Modelling of an afterglow plasma in air produced by a pulsed discharge

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

C D Pintassilgo (Author) FEUP; V Guerra (Author) FEUP; O Guaitella (Author) FEUP; A Rousseau (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Vol. 19

Initial page: 025005

Publisher: IOP Publishing

Indexing

ISI Web of Science

Scopus

COMPENDEX

INSPEC

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences

Other information

DOI: doi:10.1088/0963-0252/19/5/055001

Abstract (EN): Abstract A kinetic model is developed to study the afterglow plasma of a pulsed discharge in air. This model includes a detailed analysis of the temporal evolution of heavy species during the pulse, followed by their relaxation in the afterglow. The predicted results are compared with two experimental sets performed in the time afterglow of a pulsed discharge in N2–20%O2 at a pressure p = 133 Pa involving the measurements of (i) N2(B) and N2(C) fluorescences for a discharge current I = 40 mA and a pulse duration τ = 200µs and 10 ms, together with (ii) the absolute concentration of NO(X) for I = 40 and 80 mA with τ varying from 1 to 4 ms. The results of the model agree reasonably well with the measurements of N2(B) and N2(C) decays. It is shown that under these experimental conditions, N2(B)is always populated mainly via the process N2(A) + N2(X,5
v
14) → N2(B) + N2(X, v = 0), while the relaxation of N2(C) is dominated by the pooling reaction N2(A) + N2(A) → N2(C) + N2(X, v = 0). An almost constant concentration of NO(X) is experimentally observed until the remote afterglow, but the present model is only capable of predicting the same order of magnitude for afterglow times t 0.05 s. Several hypotheses are discussed and advanced in order to explain this discrepancy.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific