2D Fluid Model Research Articles

Physicochemical processes in the indirect interaction between surface air plasma and deionized water

One of the most central scientific questions for plasma applications in healthcare and environmental remediation is the chemical identity and the dose profile of plasma-induced reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) that can act on an object inside a liquid. A logical focus is on aqueous physicochemical processes near a sample with a direct link to their upstream gaseous processes in the plasma region and a separation gap from the liquid bulk. Here, a system-level modeling framework is developed for indirect interactions of surface air plasma and a deionized water bulk and its predictions are found to be in good agreement with the measurement of gas-phase ozone and aqueous long-living ROS/RNS concentrations. The plasma region is described with a global model, whereas the air gap and the liquid region are simulated with a 1D fluid model. All three regions are treated as one integrated entity and computed simultaneously. With experimental validation, the system-level modeling shows that the dominant aqueous ROS/RNS are long-living species (e.g. H2O2aq, O3aq, nitrite/nitrate, H+aq). While most short-living gaseous species could hardly survive their passage to the liquid, aqueous short-living ROS/RNS are generated in situ through reactions among long-living plasma species and with water molecules. This plasma-mediated remote production of aqueous ROS/RNS is important for the abundance of aqueous HO2aq, HO3aq, OHaq and aq as well as NO2aq and NO3aq. Aqueous plasma chemistry offers a novel and significant pathway to activate a given biological outcome, as exemplified here for bacterial deactivation in plasma-activated water. Additional factors that may synergistically broaden the usefulness of aqueous plasma chemistry include an electric field by aqueous ions and liquid acidification. The system-modeling framework will be useful in assisting designs and analyses of future investigations of plasma-liquid and plasma–cell interactions.

Rarefaction waves in van der Waals fluids with an arbitrary number of degrees of freedom.

The isentropic expansion of an instantaneously and homogeneously heated foil is calculated using a 1D fluid model. The initial temperature and density are assumed to be in the vicinity of the critical temperature and solid density, respectively. The fluid is assumed to satisfy the van der Waals equation of state with an arbitrary number of degrees of freedom. Self-similar Riemann solutions are found. With a larger number of degrees of freedom f, depending on the initial dimensionless entropy s[over ̃]_{0}, a richer family of foil expansion behaviors have been found. We calculate the domain in parameter space where these behaviors occur. In total, eight types of rarefaction waves are found and described.

Flow Characteristics and Charge Exchange Effects in a Two-Dimensional Model of Electrothermal Plasma Discharges

Electrothermal (ET) plasma discharges are capillary discharges that ablate liner materials and form partially ionized plasma. ET plasma discharges are generated by driving current pulses through a capillary source with peak currents on the order of tens of kA and pulse lengths on the order of $$100\,\upmu \hbox {s}$$ . These plasma discharges can be used to propel pellets into magnetic confinement fusion devices for deep fueling of the fusion reaction, ELM mitigation, and thermal quench of the fusion plasma. ET plasma discharges have been studied using 0D, 1D, and semi-2D fluid models. In this work, a fully 2D model of ET plasma discharges is presented. The newly developed model and code resolve inter-species interaction forces due to elastic collisions. These forces affect the plasma flow field in the source and impede the development of plasma pressure at the exit of the source. In this work, these affects are observed for discharge current pulses peaking at 10 and 20 kA. The sensitivity of the model to the inclusion of charge exchange effects is observed. The inclusion of charge exchange has little effect on the integrated, global results of the simulation. The difference in total ablated mass for the simulations caused by the inclusion of charge exchange reactions is <1 %. Differences in local plasma parameters are observed during discharge initialization, but after initialization, these differences diminish. The physical reasoning for this is discussed and recommendations are made for future modeling efforts.

Boundary Effect of Planar Glow Dielectric Barrier Discharge and Its Influence on the Discharge Structure**supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11175017)

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in the glow regime in neon has been investigated by experiment and two-dimensional (2D) fluid modeling. The discharge was carried out in a planar DBD system with segmented-electrodes driven by square-wave voltage. The results show that the glow DBD originates in the center of the electrode and expands outward to the electrode edge during each half cycle of the voltage, forming a radial structure. The discharge decays firstly in the inner area but sustains longer in the edge area, showing a reversed discharge area. The discharge cannot completely cover the entire electrode surface, but remains a border of non- or weak discharge. The fluid modeling shows a similar result in agreement with the experiments. The simulations indicate that the electric field in the edge area is distorted due to the boundary effect so that the electric field and charge distribution are different from that in the inner part. The distorted field reduces the longitudinal component near the edge and causes the local field to be lower than that in the center, and hence makes the discharge behindhand. It also induces a transverse field that makes the discharge extend radially outward to the edge. The boundary effect plays an important role in the glow DBD structure.

A hybrid model for simulation of secondary electron emission in plasma immersion ion implantation under different pulse rise time

A hybrid fluid Particle in Cell–Monte Carlo Collision (PiC–MCC) model is presented to study the effect of secondary electron emission on the plasma immersion ion implantation process under different pulse rise time. The model describes the temporal evolution of various parameters of plasma such as ion density, ion velocity, secondary electron density, and secondary electron current for different rise times. A 3D–3 V PiC–MCC model is developed to simulate the secondary electrons which are emitted from the sample surface while the plasma ions and electrons are treated using a 1D fluid model. The simulation results indicate that the secondary electron density and secondary electron current increase as the rise time decreases. The main differences between the results for different rise times are found during the initial phase of the pulse. The results are explained through studying the fundamental parameters of plasma.

Two-dimensional fluid modeling of DC glow discharge in argon at low pressure

The modeling of DC glow discharge in argon at the pressure p = 1.5 Torr and inter-electrode distance d = 1 cm was performed for different voltages and glow currents. For the first time, argon glow discharge is modeled using a two-dimensional (2D) fluid model with non-local ionization. A detailed numerical procedure for 2D fluid modeling is given. The 2D profiles of particle number densities and electric potential obtained from the fluid model with non-local ionization and the simple fluid model are presented and compared.

A 2D model for a gliding arc discharge

In this study we report on a 2D fluid model of a gliding arc discharge in argon. Despite the 3D nature of the discharge, 2D models are found to be capable of providing very useful information about the operation of the discharge. We employ two models—an axisymmetric and a Cartesian one. We show that for the considered experiment and the conditions of a low current arc (around 30 mA) in argon, there is no significant heating of the cathode surface and the discharge is sustained by field electron emission from the cathode accompanied by the formation of a cathode spot. The obtained discharge power and voltage are relatively sensitive to the surface properties and particularly to the surface roughness, causing effectively an amplification of the normal electric field. The arc body and anode region are not influenced by this and depend mainly on the current value. The gliding of the arc is modelled by means of a 2D Cartesian model. The arc–electrode contact points are analysed and the gliding mechanism along the electrode surface is discussed. Following experimental observations, the cathode spot is simulated as jumping from one point to another. A complete arc cycle is modelled from initial ignition to arc decay. The results show that there is no interaction between the successive gliding arcs.

Direct measurements of ion dynamics in collisional magnetic presheaths

Ion velocities and temperatures are measured in the presheath of a grounded plate downstream from an argon helicon plasma source using laser-induced fluorescence (Prf≈450→750 W, Te=2.5→5 eV, Ti=0.1→0.6 eV, n0≈1×1012cm−3, pn=1→6.5 mTorr, λ=0.3→2 cm, ρi≈ 0.5 cm). The plate is held 16°→60° relative to the 1 kG background axial magnetic field. The velocity profiles are compared to a 1D fluid model similar to those presented by Riemann [Phys. Plasmas 1, 552 (1994)] and Ahedo [Phys. Plasmas 4, 4419 (1997)] for the 1 mTorr dataset and are shown to agree well. The model is sensitive to parameters such as collision and ionization frequencies and simplified models, such one presented by Chodura [Phys. Fluids 25, 1628 (1982)], are shown to be inaccurate. E→×B→ flows as large as 40% of cs at the sheath edge are inferred. Definitions for the term “magnetic presheath” and implications for ion flow to tokamak divertors and Hall thruster walls are discussed.

Effects of pulse parameters on the atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharges driven by the high-voltage pulses in Ar and N2

In this work, the atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharges in Ar and N2 excited by repetitive voltage pulses have been numerically studied using a 1D fluid model. The differences between the discharge characteristics for Ar and N2 have been presented when changing the parameters of the applied pulse voltage. In this work we present the following significant results. With an increase of the amplitude of the applied pulse voltage, the increase of the maximum discharge current density in Ar is evident, compared with N2; and the discharge mode changes from the weak atmospheric-pressure glow discharge (APGD) to the standard APGD for Ar, and from the atmospheric-pressure Townsend discharge to the APGD for N2. In addition, the increase of the averaged electron density in N2 is more evident than that in Ar, especially when the standard APGD occurs in N2. The increasing frequency leads to lower maximum discharge current density for Ar, however, the reverse is true for N2. With an increase of the pulse width of the applied pulse voltage, the averaged electron density and the maximum discharge current density change slightly in Ar, but they increase drastically in N2.

Numerical study of effect of secondary electron emission on discharge characteristics in low pressure capacitive RF argon discharge

Based on the drift and diffusion approximation theory, a 1D fluid model on capacitively coupled RF argon glow discharge at low pressure is established to study the effect of secondary electron emission (SEE) on the discharge characteristics. The model is numerically solved by using a finite difference method and the numerical results are obtained. The numerical results indicate that when the SEE coefficient is larger, the plasma density is higher and the time of reaching steady state is longer. It is also found that the cycle-averaged electric field, electric potential, and electron temperature change a little as the SEE coefficient is increased. Moreover, the discharge characteristics in some nonequilibrium discharge processes with different SEE coefficients have been compared. The analysis shows that when the SEE coefficient is varied from 0.01 to 0.3, the cycle-averaged electron net power absorption, electron heating rate, thermal convective term, electron energy dissipation, and ionization all have different degrees of growth. While the electron energy dissipation and ionization are quite special, there appear two peaks near each sheath region in the discharge with a relatively larger SEE coefficient. In this case, the discharge is certainly operated in a hybrid α-γ-mode.

Hydrogen Peroxide Production in an Atmospheric Pressure RF Glow Discharge: Comparison of Models and Experiments

The production of $$\hbox {H}_2\hbox {O}_2$$ in an atmospheric pressure RF glow discharge in helium-water vapor mixtures has been investigated as a function of plasma dissipated power, water concentration, gas flow (residence time) and power modulation of the plasma. $$\hbox {H}_2\hbox {O}_2$$ concentrations up to 8 ppm in the gas phase and a maximum energy efficiency of 0.12 g/kWh are found. The experimental results are compared with a previously reported global chemical kinetics model and a one dimensional (1D) fluid model to investigate the chemical processes involved in $$\hbox {H}_2\hbox {O}_2$$ production. An analytical balance of the main production and destruction mechanisms of $$\hbox {H}_2\hbox {O}_2$$ is made which is refined by a comparison of the experimental data with a previously published global kinetic model and a 1D fluid model. In addition, the experiments are used to validate and refine the computational models. Accuracies of both model and experiment are discussed.

Modelling of Hydrogen Microwave Plasma in the Conditions of Diamond Deposition

A 2D-fluid plasma model has been developed for a microwave cavity plasma reactor used for diamond thin film deposition. Dependencies of discharge characteristics on the main physical parameters namely the hydrogen pressure and the microwave power density have been numerically studied. The pure hydrogen plasma characteristics, such as electron density, electron temperature and electric potential are simulated by applying a COMSOL MWP module based on finite element method to solve electron continuity and electron energy equations coupled with Poisson’s equation. This present paper provides the spatial and temporal evolutions of different discharge characteristics for various input conditions. It is shown that the electron density was in the range (5×1016-8×1017)m-3 for the pressure range of (40-60)Torr. It is also clearly shown that as the power density increases the electron density increases and that the electron temperature and electric potential vary slightly with gas pressure and microwave power density.

Time-dependent characteristics of the dielectric barrier discharge in Xe-Cl2 mixture and kinetics of the XeCl∗ molecules

Time-dependent characteristics of the dielectric barrier discharge in Xe-Cl2 mixture at chlorine concentration of 0.5% and kinetic processes governing the generation of XeCl∗ molecules are studied using the 1D fluid model. It is shown that at low voltage amplitude (5 kV) a one-peak mode of the discharge is observed and at high voltage amplitude (7 kV) a two-peak mode of the discharge appears. The radiation power of the XeCl∗ band increases with amplitude of the supply voltage. It is demonstrated that the harpoon reaction Xe∗ + Cl2 → XeCl∗ + Cl provides the greatest contribution into generation of XeCl∗ exciplex molecules during short current pulses and the ion-ion recombination Xe+ 2 + Cl- → XeCl* + Xe provides the greatest contribution during afterglow. Quenching of XeCl∗ molecules is a result of the radiative decay XeCl∗ → Xe + Cl + hv (308 nm). During current spike the great contribution into quenching of XeCl∗ provides also the dissociative ionization e + XeCl∗ → Xe+ + Cl + 2e.

Implementation and Validation of a 1D Fluid Model for Collapsible Channels

A 1D fluid model is implemented for the purpose of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations in complex and completely collapsible geometries, particularly targeting the case of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The fluid mechanics are solved separately from any solid mechanics, making possible the use of a highly complex and/or black-box solver for the solid mechanics. The fluid model is temporally discretized with a second-order scheme and spatially discretized with an asymmetrical fourth-order scheme that is robust in highly uneven geometries. A completely collapsing and reopening geometry is handled smoothly using a modified area function. The numerical implementation is tested with two driven-geometry cases: (1) an inviscid analytical solution and (2) a completely closing geometry with viscous flow. Three-dimensional fluid simulations in static geometries are performed to examine the assumptions of the 1D model, and with a well-defined pressure-recovery constant the 1D model agrees well with 3D models. The model is very fast computationally, is robust, and is recommended for OSA simulations where the bulk flow pressure is primarily of interest.

Effect of volume and surface charges on discharge structure of glow dielectric barrier discharge

The effect of volume and surface charges on the structure of glow dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) has been investigated numerically by using two-dimensional (2D) fluid modeling. The local increase of volume or surface charges induces a kind of activation-inhibition effect, which enhances the local volume discharge and inhibits the discharge in neighborhoods, resulting in non-uniform discharge. The activation-inhibition effect due to the non-uniform volume and/or surface charges depends on the non-uniformity itself and the applied voltage. The activation-inhibition of non-uniform charges has different effects on the volume charges and the accumulated surface charges. The distribution of remaining free charges (seed electrons) in volume at the beginning of voltage pulse plays a key role for the glow DBD structure, resulting in a patterned DBD, when the seed electrons are non-uniform at higher frequency and moderate voltage or uniform DBD, when the seed electrons are uniform at lower frequency or high voltage. The distribution of surface charges is not the determining factor but a result of the formed DBD structure.

A finite element solver and energy stable coupling for 3D and 1D fluid models

The paper develops a solver based on a conforming finite element method for a 3D–1D coupled incompressible flow problem. New coupling conditions are introduced to ensure a suitable bound for the cumulative energy of the model. We study the stability and accuracy of the discretization method, and the performance of some state-of-the-art linear algebraic solvers for such flow configurations. Motivated by the simulation of the flow over inferior vena cava (IVC) filter, we consider the coupling of a 1D fluid model and a 3D fluid model posed in a domain with anisotropic inclusions. The relevance of our approach to realistic cardiovascular simulations is demonstrated by computing a blood flow over a model IVC filter.

The effects of process conditions on the plasma characteristic in radio-frequency capacitively coupled SiH4/NH3/N2 plasmas: Two-dimensional simulations

A two-dimensional (2D) fluid model is presented to study the behavior of silicon plasma mixed with SiH4, N2, and NH3 in a radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) reactor. The plasma-wall interaction (including the deposition) is modeled by using surface reaction coefficients. In the present paper we try to identify, by numerical simulations, the effect of variations of the process parameters on the plasma properties. It is found from our simulations that by increasing the gas pressure and the discharge gap, the electron density profile shape changes continuously from an edge-high to a center-high, thus the thin films become more uniform. Moreover, as the N2/NH3 ratio increases from 6/13 to 10/9, the hydrogen content can be significantly decreased, without decreasing the electron density significantly.

Simulation of cold plasma in a chamber under high- and low-frequency voltage conditions for a capacitively coupled plasma

The characteristics of cold plasma, especially for a dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), play an important role for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, which stimulates further studies using different methods. In this paper, a 2D fluid model was constructed for N2 gas plasma simulations with CFD-ACE+, a commercial multi-physical software package. First, the distributions of electric potential (Epot), electron number density (Ne), N number density (N) and electron temperature (Te) are described under the condition of high frequency (HF), 13.56 MHz, HF voltage, 300 V, and low-frequency (LF) voltage, 0 V, particularly in the sheath. Based on this, the influence of HF on Ne is further discussed under different HF voltages of 200 V, 300 V, 400 V, separately, along with the influence of LF, 0.3 MHz, and various LF voltages of 500 V, 600 V, 700 V. The results show that sheaths of about 3 mm are formed near the two electrodes, in which Epot and Te vary extensively with time and space, while in the plasma bulk Epot changes synchronously with an electric potential of about 70 V and Te varies only in a small range. N is also modulated by the radio frequency, but the relative change in N is small. Ne varies only in the sheath, while in the bulk it is steady at different time steps. So, by comparing Ne in the plasma bulk at the steady state, we can see that Ne will increase when HF voltage increases. Yet, Ne will slightly decrease with the increase of LF voltage. At the same time, the homogeneity will change in both x and y directions. So both HF and LF voltages should be carefully considered in order to obtain a high-density, homogeneous plasma.

The Key Factor for Uniform and Patterned Glow Dielectric Barrier Discharge

We present the results from 2D fluid modeling of the key roles controlling the glow dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) structure. A uniform DBD can be sustained at lower frequency when the space charge reaches uniformity due to plasma decay, while the patterned structure appears above a critical frequency when the space charge is nonuniform. The patterns start from the electrode edge where the electric field is significantly distorted, characterized by the patterned seed electrons that always form ahead of the surface charges. The formation of the patterned DBD structure is associated with the lateral inhibition of the local increase of space charges. The distribution of the volume seed electrons plays a key role in the DBD structure while the distribution of surface charge is a result of the formed structure.

Transient Pressure Loss in Compressor Station Piping Systems

“Dynamic pressure loss” is often used to describe the added loss associated with the time varying components of an unsteady flow through a piping system in centrifugal and reciprocating compressor stations. Conventionally, dynamic pressure losses are determined by assuming a periodically pulsating 1D flow profile and calculating the transient pipe friction losses by multiplying a friction factor by the average flow dynamic pressure component. In reality, the dynamic pressure loss is more complex and is not a single component but consists of several different physical effects, which are affected by the piping arrangement, structural supports, piping diameter, and the level of unsteadiness in the flow stream. The pressure losses due to fluid-structure interactions represent one of these physical loss mechanisms and are presently the most misrepresented loss term. The dynamic pressure losses, dominated at times by the fluid-structure interactions, have not been previously quantified for transient flows in compressor piping systems. A number of experiments were performed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) utilizing an instrumented piping system in a compressor closed-loop facility to determine this loss component. Steady and dynamic pressure transducers and on-pipe accelerometers were utilized to study the dynamic pressure loss. This paper describes the findings from reciprocating compressor experiments and the various fluid modeling studies undertaken for the same piping system. The objective of the research was to quantitatively assess the individual pressure loss components, which contribute to dynamic pressure (nonsteady) loss based on their physical basis as described by the momentum equation. Results from these experiments were compared with steady-state and dynamic pressure loss predictions from 1D and 3D fluid models (utilizing both steady and transient flow conditions to quantify the associated loss terms). Comparisons between the fluid model predictions and experiments revealed that pressure losses associated with the piping fluid-structure interactions can be significant and may be unaccounted for by advanced 3D fluid models. These fluid-to-structure losses should not be ignored when predicting dynamic pressure loss. The results also indicated the ability of an advanced 1D Navier–Stokes solution at predicting inertial momentum losses. Correspondingly, the three-dimensional fluid models were able to capture boundary layer losses affected by 3D geometries.