Effect of gas flow rate on breakdown voltage in a rotating gliding arc reactor

Ananthanarasimhan J,Lakshminarayana Rao

doi:10.34256/famr2115

Ananthanarasimhan J, Lakshminarayana Rao

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.34256/famr2115

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Abstract

Understanding breakdown phenomena in rotating gliding arc discharge (RGA) is of interest to tailor them for specific applications. This work revealed that the breakdown voltage in a RGA reactor was not dictated by collisional effects i.e., change in flow rate. The observation was consistent for both the discharge gas medium argon and nitrogen. The collisional effect variation was implemented by varying the operating flow rates i.e., 5 SLPM which is transitional in nature, and 50 SLPM which is turbulent in nature having localized micro-eddies. The observation also indicated failure of Paschen law in RGA having shortest gap between the electrodes of order of mm, operated under atmospheric pressure conditions. Collisional ineffectiveness indicates possibility of streamer formation which needs to be further investigated in future. This work marks preliminary and important step towards understanding the breakdown phenomena in atmospheric RGAs operated under different flow regimes such as laminar/transitional and turbulent.

Highlights

Understanding breakdown phenomena in rotating gliding arc discharge (RGA) is of interest to tailor them for specific applications
Rotating gliding arc discharges have been extensively studied for its chemical applications [1,2]
The working principle of RGAs is similar to that of conventional gliding arc discharges (GAD) made of planar diverging electrodes i.e., an arc strikes at the shortest gap between the electrodes when sufficient electric field is given to create breakdown; after initial breakdown, the arc is pushed by the gas downstream thereby elongating the arc [3]

Summary

Introduction

Understanding breakdown phenomena in rotating gliding arc discharge (RGA) is of interest to tailor them for specific applications. In a gas vortex driven RGA, the pressure field inside the reactor increases radially from rotational axis towards the wall [4]. Turbulent flow conditions in RGAs will have localized effects of turbulent micro eddies and it is hypothesized that gas flow rate affects the breakdown voltage (Vb).

Results

Conclusion