Characteristics of a radio-frequency cold atmospheric plasma jet produced with a hybrid cross-linear-field electrode configuration

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) jet has wide applications in various fields including advanced materials synthesis and modifications, biomedicine, environmental protection and energy saving, etc. Appropriate control on the volume, temperature and chemically reactive species concentrations of the CAP jet is of great importance in actual applications. In this paper, an radio-frequency atmospheric-pressure glow discharge (RF-APGD) plasma generator with a hybrid cross-linear-field electrode configuration is proposed. The experimental results show that, with the aid of the copper mesh located at the downstream of the traditional co-axial-type plasma generator with a cross-field electrode configuration, a linear field between the inner powered electrode of the traditional plasma generator and the copper mesh can be established. This liner- field can, to some extent, enhance the discharges at the upstream of the copper mesh, resulting in small increments (all less than 12.5%) of the species emission intensities, electron excitation temperatures and gas temperatures by keeping other parameters being unchanged. And due to the intrinsic transparent and conducting features of the grounded copper mesh to the gas flowing, electric current and heat flux of the plasma plumes, a plasma region with higher concentrations of chemically reactive species and larger plasma plume diameters is obtained at the downstream of the grounded copper mesh on the same level of the gas temperature and electron excitation temperature compared to those of the plasma free jet. In addition, the charged particle number densities at the same downstream axial location of the grounded copper mesh decrease significantly compared to those of the plasma free jet. This means that the copper mesh is also, to some extent, helpful for separating the chemically reactive neutral species from the charged particles inside a plasma environment. The preceding results indicate that the cross-linear-field electrode configuration of the plasma generator is an effective approach for tuning the characteristics of the RF-APGD plasma jet in order to obtain an appropriate combination of the plasma jet properties with higher chemically reactive species concentrations, especially relative higher number densities of neutral species, larger plasma volumes and lower gas temperatures.     

Numerical study of the influence of dielectric tube on propagation of atmospheric pressure plasma jet based on coplanar dielectric barrier discharge

A 2D fluid model was employed to simulate the influence of dielectric on the propagation of atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet based on coplanar dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The spatio-temporal distributions of electron density, ionization rate, electrical field, spatial charge and the spatial structure were obtained for different dielectric tubes that limit the helium flow. The results show that the change of the relative permittivity of the dielectric tube where the plasma jet travels inside has no influence on the formation of DBD itself, but has great impact on the jet propagation. The velocity of the plasma jet changes drastically when the jet passes from a tube of higher permittivity to one of lower permittivity, resulting in an increase in jet length,ionization rate and electric field, as well as a change in the distribution of space charges and discharge states. The radius of the dielectric tube has a great influence on the ring-shaped or solid bullet structure. These results can well explain the behavior of the plasma jet from the dielectric tube into the ambient air and the hollow bullet in experiments.     

Improvement of the spreading effect of atmospheric pressure microplasma jet treatment through shielding-gas-controlled focusing

The spreading effect of atmospheric pressure microplasma jets (APμPJ) on the surface of materials will increase the etching area, and controlling the diameter of the jet can improve the precision of surface treatment. In this work, a two-dimensional axisymmetric simulation model is established to analyze the effect of nitrogen (N2) shielding gas on helium (He) from gas dynamics. In addition, by etching the polyethylene terephthalate film, the relationship between the etching effect and aerodynamic analysis is verified. The simulation results are similar to the experimental results, indicating that N2 shielding gas has a focusing effect which is related to the N2 flow rate, distance difference between the inner and outer tubes, and outer tube nozzle diameter. It is hoped that the results of this work can provide a certain reference for the use of shielding gas to control the jet flow of APμPJ.     

Development of a portable cold air plasma jet device and observation of its photo ionization process

Photo ionization plays a critical role in the formation and propagation of atmospheric pressure plasma jet plumes. But in experiments, it is very difficult to observe the photo ionization due to its relative lower density of photo electrons. In the present study, we develop a portable cold air plasma jet device and observe the ionization wave in a dc spark air plasma jet. The discharge images acquired by an ICCD camera show that the ionization wave front performs as a quickly moving bright ball. Breakdown could take place at another side of the quartz plate or pork tissue layer(6 mm thick), which suggests that the ionization should be attributed to photo ionization.The laser schlieren images indicate there is propagation of a shock wave along with the plasma bullet. Based on the photo ionization theory and the photo-electric measurement, the direct photo ionization and multistage photo ionization are the main factors in charge of generating the cold air plasma jet. In addition, the plasma jet outside of the cathode nozzle is colder than 320 K and can be touched safely by a human. In view of the plasma jet including a large amount of active particles, such as NO, O, OH, emitted photons, etc, the proposed portable cold air plasma jet device could be qualified for plasma bio-medicine applications.     

Study of the expansion characteristics of a pulsed plasma jet in air

In the background of electrothermal-chemical (ETC) emission,an investigation has been conducted on the characteristics of a freely expanding pulsed plasma jet in air.The evolutionary process of the plasma jet is experimentally investigated using a piezoelectric pressure sensor and a digital high-speed video system.The variation relation in the extended volume,axial displacement and radial displacement of the pulsed plasma jet in atmosphere with time under different discharge voltages and jet breaking pressures is obtained.Based on experiments,a two-dimensional axisymmetric unsteady model is established to analyze the characteristics of the two-phase interface and the variation of flow-field parameters resulting from a pulsed plasma jet into air at a pressure of 1.5-3.5 MPa under three nozzle diameters (3 mm,4 mm and 5 ram,respectively).The images of the plasma jet reveal a changing shape process,from a quasiellipsoid to a conical head and an elongated cylindrical tail.The axial displacement of the jet is always larger than that along the radial direction.The extended volume reveals a single peak distribution with time.Compared to the experiment,the numerical simulation agrees well with the experimental data.The parameters of the jet field mutate at the nozzle exit with a decrease in the parameter pulse near the nozzle,and become more and more gradual and close to environmental parameters.Increasing the injection pressure and nozzle diameter can increase the parameters of the flow field such as the expansion volume of the pulsed plasma jet,the size of the Mach disk and the pressure.In addition,the turbulent mixing in the expansion process is also enhanced.     

Numerical study of atmospheric-pressure argon plasma jet propagating into ambient nitrogen

A 2D axial symmetry fluid model is applied to study the features of an atmospheric-pressure argon (Ar) plasma jet propagating into ambient nitrogen (N₂) driven by a pulsed voltage, emphasizing the influence of gas velocity on the dynamic characteristics of the jet. The results show that the Ar jet exhibits a cylindrical-shaped channel and the jet channel gradually shrinks with the increase in propagation length. The jet propagation velocity varies with time. Inside the dielectric tube, the plasma jet accelerates propagation and reaches its maximum value near the nozzle. Exiting the tube, its velocity quickly decreases and when approaching the metal plane, the decrease in jet velocity slows down. The increase in gas speed results in the variation of jet spatial distribution. The electron density presents a solid structure at lower gas flow speeds, whereas an annular structure can be observed under the higher gas flow velocity in the ionization head. The jet length increases with the flow velocity. However, when the flow velocity exceeds a critical value, the increase in the rate of the plasma jet length slows down. In addition, the gas velocity effect on the generation and transport of the reactive particles is also studied and discussed.     

直流电弧等离子体点火器射流特性研究

采用光谱仪测量了等离子体点火器出口射流的发射光谱,利用玻尔兹曼曲线斜率法计算了射流的电子温度,并通过电离平衡方程计算了射流气体温度,获得点火器出口射流长度、射流速度、电子温度和射流温度随弧电流及进口氩气流量的变化规律。并分析了航空等离子体电弧射流中是否可使用电子温度来代替射流气体温度。实验表明：弧电流随着进口氩气流量的增大而减小;出口射流长度和速度随弧电流的增大而增大,随进口氩气流量的增大先增大后减小;出口电子温度、电子密度和射流温度随弧电流的增大而升高,随氩气流量的增大而降低。     

Investigation of optimum discharge characteristics and chemical activity of AC driven air plasma jet and its anticancer effect

In this study,we investigated the effects of the quartz tube diameter,air flow rate,and applied voltage on the characteristics of an air plasma jet to obtain the optimized discharge characteristics.The physicochemical properties and concentration of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species(RONS)in plasma-activated medium(PAM)were characterized to explore their chemical activity.Furthermore,we investigated the inactivation effect of air plasma jet on tumour cells and their corresponding inactivation mechanism.The results show that the tube diameter plays an important role in sustaining the voltage of the air plasma jet,and the gas flow rate affects the jet length and discharge intensity.Additionally,the air plasma jet discharge displays two modes,namely,ozone and nitrogen oxide modes at high and low gas flow rates,respectively.Increasing the voltage increases the concentration of reactive species and the length of discharge.By evaluating the viability of A549 cells under different parameters,the optimal treatment conditions were determined to be a quartz tube diameter of 4 mm,gas flow rate of 0.5 SLM,and voltage of 18 kV.Furthermore,an air plasma jet under the optimized conditions effectively enhanced the chemical activity in PAM and produced more aqueous RONS.The air plasma jet induced significant cytotoxicity in A549 cancer cells after plasma treatment.H2O2 and NO2 are regarded as key factors in promoting cell inactivation.The present study demonstrates the potential use of tumour cell therapy by atmospheric air PAM,which aids a better understanding of plasma liquid chemistry.     

Analysis of an Ar plasma jet in a dielectric barrier discharge conjugated with a microsecond pulse

In this work, an Ar plasma jet generated by an AC-microsecond-pulse-driven dielectric barrier discharge reactor, which had two ring-shaped electrodes isolated from the ambient atmosphere by transformer oil, was investigated. By special design of the oil insulation, a chemically active Ar plasma jet along with a safe and stable plasma process as well as low emission of CO and NO_x were successfully achieved. The results indicated that applied voltage and frequency were basic factors influencing the jet temperature, discharge power, and jet length, which increased significantly with the two operating parameters. Meanwhile, gas velocity affected the jet temperature in a reverse direction. In comparison with a He plasma jet, the Ar plasma jet had relatively low jet temperature under the same level of the input parameters, being preferable for bio-applications. The Ar plasma jet has been tested to interact with human skin within 5 min without the perception of burnt skin and electrical shock.     

Compact High-Velocity Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Plasma Jet in Ambient Air

In this paper,a non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jet at high streaming velocity operating with ambient air is highlighted.In the present technological approach,the employment of air poses a significant challenge.The high oxygen concentration in air results in a reduced concentration of reactive species in combination with a short species lifetime.The plasma jet assembly presented here contains a special dielectric barrier with a high secondary emission coefficient.In this way,the electron density and in turn the density of reactive species is increased.In addition,the plasma jet assembly is equipped with a short electrode.This leads to a higher voltage across the discharge gap and in turn to an increased density of reactive plasma species.The plasma jet is formed within and emitted by a small conical nozzle.A high-speed gas flow with gas velocity of 340 m/s was achieved at the end of the nozzle.In the jet the concentration of toxic and unwanted neutral plasma species like O_3 or NO_x is significantly reduced because of the shorter residence time within the plasma.The range of short-lived active plasma species is in turn considerably enhanced.The jet efficiency and action range measured through the oxidation of a test surface were determined by measuring the increase of surface tension of a polypropylene substrate via contact angle measurements after plasma treatment.Numerical modeling of the plasma plume indicates that oxygen atoms are in fact the main active species in the plasma plume.     

Characteristics of a kHz helium atmospheric pressure plasma jet interacting with two kinds of targets

This study investigates the influence of two types of target,skin tissue and cell culture medium,with different permittivities on a k Hz helium atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) during its application for wound healing.The basic optical–electrical characteristics,the initiation and propagation and the emission spectra of the He APPJ under different working conditions are explored.The experimental results show that,compared with a jet freely expanding in air,the diameter and intensity of the plasma plume outside the nozzle increase when it interacts with the pigskin and cell culture medium targets,and the mean velocity of the plasma bullet from the tube nozzle to a distance of 15 mm is also significantly increased.There are also multiple increases in the relative intensity of OH (A~2Σ?→?X~2Π) and O (3p~5S–3s~5S) at a position 15 mm away from nozzle when the He APPJ interacts with cell culture medium compared with the air and pigskin targets.Taking the surface charging of the low permittivity material capacitance and the strengthened electric field intensity into account,they make the various characteristics of He APPJ interacting with two different targets together.     

Internal-Shear Mode Instabilities on High-Speed Liquid Jet, (II) Experimental Analysis of Curved Target Flow

The wave generation on high-speed liquid jets, induced by the instabilities of a laminar shear layer underneath the free surface (the internal-shear mode instabilities), are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Part II analyzes the jet curvature effect on the velocity profile and the surface configuration near the nozzle exit. The initial characteristics of the free-surface shear layer and the relaxation of the shear layer with the distance from the nozzle exit are also analyzed. Based on these results, the stability of the shear layer is analyzed for curved jet geometries simulating high-energy beam targets. The analytical results show that the gravity and the jet curvature have little effect on the stability of the shear layer, and that the shear layer stabilizes quickly with its relaxation. The predicted most-unstable wave numbers are in fair agreement with available experimental data for curved jets of both water and Li. This indicates that the internal-shear mode instabilities are responsible for the experimentally observed waves.     

Characteristics of a kHz helium atmospheric pressure plasma jet interacting with two kinds of target

Abstract This study investigates the influence of two types of target, skin tissue and cell culture medium, with different permittivities on a kHz helium atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) during its application for wound healing. The basic optical–electrical characteristics, the initiation and propagation and the emission spectra of the He APPJ under different working conditions are explored. The experimental results show that, compared with a jet freely expanding in air, the diameter and intensity of the plasma plume outside the nozzle increase when it interacts with the pigskin and cell culture medium targets, and the mean velocity of the plasma bullet from the tube nozzle to a distance of 15 mm is also significantly increased. There are also multiple increases in the relative intensity of OH (A² Σ → X² Π) and O (3p⁵ S–3s⁵ S) at a position 15 mm away from nozzle when the He APPJ interacts with cell culture medium compared with the air and pigskin targets. Taking the surface charging of the low permittivity material capacitance and the strengthened electric field intensity into account, they make the various characteristics of He APPJ interacting with two different targets together.     

传热管异径布管方式传热系数的数值分析

针对管壳式换热器,提出一种新的异径管布管方式.运用CFD软件分析了该结构在流量降低时对管侧传热系数的数值影响;得出随着流量的变化,大小管道内流量速度分配变化率有明显不同,且变化率并与管长有关,并在一定的流速范围内,小管抵抗传热系数降低的趋势较为显著.     

Numerical study of the effect of coflow argon jet on a laminar argon thermal plasma jet

The effects of the velocity and width in coflow argon jet inlet on the flow characteristics of laminar argon thermal plasma jet flowing into the cold air have been studied by the large eddy simulation methods. The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability between argon thermal plasma jet and coflow argon jet causes the transition from a laminar jet to a turbulent jet in the presence of coflow argon jet. Moreover, increasing the velocity and width in coflow argon jet inlet can enhance turbulent transport and provoke coherent structure in the downstream of thermal plasma jet. And the mixing characteristics between argon thermal plasma, coflow argon and ambient air are strengthened. In addition, the width in coflow argon jet inlet has a significant effect on the distribution of temperature in the upstream of thermal plasma jet. It was also found that the transition occurs in advance with the increase of velocity and width in coflow argon jet inlet.     

Efficacy of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma as an Antibacterial Agent Against Enterococcus Faecalis in Vitro

Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) is a microorganism that can survive extreme challenges in obturated root canals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma plume against E. faecalis in vitro. A non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jet device which could generate a cold plasma plume carrying a peak current of 300 mA was used. The antibacterial efficacy of this device against E. faecalis and its biofilm under different conditions was detected. The antibacterial efficacy of the plasma against E. faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was also evaluated. After plasma treatment, the average diameter of inhibition zone on S. aureus and E. faecalis was 2.62±0.26 and 1.06±0.30 cm, respectively (P < 0.05). The diameter was increased with prolongation of the treatment duration. The diameters of inhibition zone of the sealed Petri dishes were larger than those of the uncovered Petri dishes. There was significant difference in colony-forming units between plasma group and control group on E. faecalis biofilm (P < 0.01). The transmission electron microscopy revealed that the ultrastructural changes cytoderm of E. faecalis were observed after treatment for 2 min. It is concluded that the non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma could serve as an effective adjunct to standard endodontic microbial treatment.     

Spatial and Excitation Variations for Different Applied Voltages in an Atmospheric Neon Plasma Jet

A neon plasma jet was generated in air,driven by a 9 kHz sinusoidal power supply.The characteristics of the plasma plume and the optical spectra with plasma propagation for different applied voltages were investigated.By increasing the applied voltage,the plasma plume first increases and then retracts to become short and bulky.The shortened effect of Ne plasma plume(about 10 mm) for the further voltage increasing is more apparent than that of He(about3 mm) and Ar(about 1 mm).Emission intensity of the N_2(337 nm) increases with the applied voltage,gradually substituting the emission intensity of Ne(702 nm and 585 nm) as the noticeable radiation.At the nozzle opening,the Ne(702 nm) emission dominates,while the Ne(585 nm)emission is most noticeable around the tip of the plasma plume.The spatial distribution of the three spectral lines indicates that Ne(702 nm) emission decreases dramatically with plasma propagation while Ne(585 nm) and N_2(337 nm) emissions reach their maxima at the middle of the plasma plume.The results indicate that the Ne(702 nm) emission is much more sensitive to the average electron temperature and the density of the high-energy electrons,so it changes greatly at the tube nozzle and little at the tip region as the voltage increases.The population of high-energy electrons,the average electron temperature,the collision with air molecules and the Penning effect between Ne metastables and air molecules may explain their different variations with plasma propagating and voltage increasing.     

Plasma jet array treatment to improve the hydrophobicity of contaminated HTV silicone rubber

An atmospheric-pressure plasma jet array specially designed for HTV silicone rubber treatment is reported in this paper. Stable plasma containing highly energetic active particles was uniformly generated in the plasma jet array. The discharge pattern was affected by the applied voltage. The divergence phenomenon was observed at low gas flow rate and abated when the flow rate increased.Temperature of the plasma plume is close to room temperature which makes it feasible for temperature-sensitive material treatment. Hydrophobicity of contaminated HTV silicone rubber was significantly improved after quick exposure of the plasma jet array, and the effective treatment area reached 120 mm?×?50 mm(length?×?width). Reactive particles in the plasma accelerate accumulation of the hydrophobic molecules, namely low molecular weight silicone chains, on the contaminated surface, which result in a hydrophobicity improvement of the HTV silicone rubber.     

Observation of the Emission Spectra of an Atmospheric Pressure Radio-frequency Plasma Jet

An atmospheric pressure plasma jet （APPJ） using radio-frequency （13.56 MHz） power has been developed to produce homogeneous glow discharge at low temperature. With optical emission spectroscopy, we observed the excited species （atomic helium, atomic oxygen and metastable oxygen） generated in this APPJ and their dependence on gas composition ratio and RF power. O and O2（b1∑g^＋） are found in the effluent outside the jet by measuring the emission spectra of effluent perpendicular to the jet. An interesting phenomenon is found that there is an abnormal increase of O emission intensity （777.4 nm） between 10 mm and 40 mm away from the nozzle. This observation result is very helpful in practical operation.     

Effect of methane content and the oscillating electric field between electrodes on atmospheric Ar/methane plasma jet and DLC coating deposition

In this work, the effects of the methane gas flow and the internal oscillating electric field between electrodes on radio-frequency(RF) atmospheric pressure argon/methane plasma jet and process of diamond-like carbon(DLC) film deposition have been investigated. Properties of RF atmospheric Ar/methane plasma jet such as active species density, length, electron temperature,appearance and ionization process of argon/methane plasma jet are changed due to the changing of methane flow content and electric field vector and its gradient. With increasing methane flow,the formation of C2 hydrocarbon and CH band content is decreased because injected electrical energy to a mixture of Ar/methane gases is insufficient to stabilize the ionization process of methane gas and the electrical-chemical reaction rate is decreased. With shortening the gas gap between two electrodes, electric field strength and its gradient are increased leading to more energy injection to the electron. Electrical-chemical reactions are strengthened leading to increasing the CH band content. These phenomena introduce the Ar/methane plasma jet in different modes causing to deposit the DLC film with different structures and properties. With using quartz glass and alumina ceramic as dielectric barriers tubes, RF atmospheric pressure Ar/methane plasma jet has been used to deposit DLC coating in different modes. Increasing methane content and shortening the gas gap leads to decreasing sp3 bonded content and the quality of the deposited film.