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.     

Discharge Characteristics of SF6 in a Non-Uniform Electric Field Under Repetitive Nanosecond Pulses

The characteristics of high pressure sulphur hexafluoride (SF ₆ ) discharges in a highly non-uniform electric field under repetitive nanosecond pulses are investigated in this paper. The influencing factors on discharge process, such as gas pressure, pulse repetition frequency (PRF), and number of applied pulses, are analyzed. Experimental results show that the corona intensity weakens with the increase of gas pressure and strengthens with the increase of PRF or number of applied pulses. Spark discharge images suggest that a shorter and thicker discharge plasma channel will lead to a larger discharge current. The number of applied pulses to breakdown descends with the increase of PRF and ascends with the rise of gas pressure. The reduced electric field (E/p) decreases with the increase of PRF in all circumstances. The experimental results provide significant supplements to the dielectric characteristics of strongly electronegative gases under repetitive nanosecond pulses.     

Study on the discharge mechanism and EM radiation characteristics of Trichel pulse discharge in air

The Trichel pulse stage is an unstable stage of negative corona discharge that can also involve electromagnetic (EM) radiation signals. In this paper, the discharge mechanism and radiation characteristics of the Trichel pulse are studied in the needle-plate electrode configuration. The Trichel pulse current and its EM radiation signals are measured at different applied voltages. The results show that Trichel pulse discharge changes from the random pulse stage to the continuous pulse stage as the applied voltage increases. During these different stages, the normalized shape of the Trichel pulses remains unchanged, while the frequency of the EM radiation generated by the discharge remains unchanged. The discharge mechanism and EM radiation characteristics of the Trichel pulse are theoretically analyzed in the different stages. Both the positive ion sheath and the negative ion cloud play key roles in the formation of the Trichel pulse. The EM radiation signal is generated by the rapidly changing Trichel pulse current, and the Trichel pulse current waveform determines the characteristics of the EM radiation signal.     

An Investigation of Ionic Flows in a Sphere-Plate Electrode Gap

This paper presents analyses of ion flow characteristics and ion discharge pulses in a sphere-ground plate electrode system.As a result of variation in electric field intensity in the electrode gap,the ion flows towards electrodes generate non-uniform discharging pulses.Inspection of these pulses provides useful information on ionic stream kinetics,the effective thickness of ion cover around electrodes,and the timing of ion clouds discharge pulse sequences.A finite difference time domain(FDTD)based space-charge motion simulation is used for the numerical analysis of the spatio-temporal development of ionic flows following the first Townsend avalanche,and the simulation results demonstrate expansion of the positive ion flow and compression of the negative ion flow,which results in non-uniform discharge pulse characteristics.     

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.     

The current pulses characteristics of the negative corona discharge in SF6/CF4 mixtures

This paper presents the results of numerical investigation of the current pulses characteristics in SF₆/CF₄ mixtures for the negative point-plane corona discharge. The pressure and the temperature of gas mixtures are 0.4 MPa and 300 K, respectively. The CF₄ content varies from20% to 80%. The 2D axisymmetric geometry with point-plane electrodes is investigated, and the three drift-diffusion equations are solved to predict the characteristics of the negative corona...     

Prediction of DC Corona Onset Voltage for Rod-Plane Air Gaps by a Support Vector Machine

This paper proposes a new method to predict the corona onset voltage for a rodplane air gap, based on the support vector machine(SVM). Because the SVM is not limited by the size, dimension and nonlinearity of the samples, this method can realize accurate prediction with few training data. Only electric field features are chosen as the input; no geometric parameter is included. Therefore, the experiment data of one kind of electrode can be used to predict the corona onset voltages of other electrodes with different sizes. With the experimental data obtained by ozone detection technology, and experimental data provided by the reference, the efficiency of the proposed method is validated. Accurate predicted results with an average relative less than3% are obtained with only 6 experimental data.     

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.     

Study of Shock Wave and Magnetic Pressure Effects on the Rail Gap Switch Surface Used at the APF Plasma Focus Device

Whereas high voltage and current create a rough environment for switch electrodes in pulse power technology, the switch requires the most maintenance or replacement after a short time. In this paper we investigate the effects of magnetic and shock pressures created by high power electric arc between a rail gap switch with copper electrodes at the APF plasma focus device. As studied by others, the shock pressure is some order of magnitude higher than the magnetic pressure after electric arc generation. We calculated the magnetic pressure, electric arc radius, time dependent arc velocity, and also time dependent shock pressure created by an oscillating current discharge applied across the rail gap electrodes surface. Modeling included a MathCAD analysis of the diverging wave front through the electrode and the results show that the shock wave pressure induced after the electric arc has a serious destructive effect on our switch surface.     

Characterization and comprehension of corona partial discharge in air under power frequency to very low frequency voltage

For the partial discharge test of electrical equipment with large capacitance, the use of lowfrequency voltage instead of power frequency voltage can effectively reduce the capacity requirements of test power supply. However, the validity of PD test under low frequency voltage needs to be evaluated. In order to investigate the influence of voltage frequency on corona discharge in the air, the discharge test of the tip-plate electrode under the frequency from 50 to 0.1 Hz is carried out based on the impulse current method. The results show that some of the main features of corona under low frequency do not change. The magnitude of discharge in a positive half cycle is obviously larger than that in a negative cycle. The magnitude of discharge and interval in positive cycle are random, while that in negative cycle are regular. With the decrease of frequency, the inception voltage increases. The variation trend of maximum and average magnitude and repetition rate of the discharge in positive and negative half cycle with the variation of voltage frequency and magnitude is demonstrated, with discussion and interpretation from the aspects of space charge transportation, effective discharge time and transition of discharge modes. There is an obvious difference in the phase resolved pattern of partial discharge and characteristic parameters of discharge patterns between power and low frequency. The experimental results can be the reference for mode identification of partial discharge under low frequency tests. The trend of the measured parameters with the variation of frequency provides more information about the insulation defect than traditional measurements under a single frequency (usually 50 Hz). Also it helps to understand the mechanism of corona discharge with an explanation of the characteristics under different frequencies.     

Burst pulses for positive corona discharges in atmospheric air: the collective movement of charged species

Positive corona burst pulses are an unstable pulse mode. They appear in a small range of the onset stage, and their current pulses result from the collective movement of charged species. This paper focused on the connections between these pulses and the collective movement of charged species. The movement of species is divided into four parts with respect to time: the(1) initial growth of species,(2) formation and development of the streamer region and negative ion sheath,(3) dead time(the time interval between the pulses), and(4) rapid re-growth of species.The movement of the species in the four parts and the correspondence with the current pulse were analyzed. The numerical results indicated the following: the rapid rising of the species matched the rising edge of the pulses, the streamer region, and negative ion sheath appeared in the falling edge of the primary pulse, and the rapid re-growth of species matched the re-ignition of the pulses. The results were in qualitative agreement with deductions and experimental observations in the literature.     

Multiple current peaks and spatial characteristics of atmospheric helium dielectric barrier discharges with repetitive unipolar narrow pulse excitation

Atmospheric dielectric barrier discharges driven by repetitive unipolar narrow pulse excitation are investigated numerically by using one-dimensional fluid models.The one-dimensional simulation focuses on the effects of applied voltage amplitude,pulse repetition frequency,gap width and γ coefficient on the multiple-current-pulse (MCP) discharge.The results indicate that the MCP behavior will lead to the stratification of electron density distribution in axial direction.Traditional MCP manipulating methods,such as reducing the applied voltage amplitude,increasing the applied voltage frequency,adjusting the gap width,cannot regulate MCPs exhibiting in this work.Further analyses reveal that the increasing electric field of the cathode fall region is the basis for the emergence of MCP behavior.     

Optimized analysis of sharpening characteristics of a compact RF pulse source based on a gyro-magnetic nonlinear transmission line for ultrawideband electromagnetic pulse application

We constructed a compact high-power RF pulse generator based on a gyro-magnetic nonlinear transmission line (GNLTL) to produce a high-voltage pulse with a sub-nanosecond rise time and a relatively high repetition rate, which shows great potential for application in the high-power ultrawideband electromagnetic effect, etc. The influence of incident pulse parameters (rise time and voltage amplitude) and line length on the sharpening characteristics of the GNLTL were investigated experimentally to optimize the rising rate of the modulated pulse front. Based on the GNLTL equivalent circuit model consisting of an LC ladder network, the rise time, the voltage conversion coefficient and the rising rate properties of a modulated pulse were also numerically analyzed in a wider range. The results show that a>90 kV RF pulse with a rise time of 350 ps and a repetition rate of 1 kHz in burst mode is produced by the GNLTL at an axial biasing magnetic field of 22 kA m⁻¹ and a line length of 30 cm under the condition of a 70 kV incident pulse. Applying a faster and higher incident pulse is conducive to improving the sharpening effect of the GNLTL. Furthermore, within a certain range, increasing the line length of the GNLTL not only reduces the rise time, but increases the voltage conversion coefficient and the rising rate of a modulated pulse. Furthermore, considering the energy loss of ferrite rings, there is an optimal line length to obtain the fastest rising rate of a modulated pulse front edge.     

Electrical Characteristics of Pulsed Corona Discharge Plasmas in Chitosan Solution

Pulsed discharge plasma has exhibited active potential to prepare low molecular weight chitosan. In the present study, the viscosity of ehitosan solution was decreased noticeably after treated with pulsed corona discharge plasma. An experimental investigation on electrical characteristics of pulsed corona discharge plasma in chitosan solution was conducted with a view toward getting insight into discharge process. Factors affecting I-V curve, single pulse injec- tion energy and pulse width were studied. Experimental results showed positive effect of pulsed peak voltage on discharge plasma in chitosan solution. Pulse-forming capacitor greatly influenced the discharge form, and 4 nF was observed as a suitable value for efficiently generating stable discharge plasmas. As the electrode distance was larger than 10 ram, it had slight impact on dis- charge plasma due to the excellent conductive-property of chitosan solution. The injection energy significantly increased with air flow rate, while the pulse width hardly changed as the air flow rate increased from 0.5 m^3/h to 1.0 m^3/h. This study is expected to provide reference for promoting the application of pulsed corona discharge plasma to ehitosan solution treatment.     

Research on Nanosecond Pulse Corona Discharge with Cross Magnetic Field Applied

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.     

Research on Nanosecond Pulse Corona Discharge Attenuation

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.     

Application of DBD and DBCD in SO2 Removal

The dielectric barrier corona discharge(DBCD) in a wire-cylinder configuration and the dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) in a coaxial cylinder configuration are studied. The discharge current in DBD has a higher pulse amplitude than in DBCD. The dissipated power and the gas-gap voltage are calculated by analyzing the measured Lissajous figure. With the increasing applied voltage, the energy utilization factor for SO2 removal increases in DBCD but decreases in DBD because of the difference in their electric field distribution. Experiments of SO2 removal show that in the absence of NH3 the energy utilization factor can reach 31 g/kWh in DBCD and 39 g/kWh in DBD.     

Characteristics of water volatilization and oxides generation by using positive and negative corona

The physical and chemical properties have significant differences for the positive and negative charged particles generated by discharge. In this work, a positive and negative corona discharge system was established, and two discharge reactors for charged particles restraining and acting were designed by a needle electrode covered with a quartz tube and a plate electrode filled with water. The corona discharges happened within the needle-plate electrodes were excited by a positive and negative high voltage source, and the characteristics of both water volatilization and oxides generation were examined within influence of the distances of both quartz tube inside and outside. The results show that the characteristics of both the water volatilization and oxides generation can be affected by the distances of both quartz tube inside and outside. When the distances of tube inside were increased from 5.00 to 13.00 mm, the water volatilizations decreased under negative corona, and increased firstly and declined immediately under positive corona. The maximum value of the water volatilization appeared in the distances of tube inside with 6.00–8.00 mm. In addition, the concentrations of the HNOx and H2O2 in treated water decreased with increasing the distances of tube inside. Moreover, with increasing the distances of tube outside from 4.00 to 14.00 mm, the change trends of both the water volatilizations and oxides presented the same as the distances of tube inside, and the maximum value of the water volatilization and oxides appeared in the distance of tube outside with about 9.00 mm. Overall, the positive corona can generate more water volatilizations and oxides in water than negative corona, and non H2O2 can be produced by negative corona. The results reflect the difference between positive and negative corona interaction with water, which can provide reference for plasma application.     

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.     

Factors Influencing the Electron Yield of Needle-Ring Pulsed Corona Discharge Electron Source for Negative Ion Mobility Spectrometer

A simple negative ion mobility spectrometer （IMS） is designed and used to investi- gate the factors that influence the number and efficiency of electrons generated by the needle-ring pulsed corona discharge electron source. Simulation with Ansoft Maxwell 12 is carried out to analyze the electric field distribution within the IMS, and to offer the basis and foundation for analyzing the measurement results. The measurement results of the quantities of electrons show that when the drift electric field strength and the ring inner diameter rise, both the number of ef- fective electrons and the effective electron rate are increased. When the discharge voltage becomes stronger, the number of effective electrons goes up while the effective electron rate goes down. In light of the simulation results, mechanisms underlying the effects of drift electric field strength, ring inner diameter, and discharge voltage on the effective electron number and effective electron rate are discussed. These will make great sense for designing negative ion mode IMS using the needle-ring pulsed corona discharge as the electron source.