Scaled-Up Nonequilibrium Air Plasmas
Abstract
Experimental investigations of flow/plasma interactions in a DC discharge placed in a transverse preheated air flow confirm the role of the gas heating effect. The volume of plasma produced by the discharge is found to decrease when the air flow increases. This counterintuitive result is analyzed through measurements of the reduced field strength E/N profile in the discharge. When the flow velocity increases, the gas traversing the discharge region has less time to undergo vibrational-translational energy transfer and therefore it does not heat up as much. Lower temperature results in higher gas density N, thereby decreasing the E/N further downstream the flow. Since the rate coefficients of electron-impact processes are controlled by the E/N, the discharge volume tends to be larger in the slower flows.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA422298
Entities
People
- Charles H. Kruger
- Christophe O. Laux
- Graham V. Candler
- Zedenko Machala
Organizations
- Stanford University