and Dust-Acoustic Waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boltnev, R. E.; Vasiliev, M. M.; Kononov, E. A.; Petrov, O. F.

    2018-04-01

    The dusty plasma structures in a glow discharge of helium in a tube cooled by superfluid helium at a temperature of 1.6 K and higher have been studied experimentally. The bimodal dust plasma formed by clouds of polydisperse cerium dioxide particles and polymer nanoparticles has been analyzed. We have observed wave oscillations in the cloud of polymer nanoparticles (with a size up to 100 nm), which existed in a narrow temperature range from 1.6 to 2.17 K. Vortices have been observed in the dusty plasma structures at helium temperatures.

  3. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma Actuators Thrust-Measurement Methodology Incorporating New Anti-Thrust Hypothesis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ashpis, David E.; Laun, Matthew C.

    2014-01-01

    We discuss thrust measurements of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuators devices used for aerodynamic active flow control. After a review of our experience with conventional thrust measurement and significant non-repeatability of the results, we devised a suspended actuator test setup, and now present a methodology of thrust measurements with decreased uncertainty. The methodology consists of frequency scans at constant voltages. The procedure consists of increasing the frequency in a step-wise fashion from several Hz to the maximum frequency of several kHz, followed by frequency decrease back down to the start frequency of several Hz. This sequence is performed first at the highest voltage of interest, then repeated at lower voltages. The data in the descending frequency direction is more consistent and selected for reporting. Sample results show strong dependence of thrust on humidity which also affects the consistency and fluctuations of the measurements. We also observed negative values of thrust or "anti-thrust", at low frequencies between 4 Hz and up to 64 Hz. The anti-thrust is proportional to the mean-squared voltage and is frequency independent. Departures from the parabolic anti-thrust curve are correlated with appearance of visible plasma discharges. We propose the anti-thrust hypothesis. It states that the measured thrust is a sum of plasma thrust and anti-thrust, and assumes that the anti-thrust exists at all frequencies and voltages. The anti-thrust depends on actuator geometry and materials and on the test installation. It enables the separation of the plasma thrust from the measured total thrust. This approach enables more meaningful comparisons between actuators at different installations and laboratories. The dependence on test installation was validated by surrounding the actuator with a large diameter, grounded, metal sleeve.

  4. Pure rotational CARS thermometry studies of low-temperature oxidation kinetics in air and ethene-air nanosecond pulse discharge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuzeek, Yvette; Choi, Inchul; Uddi, Mruthunjaya; Adamovich, Igor V.; Lempert, Walter R.

    2010-03-01

    Pure rotational CARS thermometry is used to study low-temperature plasma assisted fuel oxidation kinetics in a repetitive nanosecond pulse discharge in ethene-air at stoichiometric and fuel lean conditions at 40 Torr pressure. Air and fuel-air mixtures are excited by a burst of high-voltage nanosecond pulses (peak voltage, 20 kV; pulse duration, ~ 25 ns) at a 40 kHz pulse repetition rate and a burst repetition rate of 10 Hz. The number of pulses in the burst is varied from a few pulses to a few hundred pulses. The results are compared with the previously developed hydrocarbon-air plasma chemistry model, modified to incorporate non-empirical scaling of the nanosecond discharge pulse energy coupled to the plasma with number density, as well as one-dimensional conduction heat transfer. Experimental time-resolved temperature, determined as a function of the number of pulses in the burst, is found to agree well with the model predictions. The results demonstrate that the heating rate in fuel-air plasmas is much faster compared with air plasmas, primarily due to energy release in exothermic reactions of fuel with O atoms generated by the plasma. It is found that the initial heating rate in fuel-air plasmas is controlled by the rate of radical (primarily O atoms) generation and is nearly independent of the equivalence ratio. At long burst durations, the heating rate in lean fuel air-mixtures is significantly reduced when all fuel is oxidized.

  5. Plasma inactivation of microorganisms on sprout seeds in a dielectric barrier discharge.

    PubMed

    Butscher, Denis; Van Loon, Hanne; Waskow, Alexandra; Rudolf von Rohr, Philipp; Schuppler, Markus

    2016-12-05

    Fresh produce is frequently contaminated by microorganisms, which may lead to spoilage or even pose a threat to human health. In particular sprouts are considered to be among the most risky foods sold at retail since they are grown in an environment practically ideal for growth of bacteria and usually consumed raw. Because heat treatment has a detrimental effect on the germination abilities of sprout seeds, alternative treatment technologies need to be developed for microbial inactivation purposes. In this study, non-thermal plasma decontamination of sprout seeds is evaluated as a promising option to enhance food safety while maintaining the seed germination capabilities. In detail, investigations focus on understanding the efficiency of non-thermal plasma inactivation of microorganisms as influenced by the type of microbial contamination, substrate surface properties and moisture content, as well as variations in the power input to the plasma device. To evaluate the impact of these parameters, we studied the reduction of native microbiota or artificially applied E. coli on alfalfa, onion, radish and cress seeds exposed to non-thermal plasma in an atmospheric pressure pulsed dielectric barrier discharge streamed with argon. Plasma treatment resulted in a maximum reduction of 3.4 logarithmic units for E. coli on cress seeds. A major challenge in plasma decontamination of granular food products turned out to be the complex surface topology, where the rough surface with cracks and crevices can shield microorganisms from plasma-generated reactive species, thus reducing the treatment efficiency. However, improvement of the inactivation efficiency was possible by optimizing substrate characteristics such as the moisture level and by tuning the power supply settings (voltage, frequency) to increase the production of reactive species. While the germination ability of alfalfa seeds was considerably decreased by harsh plasma treatment, enhanced germination was observed under

  6. Discharge pulse phenomenology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frederickson, A. R.

    1985-01-01

    A model was developed which places radiation induced discharge pulse results into a unified conceptual framework. Only two phenomena are required to interpret all space and laboratory results: (1) radiation produces large electrostatic fields inside insulators via the trapping of a net space charge density; and (2) the electrostatic fields initiate discharge streamer plasmas similar to those investigated in high voltage electrical insulation materials; these streamer plasmas generate the pulsing phenomena. The apparent variability and diversity of results seen is an inherent feature of the plasma streamer mechanism acting in the electric fields which is created by irradiation of the dielectrics. The implications of the model are extensive and lead to constraints over what can be done about spacecraft pulsing.

  7. Oxidation of S(IV) in Seawater by Pulsed High Voltage Discharge Plasma with TiO2/Ti Electrode as Catalyst

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gong, Jianying; Zhang, Xingwang; Wang, Xiaoping; Lei, Lecheng

    2013-12-01

    Oxidation of S(IV) to S(VI) in the effluent of a flue gas desulfurization(FGD) system is very critical for industrial applications of seawater FGD. This paper reports a pulsed corona discharge oxidation process combined with a TiO2 photocatalyst to convert S(IV) to S(VI) in artificial seawater. Experimental results show that the oxidation of S(IV) in artificial seawater is enhanced in the pulsed discharge plasma process through the application of TiO2 coating electrodes. The oxidation rate of S(IV) using Ti metal as a ground electrode is about 2.0×10-4 mol · L-1 · min-1, the oxidation rate using TiO2/Ti electrode prepared by annealing at 500°C in air is 4.5×10-4 mol · L-1 · min-1, an increase with a factor 2.25. The annealing temperature for preparing TiO2/Ti electrode has a strong effect on the oxidation of S(IV) in artificial seawater. The results of in-situ emission spectroscopic analysis show that chemically active species (i.e. hydroxyl radicals and oxygen radicals) are produced in the pulsed discharge plasma process. Compared with the traditional air oxidation process and the sole plasma-induced oxidation process, the combined application of TiO2 photocatalysts and a pulsed high-voltage electrical discharge process is useful in enhancing the energy and conversion efficiency of S(IV) for the seawater FGD system.

  8. Semiempirical models of H-mode discharges

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Singer, C.E.; Redi, M.; Boyd, D.

    1985-05-01

    The H-mode transition can lead to a rapid increase in tokamak plasma confinement. A semiempirical transport model was derived from global OH and L-mode confinement scalings and then applied to simulation of H-mode discharges. The radial diffusivities in the model also depend on local density and pressure gradients and satisfy an appropriate dimensional constraint. Examples are shown of the application of this and similar models to the detailed simulation of two discharges which exhibit an H-mode transition. The models reproduce essential features of plasma confinement in the ohmic heating, low and high confinement phases of these discharges. In particular, themore » evolution of plasma energy content through the H-mode transition can be reproduced without any sudden or ad hoc modification of the plasma transport formulation.« less

  9. Electric field in a plasma channel in a high-pressure nanosecond discharge in hydrogen: a coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering study.

    PubMed

    Yatom, S; Tskhai, S; Krasik, Ya E

    2013-12-20

    Experimental results of a study of the electric field in a plasma channel produced during nanosecond discharge at a H2 gas pressure of (2-3)×10(5)  Pa by the coherent anti-Stokes scattering method are reported. The discharge was ignited by applying a voltage pulse with an amplitude of ∼100  kV and a duration of ∼5  ns to a blade cathode placed at a distance of 10 and 20 mm from the anode. It was shown that this type of gas discharge is characterized by the presence of an electric field in the plasma channel with root-mean-square intensities of up to 30  kV/cm. Using polarization measurements, it was found that the direction of the electric field is along the cathode-anode axis.

  10. Impact of low-pressure glow-discharge-pulsed plasma polymerization on properties of polyaniline thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jatratkar, Aviraj A.; Yadav, Jyotiprakash B.; Deshmukh, R. R.; Barshilia, Harish C.; Puri, Vijaya; Puri, R. K.

    2016-12-01

    This study reports on polyaniline thin films deposited on a glass substrate using a low-pressure glow-discharge-pulsed plasma polymerization method. The polyaniline thin film obtained by pulsed plasma polymerization has been successfully demonstrated as an optical waveguide with a transmission loss of 3.93 dB cm-1, and has the potential to be employed in integrated optics. An attempt has been made to investigate the effect of plasma OFF-time on the structural, optical as well as surface properties of polyaniline thin film. The plasma ON-time has been kept constant and the plasma OFF-time has been varied throughout the work. The plasma OFF-time strongly influenced the properties of the polyaniline thin film, and a nanostructured and compact surface was revealed in the morphological studies. The plasma OFF-time was found to enhance film thickness, roughness, refractive index and optical transmission loss, whereas it reduced the optical band gap of the polyaniline thin films. Retention in the aromatic structure was confirmed by FTIR results. Optical studies revealed a π-π* electronic transition at about 317 nm as well as the formation of a branched structure. As compared with continuous wave plasma, pulsed plasma polymerization shows better properties. Pulsed plasma polymerization reduced the roughness of the film from 1.2 nm to 0.42 nm and the optical transmission loss from 6.56 dB cm-1 to 3.39 dB cm-1.

  11. Effects of discharge parameters on the micro-hollow cathode sustained glow discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shoujie, HE; Peng, WANG; Jing, HA; Baoming, ZHANG; Zhao, ZHANG; Qing, LI

    2018-05-01

    The effects of parameters such as pressure, first anode radius, and the cavity diameter on the micro-hollow cathode sustained glow discharge are investigated by using a two-dimensional self-consistent fluid model in pure argon. The results indicate that the three parameters influence the discharge in the regions inside and outside of the cavity. Under a fixed voltage on each electrode, a larger volume of high density plasma can be produced in the region between the first and the second anodes by selecting the appropriate pressure, the higher first anode, and the appropriate cavity diameter. As the pressure increases, the electron density inside the hollow cathode, the high density plasma volume between the first anode and second anodes, and the radial electric field in the cathode cavity initially increase and subsequently decrease. As the cavity diameter increases, the high-density plasma volume between the first and second anodes initially increases and subsequently decreases; whereas the electron density inside the hollow cathode decreases. As the first anode radius increases, the electron density increases both inside and outside of the cavity. Moreover, the increase of the electron density is more obvious in the microcathode sustained region than in the micro cavity region. The results reveal that the discharge inside the cavity interacts with that outside the cavity. The strong hollow cathode effect and the high-density plasma inside the cavity favor the formation of a sustained discharge between the first anode and the second anodes. Results also show that the radial boundary conditions exert a considerably weaker influence on the discharge except for a little change in the region close to the radial boundary.

  12. Improved plasma accelerator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cheng, D. Y.

    1971-01-01

    Converging, coaxial accelerator electrode configuration operates in vacuum as plasma gun. Plasma forms by periodic injections of high pressure gas that is ionized by electrical discharges. Deflagration mode of discharge provides acceleration, and converging contours of plasma gun provide focusing.

  13. Impact energy and retained dose uniformity in enhanced glow discharge plasma immersion ion implantation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lu, Q. Y.; Fu, Ricky K. Y.; Chu, Paul K.

    2009-08-10

    The implantation energy and retained dose uniformity in enhanced glow discharge plasma immersion ion implantation (EGD-PIII) is investigated numerically and experimentally. Depth profiles obtained from different samples processed by EGD-PIII and traditional PIII are compared. The retained doses under different pulse widths are calculated by integrating the area under the depth profiles. Our results indicate that the improvement in the impact energy and retained dose uniformity by this technique is remarkable.

  14. Numerical analysis of azimuthal rotating spokes in a crossed-field discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kawashima, R.; Hara, K.; Komurasaki, K.

    2018-03-01

    Low-frequency rotating spokes are obtained in a cross-field discharge plasma using two-dimensional numerical simulations. A particle-fluid hybrid model is used to model the plasma flow in a configuration similar to a Hall thruster. It has been reported that the drift-diffusion approximation for an electron fluid results in an ill-conditioned matrix when solving for the potential because of the differences in the electron mobilities across the magnetic field and in the direction of the E × B drift. In this paper, we employ a hyperbolic approach that enables stable calculation, namely, better iterative convergence of the electron fluid model. Our simulation results show a coherent rotating structure propagating in the E × B direction with a phase velocity of 2500 m s‑1, which agrees with experimental data. The phase velocity obtained from the numerical simulations shows good agreement with that predicted by the dispersion relation of the gradient drift instability.

  15. Miniature ion thruster ring-cusp discharge performance and behavior

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dankongkakul, Ben; Wirz, Richard E.

    2017-12-01

    Miniature ion thrusters are an attractive option for a wide range of space missions due to their low power levels and high specific impulse. Thrusters using ring-cusp plasma discharges promise the highest performance, but are still limited by the challenges of efficiently maintaining a plasma discharge at such small scales (typically 1-3 cm diameter). This effort significantly advances the understanding of miniature-scale plasma discharges by comparing the performance and xenon plasma confinement behavior for 3-ring, 4-ring, and 5-ring cusp by using the 3 cm Miniature Xenon Ion thruster as a modifiable platform. By measuring and comparing the plasma and electron energy distribution maps throughout the discharge, we find that miniature ring-cusp plasma behavior is dominated by the high magnetic fields from the cusps; this can lead to high loss rates of high-energy primary electrons to the anode walls. However, the primary electron confinement was shown to considerably improve by imposing an axial magnetic field or by using cathode terminating cusps, which led to increases in the discharge efficiency of up to 50%. Even though these design modifications still present some challenges, they show promise to bypassing what were previously seen as inherent limitations to ring-cusp discharge efficiency at miniature scales.

  16. Extended plasma channels created by UV laser in air and their application to control electric discharges

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zvorykin, V. D., E-mail: zvorykin@sci.lebedev.ru; Ionin, A. A.; Levchenko, A. O.

    2015-02-15

    Results are presented from a series of experimental and theoretical studies on creating weakly ionized extended plasma channels in atmospheric air by 248-nm UV laser radiation and their application to control long high-voltage discharges. The main mechanisms of air ionization by UV laser pulses with durations from 100 fs to 25 ns and intensities in the ranges of 3×10{sup 11}–1.5×10{sup 13} and 3×10{sup 6}–3×10{sup 11} W/cm{sup 2}, respectively, which are below the threshold for optical gas breakdown, as well as the main relaxation processes in plasma with a density of 10{sup 9}–10{sup 17} cm{sup −3}, are considered. It is shownmore » that plasma channels in air can be efficiently created by amplitude-modulated UV pulses consisting of a train of subpicosecond pulses producing primary photoelectrons and a long UV pulse suppressing electron attachment and sustaining the density of free electrons in plasma. Different modes of the generation and amplification of trains of subterawatt subpicosecond pulses and amplitude-modulated UV pulses with an energy of several tens of joules were implemented on the GARPUN-MTW hybrid Ti:sapphire-KrF laser facility. The filamentation of such UV laser beams during their propagation in air over distances of up to 100 m and the parameters of the corresponding plasma channels were studied experimentally and theoretically. Laser initiation of high-voltage electric discharges and control of their trajectories by means of amplitude-modulated UV pulses, as well as the spatiotemporal structure of breakdowns in air gaps with length of up to 80 cm, were studied.« less

  17. Numerical simulations of dielectric barrier discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martens, Tom

    A plasma or gas discharge is a state of matter which can be described as a gas containing ionized atoms and molecules. This ionized gas exhibits a collective behaviour under influence of an electric or a magnetic field, which are responsible for unique properties which make all new kinds of technology possible. The most important motivation behind the research is finding more efficient ways to produce a low-temperature plasma. In order to achieve this different reactor geometries are studied, it is investigated which is the most suitable power source and the influence of small contaminations of the operating gas is assessed. The studied plasmas are mainly operated at atmospheric pressure. Working at this pressure is cheaper and it makes it possible to develop assembly line treatments. Such plasmas are most easily generated in very small geometries, although energetic derailment of the discharge becomes a substantial risk. This is avoided when the electrodes are electrically insulated. In such setup the insulators accumulate charges which compensate the governing electric field, which keeps the energy transfer to the discharge limited. By studying these discharges using computer models, the changes in the plasma chemistry in time and also under the influence of different levels of impurities were characterized in great detail. Moreover, it was also determined how these chemical changes determine the electrical characteristics of the plasma. Finally, the insights in the charging and discharging effects of the insulators were used to make predictions on which type of power source is the most efficient in using the potential energy stored on the insulator surface to generate the plasma. The most important conclusions are that molecular impurities of the order of only one part per million already dominate the ionic particle distributions in the plasma and that a well-designed alteration in the applied voltage profile leads to a plasma generation with a more than three

  18. Investigation of airflow effects on the dielectric barrier discharge with single/double discharge channel arrangement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, Zhihui; Yan, Huijie; Liu, Yidi; Guo, Hongfei; Wang, Yuying; Ren, Chunsheng

    2018-05-01

    Atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with airflow participation has been widely used in recent years. In this paper, effects of airflow on DBD characteristics are experimentally investigated by single/double pin-to-plate DBD arrangements with an AC exciting source. The discharge electrical characteristics and the movements of discharge channels in airflow are investigated with a single pin electrode arrangement. The current intensities increase in positive cycles and decrease in negative cycles with the increase in airflow velocity. The transition from a filamentary discharge to a diffuse discharge is observed under certain airflow conditions, and the discharge channels move with the airflow with a movement velocity less than the corresponding airflow velocity. In the cases of double pin electrode arrangements, the repulsion between double pin discharge channels is apparent at a 10 mm distance but is not obvious at a 20 mm distance. When the airflow is introduced into the discharge gap, not as in the case of single pin electrode arrangement, the movements of discharge channels in airflow are affected by adjacent discharge channels. The corresponding reasons are analyzed in the paper.

  19. Characteristics of molecular hydrogen and CH* radicals in a methane plasma in a magnetically enhanced capacitive RF discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Avtaeva, S. V.; Lapochkina, T. M.

    2007-09-15

    The parameters of a methane-containing plasma in an asymmetric RF capacitive discharge in an external magnetic field were studied using optical emission spectroscopy. The power deposited in the discharge was 90 W and the gas pressure and magnetic field were varied in the ranges 1-5 Pa and 50-200 G, respectively. The vibrational and rotational temperatures of hydrogen molecules and CH* radicals were measured as functions of the magnetic field and methane pressure. The ratio between the densities of atomic and molecular hydrogen was estimated. The processes responsible for the excitation of molecular hydrogen and CH* radicals in a methane-containing plasmamore » in an RF capacitive discharge are analyzed.« less

  20. Discharge current modes of high power impulse magnetron sputtering

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wu, Zhongzhen, E-mail: wuzz@pkusz.edu.cn; Xiao, Shu; Ma, Zhengyong

    2015-09-15

    Based on the production and disappearance of ions and electrons in the high power impulse magnetron sputtering plasma near the target, the expression of the discharge current is derived. Depending on the slope, six possible modes are deduced for the discharge current and the feasibility of each mode is discussed. The discharge parameters and target properties are simplified into the discharge voltage, sputtering yield, and ionization energy which mainly affect the discharge plasma. The relationship between these factors and the discharge current modes is also investigated.

  1. Side Effects of CV Medications Following Hospitalization for ACS Are Associated With More Frequent Health-Care Contacts.

    PubMed

    Le, Rachel J; Cullen, Michael W; Lahr, Brian D; Wright, R Scott; Kopecky, Stephen L

    2017-05-01

    Patients hospitalized for first acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are frequently discharged on multiple new medications. The short-term tolerability of these medications is unknown. This single-center cohort study assessed 30-day health-care utilization and how it may be impacted by medication prescribing trends. We included Olmsted County patients presenting with ACS and previously undiagnosed coronary artery disease in 2008 to 2009. All health-care contacts were reviewed 30 days after index hospital discharge for potential adverse medication effects including documented hypotension or bradycardia, or symptoms likely attributed to the medications. The study included 86 patients; their mean age was 63 (standard deviation: 15.5 years). Antianginal or antihypertensive cardiovascular (CV) medications were prescribed to 98% of patients at discharge; 76% were prescribed 2 or more. There were 233 health-care contacts in 30 days; 90 (39%) of these contacts were unscheduled. More CV medications tended to be prescribed to patients with unscheduled contacts, both pre-ACS ( P = .045) and upon hospital discharge ( P = .051). Hypotension and/or bradycardia at follow-up occurred in 52 patients (60%). Surprisingly, there was no association between hypotension and/or bradycardia at follow-up and increased health-care utilization ( P = .12). Potential adverse drug effects were reported in 34 (40%) patients. These patients had significantly more total health-care contacts ( P < .001) and unscheduled health-care contacts (median 0 vs 1.5; P < .001). Symptoms of adverse drug effects were associated with more frequent health-care utilization after ACS. Clinicians need to consider this while striving to increase patient compliance with post-ACS medications and optimize care transitions.

  2. Method of preparing water purification membranes. [polymerization of allyl amine as thin films in plasma discharge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hollahan, J. R.; Wydeven, T. J., Jr. (Inventor)

    1974-01-01

    Allyl amine and chemically related compounds are polymerized as thin films in the presence of a plasma discharge. The monomer compound can be polymerized by itself or in the presence of an additive gas to promote polymerization and act as a carrier. The polymerized films thus produced show outstanding advantages when used as reverse osmosis membranes.

  3. Effects and Mechanism of Atmospheric-Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge Cold Plasma on Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) Enzyme

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Hao; Xu, Zimu; Shen, Jie; Li, Xu; Ding, Lili; Ma, Jie; Lan, Yan; Xia, Weidong; Cheng, Cheng; Sun, Qiang; Zhang, Zelong; Chu, Paul K.

    2015-05-01

    Proteins are carriers of biological functions and the effects of atmospheric-pressure non-thermal plasmas on proteins are important to applications such as sterilization and plasma-induced apoptosis of cancer cells. Herein, we report our detailed investigation of the effects of helium-oxygen non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas on the inactivation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme solutions. Circular dichroism (CD) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) indicate that the loss of activity stems from plasma-induced modification of the secondary molecular structure as well as polymerization of the peptide chains. Raising the treatment intensity leads to a reduced alpha-helix content, increase in the percentage of the beta-sheet regions and random sequence, as well as gradually decreasing LDH activity. However, the structure of the LDH plasma-treated for 300 seconds exhibits a recovery trend after storage for 24 h and its activity also increases slightly. By comparing direct and indirect plasma treatments, plasma-induced LDH inactivation can be attributed to reactive species (RS) in the plasma, especially ones with a long lifetime including hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and nitrate ion which play the major role in the alteration of the macromolecular structure and molecular diameter in lieu of heat, UV radiation, and charged particles.

  4. Product surface hardening in non-self-sustained glow discharge plasma before synthesis of superhard coatings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krasnov, P. S.; Metel, A. S.; Nay, H. A.

    2017-05-01

    Before the synthesis of superhard coating, the product surface is hardened by means of plasma nitriding, which prevents the surface deformations and the coating brittle rupture. The product heating by ions accelerated from plasma by applied to the product bias voltage leads to overheating and blunting of the product sharp edges. To prevent the blunting, it is proposed to heat the products with a broad beam of fast nitrogen molecules. The beam injection into a working vacuum chamber results in filling of the chamber with quite homogeneous plasma suitable for nitriding. Immersion in the plasma of the electrode and heightening of its potential up to 50-100 V initiate a non-self-sustained glow discharge between the electrode and the chamber. It enhances the plasma density by an order of magnitude and reduces its spatial nonuniformity down to 5-10%. When a cutting tool is isolated from the chamber, it is bombarded by plasma ions with an energy corresponding to its floating potential, which is lower than the sputtering threshold. Hence, the sharp edges are sputtered only by fast nitrogen molecules with the same rate as other parts of the tool surface. This leads to sharpening of the cutting tools instead of blunting.

  5. Study of carbon dioxide gas treatment based on equations of kinetics in plasma discharge reactor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abedi-Varaki, Mehdi

    2017-08-01

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) as the primary greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming earth. CO2 is widely emitted through the cars, planes, power plants and other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil). Thus, there is a need to develop some method to reduce CO2 emission. To this end, this study investigates the behavior of CO2 in dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor. The behavior of different species and their reaction rates are studied using a zero-dimensional model based on equations of kinetics inside plasma reactor. The results show that the plasma reactor has an effective reduction on the CO2 density inside the reactor. As a result of reduction in the temporal variations of reaction rate, the speed of chemical reactions for CO2 decreases and very low concentration of CO2 molecules inside the plasma reactor is generated. The obtained results are compared with the existing experimental and simulation findings in the literature.

  6. Synthesis and characteristics of Ag/Pt bimetallic nanocomposites by arc-discharge solution plasma processing.

    PubMed

    Pootawang, Panuphong; Saito, Nagahiro; Takai, Osamu; Lee, Sang-Yul

    2012-10-05

    Arc discharge in solution, generated by applying a high voltage of unipolar pulsed dc to electrodes of Ag and Pt, was used as a method to form Ag/Pt bimetallic nanocomposites via electrode erosion by the effects of the electric arc at the cathode (Ag rod) and the sputtering at the anode (Pt rod). Ag/Pt bimetallic nanocomposites were formed as colloidal particles dispersed in solution via the reduction of hydrogen radicals generated during discharge without the addition of chemical precursor or reducing agent. At a discharge time of 30 s, the fine bimetallic nanoparticles with a mean particle size of approximately 5 nm were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). With increasing discharge time, the bimetallic nanoparticle size tended to increase by forming an agglomeration. The presence of the relatively small amount of Pt dispersed in the Ag matrix could be observed by the analytical mapping mode of energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and high-resolution TEM. This demonstrated that the synthesized particle was in the form of a nanocomposite. No contamination of other chemical substances was detected by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Hence, solution plasma could be a clean and simple process to effectively synthesize Ag/Pt bimetallic nanocomposites and it is expected to be widely applicable in the preparation of several types of nanoparticle.

  7. Antimicrobial Efficacy of Two Surface Barrier Discharges with Air Plasma against In Vitro Biofilms

    PubMed Central

    Matthes, Rutger; Bender, Claudia; Schlüter, Rabea; Koban, Ina; Bussiahn, René; Reuter, Stephan; Lademann, Jürgen; Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter; Kramer, Axel

    2013-01-01

    The treatment of infected wounds is one possible therapeutic aspect of plasma medicine. Chronic wounds are often associated with microbial biofilms which limit the efficacy of antiseptics. The present study investigates two different surface barrier discharges with air plasma to compare their efficacy against microbial biofilms with chlorhexidine digluconate solution (CHX) as representative of an important antibiofilm antiseptic. Pseudomonas aeruginosa SG81 and Staphylococcus epidermidis RP62A were cultivated on polycarbonate discs. The biofilms were treated for 30, 60, 150, 300 or 600 s with plasma or for 600 s with 0.1% CHX, respectively. After treatment, biofilms were dispensed by ultrasound and the antimicrobial effects were determined as difference in the number of the colony forming units by microbial culture. A high antimicrobial efficacy on biofilms of both plasma sources in comparison to CHX treatment was shown. The efficacy differs between the used strains and plasma sources. For illustration, the biofilms were examined under a scanning electron microscope before and after treatment. Additionally, cytotoxicity was determined by the MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay with L929 mouse fibroblast cell line. The cell toxicity of the used plasma limits its applicability on human tissue to maximally 150 s. The emitted UV irradiance was measured to estimate whether UV could limit the application on human tissue at the given parameters. It was found that the UV emission is negligibly low. In conclusion, the results support the assumption that air plasma could be an option for therapy of chronic wounds. PMID:23894661

  8. Neutral gas rotation in magnetron discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pal, A. F.; Ryabinkin, A. N.; Serov, A. O.; Filippov, A. V.

    2014-12-01

    We have experimentally established the existence and determined the velocity of motion of the neutral component of plasma in a planar magnetron discharge, which takes place in the direction of drift of the charged plasma component in crossed electric and magnetic ( E × B) fields. For this purpose, we have studied the propagation of a small gaseous additive over the plasma ring of dc magnetron discharge in the diffusion regime. The obtained temporal dependences of the intensity of atomic emission spectra of the additive in various regions of the plasma ring are compared to the results of numerical solution of the diffusion equation for the experimental conditions studied.

  9. Plasma Acceleration by Rotating Magnetic Field Method using Helicon Source

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Furukawa, Takeru; Shimura, Kaichi; Kuwahara, Daisuke; Shinohara, Shunjiro

    2017-10-01

    Electrodeless plasma thrusters are very promising due to no electrode damage, leading to realize further deep space exploration. As one of the important proposals, we have been concentrating on Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF) acceleration method. High-dense plasma (up to 1013 cm-3) can be generated by using a radio frequency (rf) external antenna, and also accelerated by an antenna wound around outside of a discharge tube. In this scheme, thrust increment is achieved by the axial Lorentz force caused by non linear effects. RMF penetration condition into plasma can be more satisfied than our previous experiment, by increasing RMF coil current and decreasing the RMF frequency, causing higher thrust and fuel efficiency. Measurements of AC RMF component s have been conducted to investigate the acceleration mechanism and the field penetration experimentally. This study has been partially supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B: 17H02995) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

  10. Analytic non-Maxwellian electron velocity distribution function in a Hall discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shagayda, Andrey; Tarasov, Alexey

    2017-10-01

    The electron velocity distribution function in the low-pressure discharges with the crossed electric and magnetic fields, which occur in magnetrons, plasma accelerators, and Hall thrusters with a closed electron drift, is not Maxwellian. A deviation from equilibrium is caused by a large electron mean free path relative to the Larmor radius and the size of the discharge channel. In this study, we derived in the relaxation approximation the analytical expression of the electron velocity distribution function in a weakly ionized Lorentz plasma with the crossed electric and magnetic fields in the presence of the electron density and temperature gradients in the direction of the electric field. The solution was obtained in the stationary approximation far from boundary surfaces, when diffusion and mobility are determined by the classical effective collision frequency of electrons with ions and atoms. The moments of the distribution function including the average velocity, the stress tensor, and the heat flux were calculated and compared with the classical hydrodynamic expressions. It was shown that a kinetic correction to the drift velocity stems from a contribution of the off-diagonal component of the stress tensor. This correction becomes essential if the drift velocity in the crossed electric and magnetic fields would be comparable to the thermal velocity of electrons. The electron temperature has three different components at a nonzero effective collision frequency and two different components in the limit when the collision frequency tends to zero. It is shown that, in the presence of ionization collisions, the components of the heat flux have additives that are not related to the temperature gradient, and arise because of the electron drift.

  11. Low current plasmatron fuel converter having enlarged volume discharges

    DOEpatents

    Rabinovich, Alexander; Alexeev, Nikolai; Bromberg, Leslie; Cohn, Daniel R.; Samokhin, Andrei

    2005-04-19

    A novel apparatus and method is disclosed for a plasmatron fuel converter (""plasmatron"") that efficiently uses electrical energy to produce hydrogen rich gas. The volume and shape of the plasma discharge is controlled by a fluid flow established in a plasma discharge volume. A plasmatron according to this invention produces a substantially large effective plasma discharge volume allowing for substantially greater volumetric efficiency in the initiation of chemical reactions within a volume of bulk fluid reactant flowing through the plasmatron.

  12. Low current plasmatron fuel converter having enlarged volume discharges

    DOEpatents

    Rabinovich, Alexander [Swampscott, MA; Alexeev, Nikolai [Moscow, RU; Bromberg, Leslie [Sharon, MA; Cohn, Daniel R [Chestnut Hill, MA; Samokhin, Andrei [Moscow, RU

    2009-10-06

    A novel apparatus and method is disclosed for a plasmatron fuel converter ("plasmatron") that efficiently uses electrical energy to produce hydrogen rich gas. The volume and shape of the plasma discharge is controlled by a fluid flow established in a plasma discharge volume. A plasmatron according to this invention produces a substantially large effective plasma discharge volume allowing for substantially greater volumetric efficiency in the initiation of chemical reactions within a volume of bulk fluid reactant flowing through the plasmatron.

  13. Effects of dielectric barrier discharge plasma on the inactivation of Zygosaccharomyces rouxii and quality of apple juice.

    PubMed

    Xiang, Qisen; Liu, Xiufang; Li, Junguang; Liu, Shengnan; Zhang, Hua; Bai, Yanhong

    2018-07-15

    This work aimed to evaluate the effects of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma on inactivation of spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii (Z. rouxii), in apple juice. Results showed that DBD plasma treatment at 90 W for 140 s resulted in about 5-log reduction of Z. rouxii in apple juice. The levels of extracellular nucleic acids and proteins as well as contents of H 2 O 2 and NO 2 - in yeast extract-peptone-dextrose (YPD) medium increased significantly after DBD plasma treatment at 90 W for 40-200 s. The increases in membrane permeability and generation of reactive species would likely contribute to DBD plasma-mediated inactivation of Z. rouxii. DBD plasma caused significant changes in pH, titratable acidity, and certain color parameters of apple juice, but had no effect on the contents of total soluble solids, reducing sugar, and total phenolics. This study provides key implications for the application of DBD plasma in fruit juice processing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Pulsed-plasma gas-discharge inactivation of microbial pathogens in chilled poultry wash water.

    PubMed

    Rowan, N J; Espie, S; Harrower, J; Anderson, J G; Marsili, L; MacGregor, S J

    2007-12-01

    A pulsed-plasma gas-discharge (PPGD) system was developed for the novel decontamination of chilled poultry wash water. Treatment of poultry wash water in the plasma generation chamber for up to 24 s at 4 degrees C reduced Escherichia coli NCTC 9001, Campylobacter jejuni ATCC 33560, Campylobacter coli ATCC 33559, Listeria monocytogenes NCTC 9863, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis ATCC 4931, and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 14028 populations to non-detectable levels (< or = 8 log CFU/ml). Although similar PPGD treatments at 4 degrees C also produced significant reductions (> or = 3 log CFU/ml) in recalcitrant B. cereus NCTC 11145 endospore numbers within 30 s, the level of endospore reduction was dependent on the nature of the sparged gas used in the plasma treatments. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that significant damage occurred at the cellular level in PPGD-treated test organisms. This electrotechnology delivers energy in intense ultrashort bursts, generating products such as ozone, UV light, acoustic and shock waves, and pulsed electric fields that have multiple bactericidal properties. This technology offers an exciting complementary or alternative approach for treating raw poultry wash water and for preventing cross-contamination in processing environments.

  15. Determination of atomic hydrogen in non-thermal hydrogen plasmas by means of molecular beam threshold ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wang, Wei-Guo; Xu, Yong; Yang, Xue-Feng; Wang, Wen-Chun; Zhu, Ai-Min

    2005-01-01

    Atomic hydrogen plays important roles in chemical vapor deposition of functional materials, plasma etching and new approaches to chemical synthesis of hydrogen-containing compounds. The present work reports experimental determinations of atomic hydrogen near the grounded electrode in medium-pressure dielectric barrier discharge hydrogen plasmas by means of molecular beam threshold ionization mass spectrometry (MB-TIMS). At certain discharge conditions (a.c. frequency of 24 kHz, 28 kV of peak-to-peak voltage), the measured hydrogen dissociation fraction is decreased from approximately 0.83% to approximately 0.14% as the hydrogen pressure increases from 2.0 to 14.0 Torr. A simulation method for extraction of the approximate electron beam energy distribution function in the mass spectrometer ionizer and a semi-quantitative approach to calibrate the mass discrimination effect caused by the supersonic beam formation and the mass spectrometer measurement are reported. Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Coulomb Crystallization of Charged Microspheres Levitated in a Gas Discharge Plasma

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goree, John

    1998-01-01

    The technical topic of the project was the experimental observation of Coulomb crystallization of charged microspheres levitated in a gas discharge plasma. This suspension, sometimes termed a dusty plasma, is closely analogous to a colloidal suspension, except that it has a much faster time response, is more optically thin, and has no buoyancy forces to suspend the particles. The particles are levitated by electric fields. Through their collective Coulomb repulsions, the particles arrange themselves in a lattice with a crystalline symmetry, which undergoes an order-disorder phase transition analogous to melting when the effective temperature of the system is increased. Due to gravitational sedimentation, the particles form a thin layer in the laboratory, so that the experimental system is nearly 2D, whereas in future microgravity experiments they are expected to fill a larger volume and behave like a 3D solid or liquid. The particles are imaged using a video camera by illuminating them with a sheet of laser light. Because the suspension is optically thin, this imaging method will work as well in a 3D microgravity experiment as it does in a 2D laboratory system.

  17. Multiple current peaks in room-temperature atmospheric pressure homogenous dielectric barrier discharge plasma excited by high-voltage tunable nanosecond pulse in air

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, De-Zheng; Wang, Wen-Chun; Zhang, Shuai

    2013-05-13

    Room temperature homogenous dielectric barrier discharge plasma with high instantaneous energy efficiency is acquired by using nanosecond pulse voltage with 20-200 ns tunable pulse width. Increasing the voltage pulse width can lead to the generation of regular and stable multiple current peaks in each discharge sequence. When the voltage pulse width is 200 ns, more than 5 organized current peaks can be observed under 26 kV peak voltage. Investigation also shows that the organized multiple current peaks only appear in homogenous discharge mode. When the discharge is filament mode, organized multiple current peaks are replaced by chaotic filament current peaks.

  18. Comparison in the analytical performance between krypton and argon glow discharge plasmas as the excitation source for atomic emission spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wagatsuma, Kazuaki

    2009-04-01

    The emission characteristics of ionic lines of nickel, cobalt, and vanadium were investigated when argon or krypton was employed as the plasma gas in glow discharge optical emission spectrometry. A dc Grimm-style lamp was employed as the excitation source. Detection limits of the ionic lines in each iron-matrix alloy sample were compared between the krypton and the argon plasmas. Particular intense ionic lines were observed in the emission spectra as a function of the discharge gas (krypton or argon), such as the Co II 258.033 nm for krypton and the Co II 231.707 nm for argon. The explanation for this is that collisions with the plasma gases dominantly populate particular excited levels of cobalt ion, which can receive the internal energy from each gas ion selectively, for example, the 3d(7)4p (3)G(5) (6.0201 eV) for krypton and the 3d(7)4p (3)G(4) (8.0779 eV) for argon. In the determination of nickel as well as cobalt in iron-matrix samples, more sensitive ionic lines could be found in the krypton plasma rather than the argon plasma. Detection limits in the krypton plasma were 0.0039 mass% Ni for the Ni II 230.299-nm line and 0.002 mass% Co for the Co II 258.033-nm line. However, in the determination of vanadium, the argon plasma had better analytical performance, giving a detection limit of 0.0023 mass% V for the V II 309.310-nm line.

  19. Miniature Dielectric Barrier Discharge Nonthermal Plasma Induces Apoptosis in Lung Cancer Cells and Inhibits Cell Migration.

    PubMed

    Karki, Surya B; Yildirim-Ayan, Eda; Eisenmann, Kathryn M; Ayan, Halim

    2017-01-01

    Traditional cancer treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy have drawbacks and are not selective for killing only cancer cells. Nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasmas with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) can be applied to living cells and tissues and have emerged as novel tools for localized cancer therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the different effects caused by miniature DBD (mDBD) plasma to A549 lung cancer cells. In this study, A549 lung cancer cells cultured in 12 well plates were treated with mDBD plasma for specified treatment times to assess the changes in the size of the area of cell detachment, the viability of attached or detached cells, and cell migration. Furthermore, we investigated an innovative mDBD plasma-based therapy for localized treatment of lung cancer cells through apoptotic induction. Our results indicate that plasma treatment for 120 sec causes apoptotic cell death in 35.8% of cells, while mDBD plasma treatment for 60 sec, 30 sec, or 15 sec causes apoptotic cell death in 20.5%, 14.1%, and 6.3% of the cell population, respectively. Additionally, we observed reduced A549 cell migration in response to mDBD plasma treatment. Thus, mDBD plasma system can be a viable platform for localized lung cancer therapy.

  20. Flow control of an elongated jet in cross-flow: Film cooling effectiveness enhancement using surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Audier, P.; Fénot, M.; Bénard, N.; Moreau, E.

    2016-02-01

    The case presented here deals with plasma flow control applied to a cross-flow configuration, more specifically to a film cooling system. The ability of a plasma dielectric barrier discharge actuator for film cooling effectiveness enhancement is investigated through an experimental set-up, including a film injection from an elongated slot into a thermally uniform cross-flow. Two-dimensional particle image velocimetry and infrared-thermography measurements are performed for three different blowing ratios of M = 0.4, 0.5, and 1. Results show that the effectiveness can be increased when the discharge is switched on, as predicted by the numerical results available in literature. Whatever the blowing ratio, the actuator induces a deflection of the jet flow towards the wall, increases its momentum, and delays its diffusion in the cross-flow.