Simulation of DC and surface-wave discharges in atmospheric-pressure air and its mixtures with hydrocarbons

Abstract

Summary form only given, as follows. High-pressure plasma sources using DC arc discharges or discharges supported by propagating electromagnetic surface waves are considered as a potential tool for various technological applications, including plasma chemistry. Typically, in molecular gases at pressures of the order of 1 bar the plasma in the discharge core is close to the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) if the gas temperature inside the core is not too low (typically higher than 4000 K). Otherwise, departures from LTE may take place. In this work, a model of DC and surface-wave discharges is based on solving balance equations for the densities of plasma species with account of non-LTE effects. The case is considered of a wall-stabilized discharge in a long cylindrical tube.