In-Liquid Streamer Characterization and Fractal Analysis

Abstract

Streamer discharges provide efficient means for chemical change in a variety of applications, some of which are ozone generation, water purification, and hydrogen and syngas production. Better understanding of the streamer growth process, and simple physical characteristics, such as size and geometry, could lead to an increase in product yield for these plasma-based applications. This report focuses in particular on the size and geometry of streamers formed in liquid, with an underlying goal to generate hydrogen gas and syngas via plasma-induced hydrocarbon reformation. The examination of size and geometry was performed with a measurement of the streamer length and area, and a fractal analysis, respectively. The fractal analysis used a box counting method to quantify the geometry of the streamer with a metric of complexity called the fractal dimension. This technique was explored for its possible use in characterizing streamers in regards to volume and surface area as such direct measurements can be difficult to obtain. The streamers discussed in this paper were induced under different operating conditions and liquid parameters, namely electrical conductivity of the liquid, voltage polarity, and carbon chain length of the liquid.