Table of contents

This paper focuses on the simulation of the low-voltage arc with an opening contact. A controllable experiment setup with a rotating contact is designed to investigate the arc behaviour. Supported by the experiment, the phenomena of arc elongation and commutation in the case of rotating contact are simulated with the dynamic grid technique introduced. Under the given condition of the external magnetic field and the contact rotating velocity, the stagnation and rapid jump of two arc roots are observed by the calculated and experimental arc root displacement. The voltage of arc column can be divided into four phases and its sharp rising progress comes from the increase of the displacement difference between two arc roots in x direction.

Nozzle wall ablation caused by high temperature electric arcs is studied in the context of high voltage SF₆ circuit breakers. The simplified ablation model used in litterature has been updated to take into account the unsteady state of ablation. Ablation rate and velocity are now calculated by a kinetic model using two layers of transition, between the bulk plasma and the ablating wall. The first layer (Knudsen layer), right by the wall, is a kinetic layer of a few mean-free path of thickness. The second layer is collision dominated and makes the transition between the kinetic layer and the plasma bulk. With this new coupled algorithm, it is now possible to calculate the temperature distribution inside the wall, as well as more accurate ablation rates.

The study of arc behavior is important to understand the dynamic phenomena concerning the interruption process in a variety of switching devices. This paper is devoted to investigate the influence of gassing material on blow open force and arc motion. To one double-breaker model, measuring the arc current, voltage and force acting on the moving conductor, the characteristics of the ratio of the emerging blow open force over arc power F_B/(ui) could be obtained. With the help of a 2-D optical fiber measurement system, to one arc chamber model, arc motion behavior was measured, too. It is demonstrated that, with the action of gassing material, F_B/(ui) will increase 2.5 times, and the arc will enter the splitter plates much easier.

Based on a two-dimensional axisymmetric magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) model, low current vacuum arc (LCVA) characteristics are studied. The influence of cathode process under different axial magnetic fields and different anode radii on LCVA characteristics is also simulated. The results show that the influence of both cathode process and anode radii on LCVA is significant. The sign of anode sheath potentials can change from negative to positive with the decrease of anode radii. The simulation results are in part verified by experimental results. Especially, as the effect of ion kinetic energy is considered, ion temperature is improved significantly; which is in agreement with experimental results.

Recent results on the distribution of vacuum arc cathode spots (CSs) in nonuniform axial magnetic field (AMF) are presented. Based on previous studies, we deem that two contrary influences of AMF, inward effect and outward effect, are attributed to CSs distribution. With this notion, we have analyzed the controlling effectiveness of nonuniform AMF on CSs distribution. Experiments were conducted in a detachable vacuum chamber with iron-style AMF electrodes. Images of vacuum arc column and the distribution of CSs were photographed with a high-speed charge coupled device (CCD) camera. Experimental results agreed well with the theoretical analysis.

The experimental work reported here is devoted to the study of the modifications inflicted on the surface of titanium alloy specimens by an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) reactor in both spatial and temporal afterglow conditions. A commercially available (AcXys Technologies) modified reactor system was used for the surface treatment of the TiA6V4 titanium alloy that is widely used in the aeronautical industry. Wettability surface characterisation and XPS analyses are performed to give a macroscopic and microscopic insight to the surface modifications. Best operating conditions, at constant input energy, were obtained for a duty cycle equal to 10%.

Titanium dioxide films were firstly deposited on glass substrate by DBD-CVD (dielectric barrier discharge enhanced chemical vapor deposition) technique. The structure of the films was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). TiO₂ films deposited under atmosphere pressure show preferred orientation, and exhibit columnar-like structure, while TiO₂ films deposited under low gas pressure show no preferred orientation. The columnar-like structure with preferred orientation exhibits higher photocatalytic efficiency, since the columnar structure has larger surface area. However, it contributes little to the improvement of hydrophilicity. DBD-CVD is an alternative method to prepare photocatalytic TiO₂ for its well-controllable property.

The experimental work reported here is devoted to the study of the luminous activity of a long dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) afterglow at atmospheric pressure. The discharge plasma is generated in a commercially available (AcXys Technologies) reactor, using a N₂ flow of a few tens SL/min, whereas the luminous afterglow when channelled into a quartz tube extends at a distance of 50 cm, finishing in a luminous arrow at the tube's exit. The luminous activity of the afterglow is studied by means of photomultiplier scans and optical emission spectroscopy, revealing an interesting transient phase. An attempt is made to correlate this effect with the active species' creation and destruction mechanisms.

The non-thermal plasma technology is a promising technique to treat SO₂ and NO_x. Chemical radicals produced with this technology can remove several pollutants at atmospheric pressure in a very short period of time simultaneously. Both theoretical and experimental study on SO₂ and NO_x removal, by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with corona effect, is presented.

A detective method of a negative corona discharge by means of an external electrode is presented. The relationship between an area of the external electrode and a detected voltage waveform is examined experimentally. This experimental study is carried out with the use of a rod-plane air gap. The results obtained will be applicable to problems associated with silos, ducts, and high-voltage equipment.

The critical electric fields of hot SF₆ are calculated including both electron and ion kinetics in wide ranges of temperature and pressure, namely from 300 K up to 4000 K and 2 atmospheres up to 32 atmospheres respectively. Based on solving a multi-term electron Boltzmann equation the calculations use improved electron-gas collision cross sections for twelve SF₆ dissociation products with a particular emphasis on the electron-vibrating molecule interactions. The ion kinetics is also considered and its role on the critical field becomes non negligible as the temperature is above 2000 K. These critical fields are then used in hydrodynamics simulations which correctly predict the circuit breaker behaviours observed in the case of breaking tests.

A test study on 50% lightning impulse breakdown voltage in two-phase mixture of gas and solid particles has been carried out in a specially designed discharge cabinet. A mechanical sieve is set up for sifting different solid particles into the discharge space uniformly. The lightning impulse voltage according with international electro-technical commission (IEC) standard is applied to the electrodes inside the discharge cabinet by the rule of up-down method in a total of 40 times. The results showed that the 50% lightning impulse breakdown voltage in two-phase mixture of gas and solid particles has its own features and is much different from that in air.

This paper describes a software tool, called LEVSOFT, suitable for the electric field simulations of corona electrodes by the Finite Element Method (FEM). Special attention was paid to the user friendly construction of geometries with corners and sharp points, and to the fast generation of highly refined triangular meshes and field maps. The execution of self-adaptive meshes was also implemented. These customized features make the code attractive for the simulation of needle-type corona electrodes. Some case examples involving needle type electrodes are presented.

A line-to-plate reactor was set-up in the experimental study on the application of nanosecond pulsed corona discharge plasma technology in environmental pollution control. Investigation on the attenuation and distortion of the amplitude of the pulse wave front and the discharge image as well as the waveform along the corona wire was conducted. The results show that the wave front decreases sharply during the corona discharge along the corona wire. The higher the amplitude of the applied pulse is, the more the amplitude of the wave front decreased. The wave attenuation responds in a lower corona discharge inversely. To get a higher efficiency of the line-to-plate reactor a sharp attenuation of the corona has to be considered in practical design.

An application of magnetic field to the nanosecond pulse corona discharge is investigated. A cylinder reactor with different corona electrodes is set up for experimental study. A magnetic field with its direction perpendicular to the corona discharge is applied. Different discharge images are taken under single nanosecond pulse with a high sensitive UV-visible light imagine recorder. Experimental results show that with a cross magnetic field the nanosecond corona discharge both generates paths and develops homogeneously in space more than that without the magnetic field. The results may lead to a possibility to apply a cross magnetic field on nanosecond pulse corona discharge for getting higher desulfurization efficiency.

In this paper, characteristics of a dual torch plasma arc used for hazardous waste treatment and operated at atmospheric pressure are studied, and also compared with those of the multi-torch plasma arc and the single torch plasma arc. The dual torch plasma arc is generated between the cathode and anode with argon as the working gas. The temperature distributions of the plasma arc are measured using a spectroscope and line pair method with the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) for the DC arc current I = 100 A and argon flow rate Q = 15 slpm. The measurements show that the temperatures of the dual torch arc plasma in the regions near the cathode, the anode and the center point are 10,000 K, 11,000 K and 9,000 K, respectively. And the high temperature region of the multi torch plasma arc is of double or much wider size than that of a conventional dual torch plasma arc and single plasma torch. Based on the preceding studies, a dual torch plasma arc furnace is developed in this study. The measured gas temperature at the center region of the argon arc is about 11,000 K for the case of I = 200 A and Q = 30 slpm operated in atmosphere.

Low surface energy layers, proposed application for non-water printing in computer to plate (CTP) technology, are deposited in both continuous wave and pulse radio frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma with hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) as precursor. It is found that the plasma mode dominates the polymer growth rate and the surface composition. Derived from the spectra of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and combined with printable test it is concluded that concentration of Si in coatings plays an important role for the ink printability and the ink does not adhere on the surface with high silicon concentration.

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) for SO₂ removal from indoor air is investigated. In order to improve the removal efficiency, two novel methods are combined in this paper, namely by applying a pulsed driving voltage with nanosecond rising time and applying a magnetic field. For SO₂ removal efficiency, different matches of electric field and magnetic field are discussed. And nanosecond rising edge pulsed power supply and microsecond rising edge pulsed power supply are compared. It can be concluded that a pulsed DBD with nanosecond rising edge should be adopted, and electrical field and magnetic field should be applied in an appropriate match.

Thermal plasma technology provides a stable and long term treatment of mixed wastes through vitrification processes. In this work, a transferred plasma system was realized to vitrify mixed wastes, taking advantage of its high power density, enthalpy and chemical reactivity as well as its rapid quenching and high operation temperatures.

To characterize the plasma discharge, a temperature diagnostic is realized by means of optical emission spectroscopy (OES). To typify the morphological structure of the wastes samples, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were applied before and after the plasma treatment.

A metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) is used in ion implantation for substrate preparation before the deposition process which would ensure the improvement of mechanical properties of the coating. Ti ion is implanted into pure magnesium surface by MEVVA implanter operated with a modified cathode. Implanting energy is kept at 45 keV and dose is set at 3 × 10¹⁷ cm^-2. TiN coatings are deposited by magnetically filtered vacuum-arc plasma source on unimplanted and previously implanted substrates. Microstructure and phase composition are analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The property of corrosion resistance of TiN coatings was studied by CS300P electrochemistry-corrosion workstation, and the main impact factor of the corrosion resistance was also analyzed.

In this paper, an experimental study on SO₂ removal by nanosecond rising edge pulse dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma, generated by multi-needle-to-plane electrodes, is carried out. The mechanism of the effect of various factors, such as gap size between dielectric barrier and discharge needles, environmental humidity, and inlet speed of gas flow upon the removal efficiency of air purification is analyzed. The studies show that SO₂ removal efficiency improves with the increase in the gap size between dielectric barrier and discharge needles in the case of a fixed space between two electrodes, and also improves with the increase in the environmental humidity. For a mixed gas with a fixed concentration, there is an optimal inlet speed of gas flow, which leads to the best removal efficiency.

Burners of metal halide lamps used for illumination are generally made of polycrystalline alumina ceramic (PCA) which is translucent to visible light. We show that the difficulty of selecting a line of sight through the lamp prevents the use of optical emission diagnostic. X-rays photons are mainly absorbed and not scattered by PCA. Absorption by mercury atoms contributing to the discharge allowed us to determine the density of mercury in the lamp. By comparing diagnostic methods, we put in evidence the difficulty of taking into account the scattering of light mathematically.

Computer to conventional plate (CTCP) technology is getting more and more attention in printing industries. In this paper we report a nitrogen plasma light source generated in hollow cathode discharge (HCD), which is used for pre-sensitivity (PS) plate exposure. The N₂ molecule emits abundant spectrum ranging from 350 nm to 460 nm. With the voltage of 580 V, current of 1.8 A and pressure of 70 Pa in the discharge an optical power density of 0.46 mW/cm² is obtained. The optical power density could be further increased with optimizing the lens system. The phototonus efficiency of this source is discussed in detail based upon the chemical principle and the FTIR analysis on the coating material.

A study to generate longer plasma channel was conucted to improve probability of triggered lightning. To generate the long laser plasma channel, a strongly and a weakly ionized plasma channels were used in series, a scheme called hybrid method. The strongly and the weakly ionized plasma channels were used for triggering an electrical leader and guiding the leader. The electrical leader propagated through the weakly ionized plasma. Then main discharge occurred between the electrodes. It is found that the streamer was accelerated with both the increase in the plasma density and the increase in an ambient electric field close to the plane electrode.

Mixing of a thermal plasma jet with the surrounding atmosphere was studied using two CCD cameras (PCO SensiCam) situated detecting simultaneously the radiation of argon and nitrogen. The evaluation of image differences between two records showed that the location of regions on plasma jet boundaries characterised by stronger nitrogen radiation changes with the plasma flow rate. Close-to-laminar flow results in a small mixing rate and consequently low nitrogen optical emission on plasma jet boundaries. The increase of the flow rate leads to the formation of a relatively thick and stable layer on the boundaries characterised by strong nitrogen radiation. Further enhancement of the flow rate results in the formation of unstable regions of excited nitrogen molecules moving along the jet.

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.

When a lightning current is impressed through a copper wire, the copper wire would be melted. A straight thin copper wire with a diameter of 0.1 mm, is melted due to the specific melting Joule heating (j²t)_m in an adiabatic condition. However, it has been recognized in the experiment that the thicker copper wires of ϕ1 mm are not completely melted, but sheared mainly at the connecting terminal by a relatively low impulse current. Electro-magnetic mechanical shearing stress, etc. are discussed in addition to the conventional Joule heating. New broken mechanisms were presumed and proved in the additional experiments.

A swarm analysis technique based on the solution of the Boltzmann equation is used to derive low energy electron collision cross sections for tetramethylsilane (TMS). The calculated swarm parameters with this first available cross sections set is consistent with measured values of the swarm parameters. Calculations of transport parameters in mixtures of TMS with argon are also presented.

Fundamental problems related to the high-speed combustion are analyzed. The result of plasma-chemical modeling is presented as a motivation of experimental activity. Numerical simulations of the effect of uniform non-equilibrium discharge on the premixed hydrogen and ethylene-air mixture in supersonic flow demonstrate an advantage of such a technique over a heating. Experimental results on multi-electrode non-uniform discharge maintenance behind wallstep and in cavity of supersonic flow are presented. The model test on hydrogen and ethylene ignition is demonstrated at direct fuel injection to low-temperature high-speed airflow.

As a new method to cure acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), high blood pressure and some illnesses related to the lung, NO has recently received more attention. Thermal plasmas produced by arc discharge can create medical NO, but the concentration of NO₂ produced by arc discharge must be controlled simultaneously. This paper investigates the characteristics and regulations of NO production at different flow distribution by pulsed arc discharge in dry air with a special pulsed power. The experimental results show that the flow distribution has a considerable effect on the NO concentration, the stabilization of NO. The production of NO₂ could be controlled and the ratio of NO₂/NO was decreased to about 10% in the arc discharge. Therefore, the arc discharge could produce stable inhaled NO for medical treatment by changing the flow distribution.

Graphite electrodes were used for the direct current (DC) arc discharge in water. And high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) was used to investigate the products. Based on the experimental phenomena and nano-structure products, arc plasma characteristics in water were analyzed theoretically. Two growth regions and relevant growth modes were proposed to interpret the formation mechanisms of nano-structures by arc discharge in water. Furthermore, liquid nitrogen and cross magnetic field was applied to change the arcing state respectively, and new carbon nano-structures were obtained. Their formation mechanisms were also analyzed correspondingly.