Streamer dynamics and charge self‐erasing of two counter‐propagating plasmas in repetitively pulsed surface dielectric barrier discharge

Abstract

The streamer dynamics and charge self‐erasing of two counter‐propagating plasmas generated by repetitively pulsed surface dielectric barrier discharge are investigated using electrical and optical diagnosis, and a two‐dimensional fluid model. Three distinct discharge phases of primary, transitional and secondary streamers are identified in a single‐pulse discharge through the time‐resolved plasma images. Moreover, a merging phenomenon of the two opposing primary streamers is observed at the middle position of the discharge gap. Compared to the first pulse, a low streamer propagation velocity of the primary streamer is measured during the subsequent discharge process due to the limitation of residual surface charges left by the previous discharge. No significant differences of the transferred charge and the deposited energy are obtained in the sequential pulses at a discharge gap of 9 mm. Numerical simulations show that a reduction for the plasma intensity of the approached two primary streamers is attributed by the accumulated charge on the dielectric surface and gathered positive charges in the streamer head. Numerical and experimental studies indicate that the residual charges can be erased by the secondary streamer through the drifted electrons, namely that a phenomenon of charge self‐erasing can be realized in the individual pulse.

On the chronological understanding of the homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge

“…Based on the above discussion, it was concluded that the H-DBD generated in N 2 was due to the high concentration of seed electrons generated through Penning ionisation between two N 2 metastable molecules via reactions ( 8) and (9).…”

“…Non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma (N-APP) is a promising technology for generating high concentration reactive species at a relatively low gas temperature or room temperature [1-8], making it highly attractive for a variety of applications such as surface modification, decontamination of temperature-sensitive materials, and more [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Among the different methods used for generating N-APP, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is one of the most widely studied techniques and has been explored for more than a century [16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

Investigation of high-concentration toluene degradation by DBD plasma under different operating parameters

“…Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), as a typical NTP, has great potential for treating VOCs at high concentrations (>1000 ppm) [11][12][13][14]. Most research on VOC degradation by DBD plasma focuses on reducing energy consumption while improving the degradation efficiency of target substances.…”

Positive and negative streamers in air and nitrogen in a sharply inhomogeneous electric field under conditions of runaway electron generation

“…They are formed at high gas pressures, in particular at atmospheric pressure. Due to the prospects of using atmospheric pressure discharges in a wide variety of fields of science and technology, significant success has been achieved both in the modelling of streamer discharges using particle-in-cell methods [11][12][13], fluid models [14][15][16][17] including nanosecond atmospheric discharges [18][19][20], experimental studies [21][22][23][24], and their combinations [25][26][27][28][29]. Special attention has been paid to nanosecond discharges in gases of atmospheric pressure in an inhomogeneous electric field, as a fairly simple method for producing a low-temperature non-equilibrium plasma.…”