Dielectric Barrier Discharge Load Research Articles

Transformer‐less drive and operation stability analysis of dielectric barrier discharge using a double resonance circuit

AbstractA dielectric barrier discharge load (DBD) with a maintenance voltage of 1.5 kV has been successfully driven stably from a 48 V inverter only by resonance voltage boost and no transformer. The proposed circuit consists of a two‐stage resonant circuit. The circuit operation is investigated using both prototyping measurement and circuit simulation, which shows that despite the high Q value, the design margin and operating stability of the circuit are extremely wide. It is found that this operational stability can be explained by considering the impedance characteristics of DBD. We believe that the circuit is suitable for driving discharge loads such as DBD in practical applications.

Load model and parameter measurement method of DBD for power supply design

Plasma is widely used in sterilization and disinfection, environmental treatment, and material surface modification. At present, the DBD load equivalent circuit model used in the design of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) low-temperature plasma generator power supply mainly includes the nonlinear clamping model and linear resistance capacitance model, which have advantages and disadvantages in the research and application of DBD load. This paper focuses on the modeling and parameter acquisition method of the RC parallel DBD load linear model, adds measurement capacitance to the discharge load loop, and obtains RC parallel equivalent model parameters by Q-V and I-V Lissajous-Figure analysis. After the experimental data is processed, the simulation circuit model is built by MATLAB/SIMULINK, and the experimental results are compared with the simulation calculation results. They verify the feasibility of the DBD load parameter measurement scheme and comprehensively demonstrate that the DBD load linear resistance capacitance model has important guiding significance in the design of the DBD power supply.

Nonlinear Resonance Characteristics Analysis of DBD Load Based on State Plane Trajectory

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) loads and driving converters are widely utilized in low-temperature plasma generation, but their resonant tanks have typical nonlinear characteristics with control issues. The state plane trajectory analysis is used in this article to investigate the resonant behavior of a DBD load. The converter's working principle and state plane modeling are first discussed. The impact of a high-ratio step-up transformer with parasitic capacitance is then explored, and the updated trajectory model is examined. The DBD platform is created to verify the suggested model, and the associated experimental data are provided. The results of the experiment demonstrate that the discharge trajectory is a zone with distinct borders. The trajectory equations can be utilized to calculate the load equivalent capacitance, and the difference in the boundary equivalent capacitance represents the discharge intensity. The pattern of resonant frequency variation with discharge power is given. The impact mechanism of discharge phenomena and resonance characteristics is discussed.

Circuit analysis and modeling of a soft-switching pulse power supply based on full-bridge inverter for DBD application

PurposeHow to use a simple and classical topology to provide a high-efficiency excitation voltage for dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) loads is one of the primary problems to be solved for DBD application fields.Design/methodology/approachTo address the issue, a set of modes that can generate a high-efficiency pulse excitation voltage in a full-bridge inverter are adopted. With the set of modes, the unique equivalent circuit of DBD loads and the parasitic parameter of the step-up transformer can be fully used. Based on the set of modes, a control strategy for the full-bridge inverter is designed. To test the performance of the power supply, a simulation model is established and an experimental prototype is made with a DBD excimer lamp.FindingsThe simulation and experimental results show that not only a high-efficiency excitation voltage can be generated for the DBD load, but also the soft switching of all power switch is realized. Besides this, with the set of modes and the proposed control strategy, the inverter can operate in a high frequency. Compared with other types of power supplies, the power supply used in the paper can fully take advantage of the potential of the excimer lamp at the same input power.Originality/valueThis work considers that how to use a simple and classical topology to provide a high-efficiency excitation voltage for DBD loads is one of the primary problems to be solved for DBD application fields.

Research on Discharge Characteristics of Three-Electrode Load Under the Pulsed Power Supply

Low-temperature plasma water treatment technology has attracted more and more attention due to its nonselectivity and no secondary pollution. However, high energy consumption limits its further development. In this experiment, a three-electrode structure combining a needle-plate structure and a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) structure is proposed. The discharge characteristics of the three-electrode structure are studied under the matched all-solid-state pulsed power supply. The results show that three discharges are generated at this three-electrode load within one pulse period. It greatly increases the number of discharges per pulse. Under the same pulse voltage condition, the injected power of the three-electrode load is much higher than the power of the single DBD load. When the voltage is 13 kV, the input power of three-electrode load is increased by 70% compared to single DBD load. When the needle-plate gap is constant, with the increase of DBD air gap, the injected power of the three-electrode load has a maximum value. When the DBD air gap remains unchanged, the injected power of the three-electrode load decreases with the increase of the needle-plate gap.

Compact microsecond pulsed power generator driven by solar energy for dielectric barrier discharge applications

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) driven by a pulsed power supply can produce non-equilibrium plasma at atmospheric pressure with merits of more uniform and higher chemical reactivity which makes it promising in various applications. To fulfil the demand of the improvement of energy efficiency and environmental protection, the power generators driven by renewable sources of energy have drawn much attention. This paper describes a microsecond pulse power generator in a compact form (300 mm×200 mm×150 mm) and driven by solar energy is built in a modular structure with solar panels, DC-DC converter, voltage stabilizer, switching system, and high-voltage pulse shaping system. The pulsed power supply has the capability of providing a high voltage pulse up to 20 kV, a pulse repetitive frequency from 1 Hz to 2 kHz, and a maximum output power of 150 W. Tests with a non-inductive resistive load and a coaxial DBD load show that the compact microsecond pulse power generator can provide positive and negative pulses, adjustable voltage amplitude, and reproducible pulse waveforms with different pulse repetition rate. Also, the pulsed power supply has the capability to excite the DBD in working conditions with adjustable output parameters.

Improved Surface Modification of Polymer Films by Energy-Compressed Dielectric Barrier Discharge With Discharge-Time-Regulated Power Source

An energy-compressed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in the atmospheric-pressure air is established to improve the surface modification of the polymer films. The effective discharge time of per repetitive cycle in the DBD system is adjusted by employing an active regulated power source, which can compress the energy transferred to the DBD load in the time domain. The effect of the energy compression on the surface modification of the polyethylene films is studied at different energy densities and frequencies by using the contact angle measurement, the atomic force microscope, and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscope. The results show that, at the given energy density and frequency, the surface wettability is improved by increasing the energy compression degree due to the higher surface roughness and more oxygen-containing polar functional groups. Furthermore, less energy density is needed to achieve the same level of surface wettability by increasing the energy compression degree. The reasons for the high performance of the energy-compressed DBD are the increase of the reactive species density and the enhancement of the physical and chemical interactions. As a result, the energy-compressed DBD is a superior solution for the polymer surface modification.

Analysis and design of pulse frequency modulation dielectric barrier discharge for low power applications

For low power dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) used in small-size material treatment or portable devices, high-step transformer parasitic capacitance greatly influences the performance of the resonant converter as it is of the same order of magnitude as the equivalent capacitance of DBD load. In this paper, steady-state analysis of the low power DBD is presented, considering the inevitable parasitic capacitance of the high-step transformer. The rectifier-compensated first harmonic approximation (RCFHA) is applied to linearize the equivalent load circuit of DBD at low frequency and the derived expressions are accurate and convenient for the analysis and design of the power supply. Based on the proposed linear equivalent load circuit, the influence of transformer parasitic capacitance on the key parameters, including the frequency range and the applied electrode voltage, is discussed when the power is regulated with pulse frequency modulation (PFM). Also, a design procedure is presented based on the derived expressions. A prototype is constructed according to the design results and the accuracy of the design is verified by experimental results.

Prediction of Equivalent Electrical Parameters of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Load Using a Neural Network**supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51107115, 11347125, 51407156) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Nos. 20110491766, 2014M551735)

A reliable, efficient and economical power supply for dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is essential for its industrial applications. However, the equivalent load parameters complicate the design of power supply as they are variable and varied nonlinearly in response to varied voltage and power. In this paper the equivalent electrical parameters of DBD are predicted using a neural network, which is beneficial for the design of power supply and helps to investigate how the electrical parameters influence the equivalent load parameters. The electrical parameters including voltage and power are determined to be the inputs of the neural network model, as these two parameters greatly influence the discharge type and the equivalent DBD load parameters which are the outputs of the model. The voltage and power are decoupled with pulse density modulation (PDM) and hence the impact of the two electrical parameters is discussed individually. The neural network model is trained with the back-propagation (BP) algorithm. The obtained neural network model is evaluated by the relative error, and the prediction has a good agreement with the practical values obtained in experiments.