Nonequilibrium Argon Induction Plasmas by a Two-Temperature Model

Abstract

The nonequilibrium behavior of induction argon plasmas at a pressure 1.0 aim is studied by means of a two-temperature model. The results are compared with Stokes' experiments and with the LTE plasmas. The agreement with the experiments is well improved compared with the agreement using the LTE theory. The electron temperature has an off-axial peak in the profile and deviates considerably from the heavy gas temperature in the outer region. On the other hand, the temperature difference between them in the central region is fairly small even for relatively low axial temperatures. Although for a low power discharge the gas temperature decreases monotonically toward the wall, it drops but is slightly higher than the electron temperature in the central region, when the discharge power increases.