Study on Glow Discharge Plasma Used in Polyester Surface Modification

To achieve an atmospheric pressure glow discharge(APGD)in air and modify the surface of polyester thread using plasma,the electric field distribution and discharge characteristics under different conditions were studied.We found that the region with a strong electric field,which was formed in a tiny gap between two electrodes constituting a line-line contact electrode structure,provided the initial electron for the entire discharge process.Thus,the discharge voltage was reduced.The dielectric barrier of the line-line contact electrodes can inhibit the generation of secondary electrons.Thus,the transient current pulse discharge was reduced significantly,and an APGD in air was achieved.We designed double layer line-line contact electrodes,which can generate the APGD on the surface of a material under treatment directly.A noticeable change in the surface morphology of polyester fiber was visualized with the aid of a scanning electron microscope(SEM).Two electrode structures–the multi-row line-line and double-helix line-line contact electrodes–were designed.A large area of the APGD plasma with flat and curved surfaces can be formed in air using these contact electrodes.This can improve the efficiency of surface treatment and is significant for the application of the APGD plasma in industries.     

Circle Points Discharge Tube Current Controller

Circle points discharge tube current controller is a new type device to limit the output of high voltage discharge current. Circle points uniform corona discharge to form air ionization current in the discharge tube. On the outside, even if the discharge electrode is spark discharging or the two discharge electrodes are short circuited, the air ionization current in the tube remains within a stable range, and there is no spark discharge. In this case, when the discharge current only increases slightly, the requirement to limited current is obtained. By installing the controller at a discharge pole with a small power but high voltage supply, we can realize the shift between the continuous spark line discharge and corona discharge. This provides a new simple device for spark discharge research and is a supplement to the Townsend discharge experiment.     

Study on the plasma generation characteristics of an induction-triggered coaxial pulsed plasma thruster

At present,spark plugs are used to trigger discharge in pulsed plasma thrusters (PPT),which are known to be life-limiting components due to plasma corrosion and carbon deposition.A strong electric field could be formed in a cathode triple junction (CTJ) to achieve a trigger function under vacuum conditions.We propose an induction-triggered electrode structure on the basis of the CTJ trigger principle.The induction-triggered electrode structure could increase the electric field strength of the CTJ without changing the voltage between electrodes,contributing to a reduction in the electrode breakdown voltage.Additionally,it can maintain the plasma generation effect when the breakdown voltage is reduced in the discharge experiments.The induction-triggered electrode structure could ensure an effective trigger when the ablation distance of Teflon increases,and the magnetic field produced by the discharge current could further improve the plasma density and propagation velocity.The induction-triggered coaxial PPT we propose has a simplified trigger structure,and it is an effective attempt to optimize the micro-satellite thruster.     

Research on the characteristics of atmospheric air dielectric barrier discharge under different square wave pulse polarities

Energy efficiency limits the application of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge(DBD),such as air purification,water treatment and material surface modification.This article focuses on the electrical and optical effects of the DBD under three square wave pulses polarities-positive,negative and bipolar.The result shows that under the same voltage with the quartz glass medium,the discharge efficiency of bipolar polarity pulse is the highest due to the influence of deposited charge.With the increase of air gap distance from 0.5 to 1.5 mm,average power consumed by the discharge air gap and discharge efficiency decrease obviously under alumina,and increase,and then decrease under quartz glass and polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA).Through spectrum diagnosis,in the quartz glass medium,the vibration temperature is the highest under negative polarity pulse excitation.Under bipolar pulse,the vibration temperature does not change significantly with the change of air gap distance.For the three dielectric materials of quartz glass,alumina and PMMA,the molecular vibration temperature is the highest under the quartz glass medium with the same voltage.When the gap spacing,pulse polarity or dielectric material are changed,the rotational temperature does not change significantly.     

Discharge characteristics of a needle-toplate electrode at a micro-scale gap

To understand the discharge characteristics under a gap of micrometers,the breakdown voltage and current–voltage curve are measured experimentally in a needle-to-plate electrode at a microscale gap of 3–50 μm in air.The effect of the needle radius and the gas pressure on the discharge characteristics are tested.The results show that when the gap is larger than 10 μm,the relation between the breakdown voltage and the gap looks like the Paschen curve;while below 10 μm,the breakdown voltage is nearly constant in the range of the tested gap.However,at the same gap distance,the breakdown voltage is still affected by the pressure and shows a trend similar to Paschen's law.The current–voltage characteristic in all the gaps is similar and follows the trend of a typical Townsend-to-glow discharge.A simple model is used to explain the non-normality of breakdown in the micro-gaps.The Townsend mechanism is suggested to control the breakdown process in this configuration before the gap reduces much smaller in air.     

Effect of the Mesh Transparency on the Electrical Characteristics of DC Pseudo Discharge

A DC pseudo discharge for air has been studied.Air pressure is used in the range between 0.7 Torr and 12 Torr.The breakdown occurs between a plane cathode and a mesh anode at transparencies of 19%,46%,and 65%.The current-voltage characteristic curves of the discharge,which are measured at different pressures,distances,and mesh transparences,take effect in the region of abnormal glow.The discharge voltage decreases as the air pressure increases,while more voltage is needed to maintain the discharge when either the mesh transparency or the interelectrode distance is increased.An increment of mesh transparency causes high negative potential behind the mesh due to the high concentration of electrons,which accumulate and collide with neutral atoms.Paschen curves deviate from the expected regular one.The left side of Paschen curves appears at inter-electrode distance of 1 mm,whereas the right side appears at inter-electrode distance of 5 mm.The intermediate region is observed only at 3 mm distance between the two electrodes.For the transparency range used in this work,it is found that the decrement of the breakdown voltage,on the right side,depends on the mesh transparency.For different electrode separations,the measured Paschen curves are coincident and deviate from the standard ones of Paschen's law.     

Study on water treatment effect of dispersion discharge plasma based on flowing water film electrode

To improve the utilization rate of plasma active species,in this study,a closed non-uniform air gap is formed by a flowing water film electrode and a sawtooth insulating dielectric layer to realize the diffuse glow discharge in the atmosphere.Firstly,the electric field distribution characteristics of non-uniform air gap in the sawtooth dielectric layer are studied,and the influence of aspect ratio on the characteristics of diffuse discharge plasma is discussed.Subsequently,the effects of wire mesh,the inclination angle of the dielectric plate,and liquid inlet velocity on the flow characteristics of the water film electrode are analyzed.The results show that the non-uniform electric field distribution formed in the sawtooth groove can effectively inhibit the filamentous discharge,and the 1 mm flowing water film is directly used as the electrode,and high-active plasma is formed directly on the lower surface of the water film.In addition,a plasma flowing water treatment device is built to treat the methyl orange solution and observe its decolorization effect.The experimental results show that after 50 min of treatment,the decolorization rate of the methyl orange solution reaches 96％,which provides a new idea for industrial applications of wastewater treatment.     

Transition from Spark Discharge to Constricted Glow Discharge in Atmospheric Air by Capacitor Coupled Discharge

The transition from a spark discharge to a constricted glow discharge in atmospheric air was studied with a capacitor coupled pin-to-water plasma reactor. The reason of the transition is considered to be of various factors, namely the change of the air gap due to the polarization of water molecules by the electric field, the feedback effect of the capacitors, and the ion trapping mechanism. The effects of the frequency of the power supply, inter-electrode gap, and coupled capacitance on the discharge transition were also investigated.     

Exploration to generate atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma in air

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 airgap 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 ram.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.     

The effect of the configuration of a single electrode corona discharge on its acoustic characteristics

A new sparker system based on pulsed spark discharge with a single electrode has already been utilized for oceanic seismic exploration. However, the electro-acoustic energy efficiency of this system is lower than that of arc discharge based systems. A simple electrode structure was investigated in order to improve the electro-acoustic energy efficiency of the spark discharge.Experiments were carried out on an experimental setup with discharge in water driven by a pulsed power source. The voltage–current waveform, acoustic signal and bubble oscillation were recorded when the relative position of the electrode varied. The electro-acoustic energy efficiency was also calculated. The load voltage had a saltation for the invaginated electrode tip,namely an obvious voltage remnant. The more the electrode tip was invaginated, the larger the pressure peaks and first period became. The results show that electrode recessing into the insulating layer is a simple and effective way to improve the electro-acoustic energy efficiency from 2% to about 4%.     

Experimental study of rotating wind turbine breakdown characteristics in large scale air gaps

When a wind turbine is struck by lightning,its blades are usually rotating.The effect of blade rotation on a turbine's ability to trigger a lightning strike is unclear.Therefore,an arching electrode was used in a wind turbine lightning discharge test to investigate the difference in lightning triggering ability when blades are rotating and stationary.A negative polarity switching waveform of 250/2500 μs was applied to the arching electrode and the up-and-down method was used to calculate the 50%discharge voltage.Lightning discharge tests of a 1:30 scale wind turbine model with 2,4,and 6 m air gaps were performed and the discharge process was observed.The experimental results demonstrated that when a 2 m air gap was used,the breakdown voltage increased as the blade speed was increased,but when the gap length was 4 m or longer,the trend was reversed and the breakdown voltage decreased.The analysis revealed that the rotation of the blades changes the charge distribution in the blade-tip region,promotes upward leader development on the blade tip,and decreases the breakdown voltage.Thus,the blade rotation of a wind turbine increases its ability to trigger lightning strikes.     

Discharge electrode configuration effects on the performance of a plasma sparker

A multi-electrode array is commonly applied in a plasma sparker to generate stable acoustic pulses.In this paper,the effects of the electrode configuration on the performance of a plasma sparker have been investigated.In terms of the load electrical characteristics,the electrode radius and distance have negligible influence on the electric characteristics,whereas a larger electrode number results in a smaller voltage and a larger current but has little effect on the load energy.Regarding the acoustic characteristics,both the expansion and collapse pulses can be increased by decreasing the electrode tip radius.the influence of the electrode number and electrode gap distance on the amplitude of the expansion pulse was found to be negligible.And the amplitude of the collapse pulse decreases significantly with increasing electrode number.Increasing the electrode number decreases the energy efficiency for intense bubble interactions,thus,a small electrode tip radius and a small electrode number are preferred for the design of a plasma sparker if the total discharge energy is given.     

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

In the present study,a combination of pulsed discharge plasma and TiO_2(plasma/TiO_2)has been developed in order to study the activity of TiO_2by 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 TiO_2in 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/TiO_2system,the highest catalytic effect of TiO_2was 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,O_3,H_2O_2,pyrolysis,shockwaves and high-energy electrons.Meanwhile,the optimal flow rate and conductivity were 0.05 m~3l~(-1)and 10μS 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/TiO_2system as compared to plasma alone.Analysis of the reaction intermediates demonstrated that p-benzoquinone reduction was selectively catalyzed on the TiO_2surface.The effective decomposition of phenol constant(D_e)increased from 74.11%to 79.16%when TiO_2was added,indicating that higher phenol mineralization was achieved in the plasma/TiO_2system.     

Comparison of discharge characteristics and methylene blue degradation through a direct-current excited plasma jet with air and oxygen used as working gases

Through using a direct-current driven plasma jet operated underwater, degradation of methylene blue(MB) is investigated with air and oxygen used as working gases. With a low power voltage,a plasma plume extends from the needle electrode, which is purple in air. It turns pink after it bridges the two electrodes. During the process, oxygen plasma remains white. Discharge operates in a pulsed mode or a continuous one, which depends on the magnitude of power voltage. For the pulsed mode, oxygen discharge has a shorter plume and a higher pulse frequency than air discharge under the same power voltage. For the same current of the continuous mode, both power and gap voltages of oxygen discharge are higher than those of air discharge. Moreover, MB degradation efficiency increases with increasing power voltage or initial concentration of MB solution. Compared with air discharge, oxygen discharge has a higher degradation efficiency with the same power voltage and treatment time. The pulsed oxygen discharge with power voltage of about 6.5 k V has the highest efficiency in degrading MB dye, reaching approximately 85.8% after 10 min treatment. As a comparison, after 10 min treatment in air discharge, the highest degradation efficiency is 63.7%, which appears in the continuous mode at a power voltage of 10.6 kV. Besides, optical spectra from the discharges are also compared for the two types of working gases.     

The Degradation of Organic Pollutants by Bubble Discharge in Water

Organic pollutants could be degraded by using bubble discharge in water with gas aeration in the discharge reactor and more plasma can be generated in the discharge process.When pulsed high voltage was applied between electrodes with gas aerated into the reactor,it showed that bubbles were broken,which meant that breakdown took place.It could also be observed that the removal rate of phenol increased with increasing discharge voltage or pulse frequency,and with reducing initial phenol concentration or solution electric conductivity.It could remove more amount of phenol by oxygen aeration.With increasing oxygen flow rate,the removal rate increased.There was little difference with air or nitrogen aeration for phenol removal.The solution temperature after discharge increased to a great extent.However,this part of energy consumption did not contribute to the reaction,which led to a reduction in the energy utilization efficiency.     

E-beam generation in discharges initiated by voltage pulses with a rise time of 200 ns at an air pressure of 12.5–100 kPa

The effect of air pressure (12.5, 25, 50, and 100 kPa) on the generation of runaway electron beams in a non-uniform electric field when applying voltage pulses (≈35 kV) with a rise time of ≈200 ns has been studied. The results show that the discharge has various stages: streamer, diffuse, and spark. Initially, a wide streamer develops in the gap and a diffuse discharge is formed. A spark is formed ≈100 ns after the breakdown. The current pulse of a supershort avalanche electron beam (SAEB) was measured with a collector at various pressures of air. Experiments show that there are two modes of generation of runaway electrons. At an air pressure of 25–100 kPa, a single SAEB current pulse with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 120–140 ps is observed. At the air pressure of 12.5 kPa, two current pulses of the electron beam are observed. FWHM of the first and second current pulses are ≈140 ps and ≈300 ps, respectively. The current pulse amplitude of the second electron beam is higher than that of the first one, but the electron energy is less.     

Temporal evolution of atmospheric cascade glow discharge with pulsed discharge and radio frequency discharge

Atmospheric cascade discharges with pulsed discharge and radio frequency(RF)discharge were experimentally investigated by the temporal evolution of discharge spatial profile and intensity.The indium tin oxide(ITO)coated glass was employed as the transparent electrode to capture the discharge distribution above the electrode surface.It is demonstrated that in the pulsed discharge with dielectric barrier,the first discharge at the rising edge of pulse voltage is uniformly ignited and then forms an expanding plasma ring on the ITO electrode surface,which shrinks to the same diameter as that of bare stainless steel electrode with the generation of second discharge at the falling edge of pulse voltage.The discharge profiles along the electrode surface and discharge gap of the successive RF discharge are dependent on the intensity and spatial distribution of residual plasma species generated by the pulsed discharge,which is determined by the time interval between the pulsed discharge and RF discharge.It is demonstrated that the residual plasma species before the RF discharge ignition help to achieve the stable operation of RF discharge with elevated intensity.     

Characteristic Analysis of AC Plasma Arc in Water

An experimental system of AC arc discharge in water was designed with pole-pole electrodes and a peak voltage of 1500 V and a test circuit was set up using virtual instrument technology. The mechanism of an AC plasma arc generated in water was analyzed. The voltage- current characteristic of the AC plasma arc was obtained from the waveform. The temperature characteristic was tested with a spectrum diagnosis system, and the effect of different electrode materials on the striking voltage and peak current was analyzed. The results show that when a power supply of 6 KW is applied on electrodes with a gap of 2 mm in water, the striking voltage is from 900 to 1300 V, the arc voltage is from 40 to 100 V, the arc current is from 2 to 7 A, and the zero rest period is from 1 to 2 ms. In addition, the arc voltage and current are different for electrodes in aluminum, copper and stainless steel. The arc voltage is lower and the current is higher for an aluminum electrode than those for copper and stainless steel ones. The highest temperature of the arc is 7643 K.     

Removal of NO and SO2 in Corona Discharge Plasma Reactor with Water Film

In this paper, a novel type of a corona discharge plasma reactor was designed, which consists of needle-plate-combined electrodes, in which a series of needle electrodes are placed in a glass container filled with flue gas, and a plate electrode is immersed in the water. Based on this model, the removal of NO and SO2 was tested experimentally. In addition, the effect of streamer polarity on the reduction of SO2 and NO was investigated in detail. The experimental results show that the corona wind formed between the high-voltage needle electrode and the water by corona discharge enhances the cleaning efficiency of the flue gas because of the presence of water, and the cleaning efficiency will increase with the increase of applied dc voltage within a definite range. The removal efficiency of SO2 up to 98%, and about 85% of NO~ removal under suitable conditions is obtained in our experiments.     

Degradation of Microcystin-LR by Gas-Liquid Interfacial Discharge Plasma

In this study, we report on the degradation of microcystin-LR （MC-LR） by gas- liquid interracial discharge plasma. The influences of operation parameters such as average input voltage, electrode distance and gas flow rate are investigated. Experimental results indicate that the input voltage and gas flow rate have positive influences on MC-LR degradation, while the electrode distance has a negative one. After 6 min discharge with 25 kV average input voltage and 60 L/h air aerati by discharge both in on, the degradation rate of MC-LR achieves 75.3%. distilled water and MC-LR solution are measured H202 and 03 generated Moreover, an emission spectroscopy is used as an indicator of the processes that take place on the gas-liquid boundary and inside plasma. Varied types of radicals （O, .OH, CO, 03, etc.） are proved to be present in the gas phase during gas-liquid interfacial discharge.