Continuous Electric Field Research Articles

Continuous pulsed electric field pilot plant for olive oil extraction process

The olive oil extraction industry often uses unit-constructed processing lines lacking in the necessary efficiency and sustainability. The development of efficient processing lines is seen as crucial in obtaining higher product quality and extraction yields. In recent years, numerous researchers and companies have explored the possibilities of assistance from pulsed electric fields (PEF) technology as a mean of reducing processing time and increasing extraction yields from different food crops. The current article shows the application of PEF technology in olive oil extraction, and specifically it researches the results from application of PEF technology in a pilot plant of industrial-layout olive oil extraction process. The experimental methodology involves construction of a plant meeting specific functional and cost criteria, capable of delivering unipolar electric pulses with amplitude <10 kV, current <200 A and 3 kW maximum average power. The analyses then focalize on the assessment of the results from PEF assistance on oil extraction, particularly in terms of extractability from crop and enhancement of bioactive substances content. The proposed PEF unit was found to be easy to install within existing plants, flexible in control and capable of continuous operation. Operating at different pulse and power levels, the plant results in increased process efficiency and content of desirable substances.

The Effects of Different Anode Positions on the Electrical Properties of Square-Silicon Drift Detector.

The Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) with square structure is often used in pixel-type SDD arrays to reduce the dead region considerably and to improve the detector performance significantly. Usually, the anode is located in the center of the active region of the SDD with square structure (square-SDD), but the different anode positions in the square-SDD active area are also allowed. In order to explore the effect on device performance when the anode is located at different positions in the square-SDD active region, we designed two different types of square-SDD in this work, where the anode is located either in the center (SDD-1) or at the edge (SDD-2) of its active region. The simulation results of current density and potential distribution show that SDD-1 and SDD-2 have both formed a good electron drift path to make the anode collect electrons. The experimental results of device performance at the temperature range from −60 °C to 60 °C show that the anode current of the two fabricated SDDs both decreased with the decrease of temperature, but their voltage divider characteristics exhibited high stability resistance value and low temperature coefficient, thereby indicating that they could both provide corresponding continuous and uniform electric field at different temperatures. Finally, SDD-1 and SDD-2 have energy resolutions of 248 and 257 eV corresponding to the 5.9 keV photon peak of the Fe-55 radioactive source, respectively. Our experimental results demonstrate that there is no significant impact on the device performance irrespective of the anode positions in the square-SDD devices.

Phenolic and colour characteristics of must and wine obtained from red grapes treated by pulsed electric fields. Efficacy of PEF to reduce maceration time in elaboration of red wines

Pulsed electric fields effect was studied on the physico-chemical and general phenolic composition as colour characteristics and stilbene content in must and wine. For this purpose, a continuous pulsed electric fields equipment was used to treat three red grape varieties of DOCa Rioja. Graciano, Tempranillo and Grenache wines from these grapes were elaborated with different maceration times, 2 days in the untreated sample (control) and the PEF-treated sample (PEF), and normal maceration time in another untreated sample (control-NM). Parameters as colour intensity, anthocyanin content, total polyphenol index and tannin content showed no differences between the PEF sample with 2 days of maceration and the control-NM sample, except in the case of Tempranillo wines. Total stilbenes, trans-resveratrol and trans-piceid of Graciano wines elaborated from PEF samples showed a higher concentration than the control wines. Alternatively, PEF wines and control-NM wines showed no differences between them. Tempranillo variety wines presented no differences between the three types of samples. In the Grenache variety, only trans-piceid levels showed differences between control and PEF wines. Moreover, relationship between must and wine characteristics was evaluated and compared between different samples. The trend lines obtained for the CI, TPI and AC parameters for samples of Graciano, Tempranillo and Garnacha indicate that the initial content of compounds extracted significantly affected the days of maceration necessary to obtain the appropriate wine. The results obtained increase the knowledge of pulsed electric fields as a technology available for use in the winery to elaborate red wines with reduced maceration time.

Understanding the effects of electrical exposure mode on membrane fouling in an electric anaerobic ceramic membrane bioreactor

Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) with the application of electric field (EAnMBR) can alleviate fouling. However, an energy-efficient operation mode with good treatment and anti-fouling performance is still desired. This study explored the actual performance of EAnMBR under two electrical exposure modes, continuous electric field (CEF) and intermittent electric field (IEF). With the conductive ceramic membrane as cathode, the EAnMBR presented a significant improvement in fouling alleviation, total phosphorus removal efficiency, and methane yields under the appropriate electric field of 1.0V/cm. The IEF mode of 2min-on/8min-off mode could improve carbonate and nitrogenous removal efficiencies by facilitate microbial metabolism compared to CEF mode, and the discrepancy of phosphorus removal efficiency and methanogenesis between these two modes were only within 6%. Notably, its energy requirement was estimated to be one-fifth fold that of CEF. The overall antifouling mechanism was systematically unveiled under two operation modes. Long electrical stimulation time promotes electrostatic repulsion and electrocoagulation deposition for fouling control, particularly during the first stage of concentration polarization formation and particles deposition and during the second stage of particles attachment and dynamic fouling formation. These results proved that the IEF mode is feasible and effective in achieving stable EAnMBR effluent quality, mitigating fouling, and saving electrical energy for carbon peaking and neutrality goals.

Self-charge-carrying air filter by in situ polymerization to avoid charge dissipation and potential material poisoning

Charge dissipation of filter adsorption layer can seriously affect the electrostatic filtration efficiency to cause infection. Here, a self-charge-carrying filter with particulate matters (PMs) removal efficiency retention performance was fabricated by in situ polymerization. The filter consists of a polymerized ionic coating, that is the in situ growth of bio-curcumin ionic liquid (CIL), covered the surface of sponge network forming PCILG@MF composite. Benefiting from inherent ionic transport properties of CIL, the filter allows for a continuous electric field to attract particles, avoiding the charge loss of adsorption materials during long-term using. The filter remained a high efficiency of over 97% after 30 h, even for nano-sized influenza viruses. Interestingly, the PCILG@MF also provides a chelating effect to capture PMs containing various heavy metals. In comparison with commercial mask, the filter exhibits significantly less powder shedding to reduce potential human inhalation toxicity. The present work highlights the potential of self-charge-carrying CIL-based filter for air pollution.

Highly Crystalline Graphene as the Atomic 2D Blanket of a Perovskite Absorber for Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated enormous potential for next-generation low-cost photovoltaics. However, due to the intrinsically low bond energy of the perovskite lattice, the long-term stability is normally undermined by ion migration initiated by the electric field and atmospheric conditions. Therefore, ideal ion migration inhibition is important to achieve an enhanced stability of PSCs. Herein, we first introduce a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) fabricated highly crystalline graphene as an atomic 2D blanket directly for the perovskite absorber of PSCs. Iodine and lithium ion migration is effectively inhibited for perovskite solar cells under a continuous static electric field. The water and oxygen corrosion of the unencapsulated device has been dramatically mitigated with atomic graphene blanketing on the perovskite film. With triphenylamine (TPA) molecule modification, the photoconversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the blanketed devices reach 21.54%. The sample with blanket graphene maintains 85% of the initial efficiency, in comparison to 52% of the control sample under voltage bias. After 600 h of aging at 25 °C and 55 RH%, 86% in comparison to <30% of the PCE for the control device is obtained for the sample with a graphene blanket. Thus, we propose that crystalline graphene has an excellent and effective ion-blocking blanket potential for highly stable perovskite devices.

Modelling the photoemission characteristics of exponential structure AlxGa1-xN nanowire array cathode under internal/external field

An exponential aluminum composition AlxGa1-xN nanowire array photocathode was proposed, and the photoemission and electronic collection characteristics of their nanostructured photoemitter were studied. The photoelectric conversion model is established based on the two-dimensional continuity equation derived from the corresponding boundary conditions, and the model is solved by the finite difference method in Matlab software. Generally, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of nanostructured emitters is better than that of planar emitters. In addition, the exponential nanowire emitter has the advantages of a continuous built-in electric field and an external electric field pulling structure to reconstruct the surface emission electron ratio and further enhance the overall electron collection efficiency. The exponentially doped cathode with the highest quantum efficiency (46.5%) is not as good as the exponential composition cathode (57.3%). In the process of rise the external electric field from 0 to 2.5 V/μm, the collection efficiency increased by 140%.

Effects of thermal and electrical hysteresis on phase transitions and electrocaloric effect in ferroelectrics: A computational study

Hysteresis, including thermal and electrical hysteresis, is a basic feature of ferroelectrics with a first-order phase transition and has consequences on properties, including the electrocaloric effect (ECE). Here we systematically study the influence of thermal and electrical hysteresis on the ECE by monitoring the history dependence of zero-field, and field heating and cooling, for three typical phase transitions in BaTiO3 single crystals. We employ molecular dynamics simulations using an effective Hamiltonian based on first-principles calculations. We find that within the hysteresis regions of first-order phase transitions, where large ECEs occurs, the widest temperature span appears under zero field and this shrinks with increasing electric field. Moreover, the ECE is irreversible when one of the initial or final states with varying electric fields is located inside the hysteresis region. However, it is reversible when two states fully cross the hysteresis region. In continuous electric field cycles, the irreversible ECE has a large thermal response when the electric field is changed at first, but becomes smaller with subsequent changes in the field. The electrical hysteresis loss results in an increase of temperature under continuous field cycles regardless of positive or negative ECEs. Our work provides a basis for the efficient design of reversible electrocaloric cycles for refrigeration applications.

Continuous electric field modeling of Macro-Fiber Composites for actuation and energy harvesting

This paper presents a new low-order electric field model for Macro-Fiber Composite devices with interdigitated electrodes. Specifically, the paper proposes a continuous electric field model, where the differential form of Gauss's law is used to obtain spatial terms of the electric field, and the integral form of Gauss's law is used to obtain temporal term of the electric field. By neglecting three-dimensional effects, the method of matched asymptotic expansion is employed to obtain the electric field between two pairs of interdigitated electrodes under quasi-electrostatic conditions. By averaging the solution along with the thickness of piezoceramic fibers and expanding it to the device's entire geometry by Fourier series, the low-order model of the electric field between the interdigitated electrodes is obtained. The matched asymptotic expansion and the low-order model agree well with finite element results. Generalized Hamilton's principle is employed to obtain the coupled electromechanical equations of motion for a beam with the Macro-Fiber Composite device. The Euler-Bernoulli assumptions are used to approximate strain distribution. Under current assumptions, equivalent capacitance and electromechanical coupling terms are obtained without using discontinuous functions (e.g., Heaviside or piecewise functions) for electric field terms. The equivalent capacitance is within 2% of the values reported by the manufacturer. Frequency response functions are obtained for the output voltage, tip displacement, and optimum working load of the energy harvester, and the current and the tip displacement for the actuator by assumed modes solution for a cantilever beam. It is shown that the actuator's current is related to the optimum working load of the energy harvester by Ohm's law. In the limited case, the proposed continuous electric field model reduces to the constant electric field model. When the constant electric field model is compared to the continuous electric field model, it is shown that the constant electric field model overpredicts the equivalent capacitance and electromechanical coupling. The relative difference between the two models for equivalent capacitance is around 41%, and for electromechanical coupling is around 22%. These relative differences are in agreement with the empirical correction factors defined in the earlier constant field models.

Enhanced solute diffusion to promote shear-type reverse transformation recovery in metastable austenitic stainless steel

The martensite reverse transformation behavior and the effect of microstructure differences on mechanical properties were investigated in metastable austenitic stainless steel. During continuous heating, whether annealing or pulsed electric field treatment, the deformation-induced martensite transforms to austenite by diffusionless shear reversion. In subsequent isothermal holding, the samples treated by pulsed electric treated accomplish the reverse transformation from martensite to austenite, and forming the equiaxed, defect-free austenite grains, but the martensitic reversion in annealed samples is incomplete, consisting of the diffusion-type austenite, lath-type austenite and dislocation cells. The difference in microstructure is caused by atomic diffusion in essence. Under a pulsed electric field, the atom receives an electric force that reduces the activation energy required for diffusion. Therefore, the atom diffusion is promoted, which accelerates the dislocations climbing and subgrain boundaries coalescence and then promoting the schedule of recrystallization. As a result, the difference in microstructure has a significant effect on the mechanical properties, i.e., the annealed cold-rolled austenitic stainless steels have higher strength with poor ductility, yet the pulsed steels present an excellent ductility. The reason for the difference in mechanical properties is likely to the phase transformation-induced plasticity responses.

Exploring the Conformational Changes Induced by Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields on the Voltage Sensing Domain of a Ca2+ Channel.

Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field (nsPEF or Nano Pulsed Stimulation, NPS) is a technology that delivers a series of pulses of high-voltage electric fields during a short period of time, in the order of nanoseconds. The main consequence of nsPEF upon cells is the formation of nanopores, which is followed by the gating of ionic channels. Literature is conclusive in that the physiological mechanisms governing ion channel gating occur in the order of milliseconds. Hence, understanding how these channels can be activated by a nsPEF would be an important step in order to conciliate fundamental biophysical knowledge with improved nsPEF applications. To get insights on both the kinetics and thermodynamics of ion channel gating induced by nsPEF, in this work, we simulated the Voltage Sensing Domain (VSD) of a voltage-gated Ca channel, inserted in phospholipidic membranes with different concentrations of cholesterol. We studied the conformational changes of the VSD under a nsPEF mimicked by the application of a continuous electric field lasting 50 ns with different intensities as an approach to reveal novel mechanisms leading to ion channel gating in such short timescales. Our results show that using a membrane with high cholesterol content, under an nsPEF of 50 ns and = 0.2 V/nm, the VSD undergoes major conformational changes. As a whole, our work supports the notion that membrane composition may act as an allosteric regulator, specifically cholesterol content, which is fundamental for the response of the VSD to an external electric field. Moreover, changes on the VSD structure suggest that the gating of voltage-gated Ca channels by a nsPEF may be due to major conformational changes elicited in response to the external electric field. Finally, the VSD/cholesterol-bilayer under an nsPEF of 50 ns and = 0.2 V/nm elicits a pore formation across the VSD suggesting a new non-reported effect of nsPEF into cells, which can be called a “protein mediated electroporation”.

Pulsed electric field of goat milk: Impact on Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and vitamin constituents

AbstractThere is a dire need to produce shelf‐stable and safe goat milk with minimal effects on its nutritive quality. In this study, raw goat milk was processed with a continuous pulsed electric field (PEF) system, at various electric field strength (EFS: 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 kV/cm) and processing time (5, 7, 10, and 13 μs). The maximum log reduction of Escherichia coli was 3.87 log CFU/ml, achieved at 40 kV/cm for 13 μs. Weibull and Peleg models were better fitted to the inactivation kinetics of E.coli ATCC 8739 as a function of processing time and EFS, respectively. The mean concentration of vitamin A (as β‐carotene) and B‐group vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin) were nonsignificantly (p &gt; .05) decreased compared to the unprocessed sample. Since the inactivation level did not reach the minimum log reduction recommended by USFDA, PEF is recommended as a complementary method to mild thermal pasteurization.Practical ApplicationsPEF processing has gained recognition in food processing through halting an adverse issue of thermal processing. Although PEF is drifting toward industrial practice, it is essential to verify the efficiency of PEF in a complex matrix like goat milk to assure PEF can be utilized for industrial use. The results of this study show that the PEF can be recommended as a complementary method to mild thermal pasteurization as a hurdle processing technique to ensure the safety and nutritive qualities of goat milk at the industry level.

Isomerization change and charge trap double mechanisms induced ternary data storage performance

An azo-based small molecule (NACB) is designed with well-definite film crystallinity, and exhibits three different current states under a continuous electric field, which is owing to the cooperated isomerization change and charge trap mechanisms.

Tuning the transdermal transport by application of external continuous electric field: a coarse-grained molecular dynamics study.

The control of skin permeability to specific substances (e.g., medications, vitamins, and nutrients) through stratum corneum is a challenge. Iontophoresis is an option in spite of the lack of a detailed understanding of the underlying molecular mechanism. In the present work, the simulations concerning application of an external continuous electric field to stratum corneum, in a range of low intensity (0-24 mV nm-1), were carried out using the coarse-grained molecular dynamics approach. Using a set of random seed replicas of the starting configuration, we observed that in the range of electric field intensity of 22-23 mV nm-1, water-rich lipid vesicles were formed in 20% of cases. Pores appeared in the remaining 80%. We argue that lipids undergo fast re-orientations under electric field inducing mechanical instability, which originates the pores. We presented a simple electrostatic model to interpret the results where the mismatch between electrical permittivities of the membrane and external media and the gradient of the local electric field in the membrane surface, govern the time scales and electric fields for vesicle formation. Our results indicate that just 10% difference between electrical permittivities of the membrane and external media decreases 1/6 the minimal time required for vesicle formation. The minimal electric field required decreases 10 times. The control and tunning of formation of biologically compatible vesicles, capable of transporting substances under low-intensity electric fields, has a promising application in fields such as drug therapy and dermo-cosmetics allowing the use of hydrophilic substances in dermal applications.

Improved C1 shape functions for simplex meshes

Using continuously-differentiable (C1) interpolation methods previously developed for computer visualization and other applications, a new class of shape functions is constructed and applied to electrostatic (ES) Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations on simplex (triangle or tetrahedral) meshes. The resulting shape functions are non-negative and partition unity, and lead to a reduction of shot noise and aliasing associated with particle interpolation to and from the mesh. For an energy-conserving implementation as chosen, C1 interpolation of the potential leads to a continuous (C0) electric field, with associated improved fidelity of particle motion.

EEG microstate periodicity explained by rotating phase patterns of resting-state alpha oscillations

Spatio-temporal patterns in electroencephalography (EEG) can be described by microstate analysis, a discrete approximation of the continuous electric field patterns produced by the cerebral cortex. Resting-state EEG microstates are largely determined by alpha frequencies (8-12 Hz) and we recently demonstrated that microstates occur periodically with twice the alpha frequency.To understand the origin of microstate periodicity, we analyzed the analytic amplitude and the analytic phase of resting-state alpha oscillations independently. In continuous EEG data we found rotating phase patterns organized around a small number of phase singularities which varied in number and location. The spatial rotation of phase patterns occurred with the underlying alpha frequency. Phase rotors coincided with periodic microstate motifs involving the four canonical microstate maps. The analytic amplitude showed no oscillatory behaviour and was almost static across time intervals of 1-2 alpha cycles, resulting in the global pattern of a standing wave.In n=23 healthy adults, time-lagged mutual information analysis of microstate sequences derived from amplitude and phase signals of awake eyes-closed EEG records showed that only the phase component contributed to the periodicity of microstate sequences. Phase sequences showed mutual information peaks at multiples of 50 ms and the group average had a main peak at 100 ms (10 Hz), whereas amplitude sequences had a slow and monotonous information decay. This result was confirmed by an independent approach combining temporal principal component analysis (tPCA) and autocorrelation analysis.We reproduced our observations in a generic model of EEG oscillations composed of coupled non-linear oscillators (Stuart-Landau model). Phase-amplitude dynamics similar to experimental EEG occurred when the oscillators underwent a supercritical Hopf bifurcation, a common feature of many computational models of the alpha rhythm.These findings explain our previous description of periodic microstate recurrence and its relation to the time scale of alpha oscillations. Moreover, our results corroborate the predictions of computational models and connect experimentally observed EEG patterns to properties of critical oscillator networks.

Diffusion-activated high performance ZnSnO/Yb2O3 thin film transistors and application in low-voltage-operated logic circuits

The flourishing metal-oxide high-k dielectric materials have been regarded as the vital components of low voltage operated flexible transparent electronic devices. We herein report that ytterbium oxide (Yb2O3) and ZnSnO (ZTO) thin films were firstly integrated into ZTO-based thin film transistors (TFTs) with superior performance. Results have indicated that the 500 ℃-annealed ZTO/Yb2O3 TFTs possess the large saturation mobility of 9.1 cm2 V−1 S−1 and the high on/off current ratio of 2.15 × 107, which even surpass those of reported In-based TFTs. The deteriorative electrical properties in the aging process can be attributed to the carrier capture mechanism. However, the 460 ℃-processed TFTs demonstrate a tenfold increase in saturated mobility and an increase in on/off current ratio after 10 days aging. The inspiring electrical properties are attributed to the diffusion-activated carrier enhancement mechanism and electrons donor role of water molecular, which introduces a facile method to boost the device performance at lower processing temperatures. The neglected threshold voltage variations of 0.06 V and −0.2 V have been detected after bias stability experiments. The superior bias stability can be attributed to the charge delay effect induced by the continuous electric field. Meanwhile, the ultrahigh on/off current ratio of 1.1 × 107 and the recoverable transferring performance have verified the aging-activated mechanism. To confirm its potential application in digital circuits, a resistor-loaded inverter with gain of 5.6 has been constructed and good dynamic response behavior have been detected at a low voltage of 2 V. As a result, it can be concluded that the high temperature annealing TFTs need immediate encapsulation, while the performance of the lower temperature processing samples can be optimized after aging treatment, indicating the potential prospect in low power consumption large-scale flexible transparent devices.

Impact of the resistive switching effects in ZnMgO electron transport layer on the aging characteristics of quantum dot light-emitting diodes

The phenomenon of positive aging has been frequently reported in quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). However, the root cause for this phenomenon remains illusive. On the other hand, the commonly used electron transport material in QLEDs, ZnMgO, has been extensively studied as a resistive switching material. In this work, we found that the ZnMgO nano-particle film used in QLEDs showed a clear resistive switching effect. It is, thus, reasonable to relate the resistive switching mechanism of ZnMgO to the aging characteristics of QLED devices. We found that during the first stage of QLED aging, the efficiency of the QLED was improved due to the migration of off-lattice ions and formation of conductive filaments in the ZnMgO layer. Subsequently, as active oxygen ions migrated to the interface between quantum dots and ZnMgO, the barrier for electron transport increased due to the oxidation of quantum dots. At the same time, the conductive filaments were gradually fused due to the continuous external electric field. As a result, the performance of QLED devices continuously deteriorated.

Rational design and fabrication of TiO2 nano heterostructure with multi-junctions for efficient photocatalysis

In addition to the extended light absorption, the effective spatial charge separation is a crucial factor for highly efficient metal-oxide semiconductor-based photocatalysts. Herein, a rational design of metal-semiconductor-metal nano heterostructure for enhancing photocatalytic performance is proposed. The semiconductor nanoparticles are integrated with two metals in one single nano heterostructure. The disordered layers are induced on the surface of TiO2 to promote the light absorption capacity. More importantly, the n-n+ junction is fabricated at the contact region between crystalline TiO2 (n-TiO2) and disordered layers (n+-TiO2). Besides, the Schottky diode and Ohmic contact are formed on n-TiO2 and n+-TiO2, respectively. As a result, the existence of multi-junctions leads to the formation of multiple continuous built-in electric fields, thus remarkably accelerating the spatial separation of charge carriers. The resulting nano heterostructure with multi-junctions (Pt–TiO2–H–Ag) exhibits remarkably promoted photocatalytic performance. The maximum hydrogen generation rate of Pt–TiO2–H–Ag under solar illumination (18001.0 μmol/h/g) is 8.3, 9.3, and 1.5 times superior to that of Pt-loaded P25 (Pt–P25), Pt loaded TiO2 (Pt–TiO2), and hydrogenated Pt–TiO2 (Pt–TiO2–H), respectively. Moreover, the photocatalytic performance under visible illumination is significantly enhanced by Pt–TiO2–H–Ag. Specifically, the H2 generation rate of Pt–TiO2–H–Ag (2382.7 μmol/h/g) is about 15.1, 17.2, and 1.4 times higher than that of Pt–P25, Pt–TiO2, and Pt–TiO2–H, respectively. The corresponding apparent quantum efficiency of Pt–TiO2–H–Ag is 15.8% (420 nm). The nano heterostructure with multi-junctions also exhibits excellent stability after five cycles, remaining hydrogen evolution rates of 15581.5 and 2211.4 μmol/h/g under solar and visible illumination, respectively. This effective and controllable manufacturing strategy could provide new opportunities to simultaneously extend optical absorption and facilitate the spatial charge separation and transport of wide-bandgap metal-oxide semiconductors.

Effect of low-frequency disturbance on the self-sustained discharge of hollow cathode

The existence of low-frequency disturbance can affect the discharge stability of a hollow cathode, and may even lead to the extinction of the discharge. In this paper, a semi-transient algorithm based on the classical 0-D theoretical model of an orificed hollow cathode was developed to study the discharge stability of a hollow cathode under a continuous low-frequency electric field disturbance. A laboratory experiment using an orificed BaO-W cathode was carried out to confirm the validity of transient analysis results and to determine an appropriate time step in the analysis. The theoretical evolution trend of the discharge current is largely in agreement with the experiment for a time step value of 12.5 μs although there is a 7% error in the discharge duration prediction. This study has identified the role of two emission enhancement mechanisms in the failure process of a self-sustained discharge, namely the Schottky effect and the sheath funneling effect. The presence of the sheath funneling effect induces larger amplitude oscillations and a sharp drop in discharge parameters when the effect ceases to exist, and this significantly weakens the discharge stability. The influence of operating conditions and disturbance parameters on transient discharge characteristics was examined for the NASA NSTAR cathode. Within the parameter range that was studied, findings show that higher xenon flow rates or lower discharge currents provide optimal duration as a result of higher electron temperatures and denser plasma at the initial state. For a fixed operation point, the discharge duration was found to decline exponentially with disturbance amplitude and quadratically with disturbance frequency.