Numerical study of self-organized filaments affected by flow field in dielectric barrier discharges

Abstract

Static and dynamic self-organized patterns are observed in dielectric barrier discharge by numerical simulation. The static pattern is characterized by regularly distributed standing discharge channels/filaments, and its morphology is significantly dependent on discharge parameters such as electrode size and voltage. The interaction between the filaments proves to be electrostatic repulsive force. The introduction of the external flow field breaks the stability of the pattern which finally results in the formation of a quasi-static pattern with a displaced filament or dynamic pattern with directional moving filaments. The thrust from the flow should be responsible for the motion of the filaments, which may also be described from the microscopic view that the neutral background atoms transfer the momentum to species by the collision. Moreover, the filaments may also exhibit particle-like behaviors, such as collision, vanishment, and generation under the effect of flow.