Electron Heating in Atmospheric Pressure Air
Abstract
The use of microhollow cathode discharges (MHCD) as plasma cathodes has allowed us to generate stable, direct current atmospheric pressure glow discharges in air with dimensions up (0 centimeters, electron densities of 10 to the 13th power cm-3, and temperatures of not more than 2000 K. By sustaining the discharge through consecutive electrical pulses, with duration of less than the time constant for flow-to-arc transition, the required electrical power density could he drastically reduced, compared to the dc option. The temporal development of electron density and gas temperature in response to 10 ns pulses in single and dual pulse operation has been measured. The electron density increased during an applied pulse with a reduced electric field of 220 Td to values greater than 10 to the 15th power cm-3, before decreasing to 10 to the 13th power cm-3 due to recombination over a time of several microseconds. Power densities required to sustain atmospheric air plasmas in a repetitive pulsed mode were found to be less than 50 W/cm3 for electron densities exceeding 10 to the 12th power cm-3 during the discharge cycle.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA426378
Entities
People
- Karl H. Schoenbach
Organizations
- Old Dominion University