Computational study on the discharge dynamics of atmospheric pressure He plasma driven by high frequency AC voltage

Abstract

A two dimensional self-consistent fluid model has been established to investigate the discharge dynamics of double-ring electrode He atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) driven by high frequency AC voltage. The difference of the internal stream and external jet and the influence of the change of applied voltage polarity on plasma discharge characteristics has been discussed. It has been discovered that the capacitive breakdown characteristic of the double ring electrode significantly enhances the intensity of the APPJ. The discharge intensity of the external jet is stronger than that of the internal stream and the propagation speed of the external jet is faster than that of the internal stream due to the ionization and Penning ionization of N2 and O2. Therefore, the density of reactive species in the external jet is greater than that in the internal stream. When the negative voltage is applied to the downstream electrode, the propagation direction of the internal stream changes to the downstream electrode. The ionization of the external jet is also concentrated near the downstream electrode and in the streamer head. The radial propagation distance of the external jet on the dielectric surface continues to increase and the peak value of the radial electric field is concentrated at the streamer head. When the applied voltage changes from negative to positive, the propagation direction of the internal stream turns to the upstream electrode and the upstream jet is formed above the electrode. At the beginning of the positive cycle, the radial propagation distance of the external jet is shortened due to the effects of the electron attachment of O2 and the radial electric field. With the increase of applied voltage, the ionization in the streamer head gradually increases, which promoted the radial propagation of external jet.