Nanosecond Voltage Pulses Research Articles

Simulation of the pulsed streamer discharge in water considering the effect of hydrostatic pressure

Streamer discharge is a very complex multi-scale and multi-physics coupling process, and there is no accurate model that can describe its development. In this paper, a two-dimensional axisymmetric fluid model is established in COMSOL to simulate and study the effects of the applied voltage amplitude, the discharge gap distance, the rising edge of pulse voltage, and hydrostatic pressure on the development of the positive streamer discharge at a needle-plate electrode in water under a nanosecond pulse voltage. The results show that increasing the voltage amplitude, decreasing the pulse rise time, and narrowing the discharge gap all increase the electric field strength of the streamer, thereby affecting the electron density of the plasma channel, among which changing the discharge gap has the greatest effect on the electron density. And under the gap of 3 mm, the peak electron density can reach 3.76 × 1023 m−3; if the discharge gap is narrowed to 1 mm, the peak electron density is reduced to 1.20 × 1023 m−3. In addition, hydrostatic pressure and water molecule spacing are closely linked. Increasing the hydrostatic pressure decreases the electric field strength and the peak electron density in the plasma channel, and its effect on the peak electron density saturates with increasing hydrostatic pressure.

1D modeling of plasma streamers at ammonia-air flame conditions

Abstract This work is a self-consistent 1D modeling of streamers in ammonia-oxygen-nitrogen-water mixtures. A fluid model that includes species transport, electrostatic potential, and detailed chemistry was developed and verified. This model is then used to simulate the avalanche, streamer formation and propagation phases, driven by a nanosecond voltage pulse, at different thermochemical conditions derived from a 1D laminar premixed ammonia-air flame. The applicability of the Meek’s criterion in predicting the streamer inception location was successfully confirmed. Streamer formation and propagation duration were found to vary significantly with different thermochemical conditions, due to the difference in ionization rates. The thermochemical state also affected the breakdown characteristics which was tested by maintaining the background reduced electric field constant. Detailed kinetic analyses revealed the importance of O(1D) in the production of key radicals, such as O, OH, and NH2. Furthermore, the contributions of the dissociative electronic excitation of NH3 towards the production of H and NH2 radicals have also been reported. Spatial and temporal evolution of the electron energy loss fractions for various inelastic collision processes at different thermochemical states uncovered the input plasma energy spent of fuel dissociation and the large variability in the dominant processes during the avalanche and streamer propagation phases. The methodology and analyses reported in this work are key towards developing effective strategies for controlled nanosecond-pulsed non-equilibrium plasma sources used for ammonia ignition and flame stabilization.

Research on Solid-State Linear Transformer Driver Power Source Driving Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet Treatment of Epoxy Resin

The Solid-State Linear Transformer Driver (SSLTD) is a nanosecond pulse power source characterized by its fast rise time and adjustable output waveform. It can generate uniform and stable atmospheric plasma jets, which is suitable for material surface modification. In this study, a 15-stage SSLTD was designed and assembled, which can produce a stable nanosecond pulse voltage up to 15 times the amplitude of the charging voltage at high frequencies, with a rise time of approximately 10 ns. This device can be used to generate stable atmospheric pressure Ar plasma jets with an electron density in the range of 1015~1016 cm−3 and gas temperatures close to room temperature. After the modification treatment by the plasma jets, the content of the C=O groups on the surface of the epoxy resin significantly increased in the wavelength range of 1720~1740 cm−1, and its flashover resistance was noticeably enhanced. The optimal comprehensive modification effect was achieved at a charging voltage of 600 V, pulse width of 50 ns, and pulse frequency in the range of 800~1000 Hz.

Generation of Large-Scale Plasma Jet with Excitation of Bipolar Nanosecond Pulse Voltage in Single-Spiral Electrode Configuration

In this study, a single-outer-spiral electrode with inductance of 20 μH is employed to couple the energy input of a bipolar nanosecond pulse for the purpose of generating a large-scale atmospheric pressure plasma jet. When the spiral electrode is wrapped around a plasma jet tube with a length of 35 cm, the electrical field can be optimized, resulting in a stable laminar flow field, and a plasma jet with a length and diameter larger than 14 cm and 1.2 cm can be generated. A comparative study of the bipolar and unipolar pulse excitation voltages is also conducted, showing that the maximum lengths of the plasma jet excited by a bipolar pulse voltage, positive pulse voltage, and negative are 14 cm, 10 cm, and 7 cm, respectively. The temporal and spatially resolved spectra of the plasma jets excited by both bipolar and unipolar pulses are investigated, respectively, and the main physiochemical processes of the active species and the plasma dynamics’ evolution are discussed.

Ammonia pyrolysis oxidation excited by nanosecond pulsed discharge: Global/fluid models hybrid solution

The kinetic characteristics of plasma-assisted oxidative pyrolysis of ammonia are studied by using the global/fluid models hybrid solution method. Firstly, the stable products of plasma-assisted oxidative pyrolysis of ammonia are measured. The results show that the consumption of NH3/O2 and the production of N2/H2 change linearly with the increase of voltage, which indicates the decoupling of non-equilibrium molecular excitation and oxidative pyrolysis of ammonia at low temperatures. Secondly, the detailed reaction kinetics mechanism of ammonia oxidative pyrolysis stimulated by a nanosecond pulse voltage at low pressure and room temperature is established. Based on the reaction path analysis, the simplified mechanism is obtained. The detailed and simplified mechanism simulation results are compared with experimental data to verify the accuracy of the simplified mechanism. Finally, based on the simplified mechanism, the fluid model of ammonia oxidative pyrolysis stimulated by the nanosecond pulse plasma is established to study the pre-sheath/sheath behavior and the resultant consumption and formation of key species. The results show that the generation, development, and propagation of the pre-sheath have a great influence on the formation and consumption of species. The consumption of NH3 by the cathode pre-sheath is greater than that by the anode pre-sheath, but the opposite is true for OH and O(1S). However, within the sheath, almost all reactions do not occur. Further, by changing the parameters of nanosecond pulse power supply voltage, it is found that the electron number density, electron current density, and applied peak voltages are not the direct reasons for the structural changes of the sheath and pre-sheath. Furthermore, the discharge interval has little effect on the sheath structure and gas mixture breakdown. The research results of this paper not only help to understand the kinetic promotion of non-equilibrium excitation in the process of oxidative pyrolysis but also help to explore the influence of transport and chemical reaction kinetics on the oxidative pyrolysis of ammonia.

The interaction between filaments in dielectric barrier discharge excited by bipolar/unipolar nanosecond pulse powers

This study investigates the behavior of discharge filaments in dielectric barrier discharges with a focus on the effects of nanosecond pulse voltage polarity. We observed significant repulsion between discharge filaments when the pin electrode was grounded in bipolar nanosecond pulse discharge. The tilt angle of the filaments was directly proportional to the peak current, which is indicative of charge density. When the bare pin electrode acted as an H.V. electrode, the repulsion phenomenon was diminished. Surface charges released through the bare pin electrode instead of accumulated on the dielectric surface accounts for this phenomenon. The study also highlights the impact of bipolar versus unipolar nanosecond pulse powers. The addition of a water resistor (WR) results in a slower falling edge of the pulse voltage and the absence of subsequent reverse discharges. The repulsion between filaments disappears both in pin-to-ground discharge and pin-to-H.V. discharge. The introduction of WR leads to a reduction of the current pulse’s duration and a premature termination of the discharge process, resulting the influence of surface charges on filament positioning negligible. It is hypothesized that the spatial distribution of ions does not exhibit significant repulsion, attributed to their substantial mass and sparse distribution in space.

Studying of Filamentation Mechanism for Nanosecond Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge. Part 1. Local Field Approximation

The goal of this work is to check numerically whether or not the previously proposed mechanism for surface barrier discharge filamentation in nitrogen in the case of positive polarity nanosecond voltage pulse is applicable for similar process in nitrogen and air in the case of negative voltage polarity pulse. The results have shown, that in this case some signs of successful filamentation modeling are present both in nitrogen and air, but the whole dynamics of discharge development is qualitatively different from that one observed in experiment. It is assumed, that the failure of simulation is due to the usage of local field approximation, which is too rough inside a region with steep electron density gradient relevant to filamentation zone.

A study of tiamulin removal by nanosecond pulsed gas–liquid discharge underwater

AbstractIn this study, gas–liquid discharge plasma excited by nanosecond pulsed voltage is used to efficiently remove tiamulin (TIA) from water. The discharge produces a large number of reactive species (H2O2, OH radicals, NO3−, etc.) that can attack the TIA molecules. The effects of peak pulse voltage, initial TIA concentration, gas composition, and the addition of ferrous sulfate and persulfate on TIA removal were mainly investigated. The results showed that the oxygen plasma could approach 100% removal within 30 min of treatment time. The addition of the catalyst increased the TIA removal efficiency by approximately 15% during the 10‐min discharge treatment time. The toxicity of 12 intermediates was analyzed and the degradation mechanism of TIA was investigated.

Formation of diffuse and spark discharges between two needle electrodes with the scattering of particles

The development of a nanosecond discharge in a pin-to-pin gap filled with air at atmospheric pressure has been studied with high temporal and spatial resolutions from a breakdown start to the spark decay. Positive and negative nanosecond voltage pulses with an amplitude of tens of kilovolts were applied. Time-resolved images of the discharge development were taken with a four-channel Intensified Charge Coupled Device (ICCD) camera. The minimum delay between the camera channels could be as short as ≈ 0.1 ns. This made it possible to study the gap breakdown process with subnanosecond resolution. It was observed that a wide-diameter streamer develops from the high-voltage pointed electrode. The ionization processes near the grounded pin electrode started when the streamer crossed half of the gap. After bridging the gap by the streamer, a diffuse discharge was formed. The development of spark leaders from bright spots on the surface of the pointed electrodes was observed at the next stage. It was found that the rate of development of the spark leader is an order of magnitude lower than that of the wide-diameter streamer. Long thin luminous tracks were observed against the background of a discharge plasma glow. It has been established that the tracks are adjacent to brightly glowing spots on the electrodes and are associated with the flight of small particles.

Development of All Solid State Nanosecond Pulse Transformer Fault Detection Device Based on Marx Circuit

Abstract a nanosecond pulse generator with a fast leading edge for transformer fault diagnosis is developed. The device is composed of a full solid-state nanosecond pulse generator based on Marx circuit and with a tail cut switch and a field programmable logic gate array (FPGA) device. Among them, the nanosecond pulse source is mainly composed of DC power supply, control circuit and main circuit. The main circuit is a 9-level modular Marx circuit, using MOSFET as the main switch and tail cut switch; The control circuit generates a synchronous trigger pulse signal, which drives the MOSFET to work synchronously after being isolated through the optical fiber. The output nanosecond pulse voltage parameters are adjustable amplitude 0-8kv, pulse width 100˜1000ns, repetition frequency 1hz˜1000hz, rising edge 30ns and falling edge 40ns. The transformer fault diagnosis platform is built, and the transformer off-line and on-line fault diagnosis is carried out, which paves the way for further exploration of transformer fault diagnosis technology.

Correlation between lifetime model of BOPP film and rise rate under nanosecond pulse voltage

This paper aims to study the effect of rise rate (dV/dt) on the cumulative breakdown characteristics of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film under nanosecond pulse voltage. The lifetime (N L) of BOPP film under nanosecond pulse voltage with different pulse voltage amplitude and dV/dt were carried out, respectively. It is found that the N L decreases with the increase of the pulse voltage amplitude, and the N L decreases with the increase of the dV/dt. Meanwhile, the quantitative mathematical relationship between N L and dV/dt, and pulse voltage amplitude are established, respectively, and it is concluded that both the rise rate and pulse voltage amplitude on the lifetime of BOPP film by the inverse power model. The results of the study are expected to provide the experimental basis and mechanistic explanation for the evaluation of film capacitor lifetime under extreme conditions.

Effect of gas components on the post-discharge temporal behavior of OH and O of a non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma driven by nanosecond voltage pulses

OH radicals and O atoms are two of the most important reactive species of non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma (NAPP), which plays an important role in applications such as plasma medicine. However, experimental studies on how the gas content affects the post-discharge temporal evolutions of OH and O in the noble gas ns-NAPP are very limited. In this work, the effect of the percentages of O2, N2, and H2O on the amounts of OH and O productions and their post-discharge temporal behaviors in ns-NAPP is investigated by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) method. The results show that the productions of OH and O increase and then decrease with the increase of O2 percentage. Both OH and O densities reach their maximum when about 0.8% O2 is added. Further increase of the O2 concentration results in a decrease of the initial densities of both OH and O, and leads to their faster decay. The increase of N2 percentage also results in the increase and then decrease of the OH and O densities, but the change is smaller. Furthermore, when the H2O concentration is increased from 100 to 3000 ppm, the initial OH density increases slightly, but the OH density decays much faster, while the initial density of O decreases with the increase of the H2O concentration. After analysis, it is found that OH and O are mainly produced through electron collisional dissociation. O(1D) is critical for OH generation. O3 accelerates the consumption processes of OH and O at high O2 percentage. The addition of H2O in the NAPP considerably enhances the electronegativity, while it decreases the overall plasma reactivity, accelerates the decay of OH, and reduces the O atom density.

Atmospheric pressure uniform dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in a wide air gap initiated from a narrow starting point

Generating a uniform non-equilibrium plasma in atmospheric pressure air has always been a challenge. It is believed that the maximum spacing for generating a uniform non-equilibrium plasma in atmospheric pressure air, whether using AC or nanosecond pulse drive, is 4 mm. Discharges are always non-uniform when the spacing is greater than 4 mm. In this paper, we propose a new type of dielectric barrier discharge structure to address this challenge. The left end of the structure rapidly increases the discharge spacing from 0.5 mm to 6 mm, while the right side of the main discharge gap maintains a uniform spacing of 6 mm. Nanosecond pulse voltage is used to drive the plasma, an ICCD camera is used to capture the image of the plasma during a discharge pulse cycle, which indicates that a uniform plasma within the 6 mm spacing of the main discharge gap is generated. Upon further reducing the ICCD camera’s exposure time to 20 ns, it is revealed that the uniform plasma is formed due to the rapid propagation of the plasma from left to right at a speed of order of 105 m s−1. Due to the small transverse component of the external electric field, this rapid propagation behavior cannot be due to the external electric field. Therefore, this paper further proposes the hypothesis of electric dipole formation leading to this fast propagation. The hypothesis suggests that the charge separation on the surface of the anode forms an electric dipole, which generates a local discharge at its right end. This local discharge further triggers the discharge in the main gap, and the main gap discharge, in turn, forms a dipole due to charge separation again, by repeating this cycle, the plasma propagates rapidly to the right. Further analysis demonstrates that this dipole can indeed produce a strong electric field of up to 41 kV cm−1 at its right end, which is sufficient to induce a local discharge. Moreover, under such a strong electric field, the electron migration rate can indeed reach 105 m s−1. These findings support the plausibility of this hypothesis.

Source–drain switching characteristics when coupled with a gate-controlled DBD in a microplasma switch

Microplasma switches have attracted considerable attention in harsh environment applications, such as satellites, space exploration, nuclear reactors, and oil drilling, because of their inherent characteristics. A microplasma switch is generally constructed from a source, drain, and gate electrodes, and current conduction is generated between the drain and source (DS), and modulated by the gate. In this work, to improve the gate lifespan and device stability, a microplasma switch with a gate dielectric barrier structure is fabricated due to the even and stable discharge of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), and a parameterized nanosecond pulse voltage signal is applied to the gate. Under the effect of the DS voltage, a pulsed DS current is triggered by the gate pulse since a large number of charged particles are generated by the gate DBD, which shows that the DS switching behavior is triggered by the gate pulse. The microplasma switch operates stably (with an average delay jitter of less than 50 ps) at the repetition frequencies (up to 80 kHz). Moreover, the influence of experimental conditions on the switching performance is systematically investigated. The conduction current and delay, which are related to the discharge intensity and speed, are influenced by the electric-field strength of the channel (determined from the pulse amplitude and DS voltage) and its variation rate (determined from the rising and falling edge time of the pulse). In addition, the device performance is influenced by varying the breakdown voltage of the DS (determined from the gas pressure multiplied by DS spacing), which can result in variation of the working coefficient. It is also influenced by varying the wall voltage (decided by pulse width and frequency), which can result in the decrease in the total voltage of the channel.

Numerical simulation of streamer, pressure wave, and vortex induced by nanosecond pulsed surface dielectric barrier discharges

In this study, a two-dimensional fluid model is employed to simulate the streamer, pressure wave, and vortex in surface dielectric barrier discharge driven by nanosecond pulse voltage (ns-SDBD). It comprises a numerical model with two interconnected modules: discharge dynamics and gas flow dynamics. These modules are coupled through the physical variables including ‘EHD force’, ‘thermal source’, ‘velocity field’, ‘gas temperature’, and ‘gas pressure’. Our research primarily focuses on the underlying physical mechanisms of pressure waves and vortices for plasma-based flow control. The generation of pressure waves is attributed to the rapid gas heating by pulsed discharge, whereas the formation and development of the vortex are related to the ionic wind (EHD effect) provided by the plasma. To thoroughly understand and optimize flow control performance, an investigation into the effects of various discharge parameters, such as voltage amplitude and polarity, is conducted. Additionally, several SDBD modules are arranged in series, each featuring a dual three-electrode configuration. Subsequently, the dynamic behaviors of multiple streamers, pressure waves, and vortices, along with their interactions, are explored.

Numerical study on effects of voltage amplitude in CO2 pulsed discharges under Martian conditions by deep neural network

In recent years, non-thermal plasma (NTP) has received an increasing attention for in situ resource utilization of CO2 in the Martian atmosphere. As an important approach to exploring the underpinning physics of NTP, fluid models with tens of species and hundreds of reactions are very time-consuming in simulating CO2 plasmas under Martian conditions, especially driven by the nanosecond pulsed voltage. In this paper, a deep neural network (DNN) with multiple hidden layers is proposed as an example to replace the fluid model to accurately describe the essential discharge features of CO2 pulsed discharge under Martian conditions. After trained by the data from the experimental measurements or numerical simulation and continuously optimized to minimize the loss function, the constructed DNN can achieve a satisfied prediction performance. Compared to the fluid model, the DNN takes only a few seconds to predict the discharge characteristics and profiles of the electric field and particle density, especially to show the spatial–temporal distribution of the given products in CO2 plasmas, such as CO2+, CO3−, CO2v1. This study indicates that a DNN can efficiently yield the essential characteristics in CO2 pulsed discharge even with plenty of species involved in seconds, strongly showing the potential ability to be a highly efficient numerical tool in NTPs with multiple temporal–spatial scales.

Effect of Temperature on Partial Discharge Characteristics of BOPP Film Under Nanosecond Pulse Voltage

Effect of Temperature on Partial Discharge Characteristics of BOPP Film Under Nanosecond Pulse Voltage

Electrothermal lifetime model of BOPP film under nanosecond pulse voltage with high rise rate

Electrothermal lifetime model of BOPP film under nanosecond pulse voltage with high rise rate

Optimization Method for Conductance Modulation in Ferroelectric Transistor for Neuromorphic Computing

AbstractThe learning accuracy of neuromorphic computing that mimics the biological brain, is affected by the conductance‐modulation characteristics of an artificial synapse. In ferroelectric‐based devices, these characteristics are implemented using a distribution of polarization values. Therefore, the distribution in a ferroelectric thin film with various external voltage signals is investigate. As polarization switching proceeds with voltage pulse, the domains of the switched polarization become larger. In ferroelectric‐gate field effect transistors, the channel layer assumed to lie beneath the ferroelectrics experiences a local conductance change, according to the polarization distribution of the ferroelectric layer. It is found that small clusters with high conductivity become large clusters in the channel layer as the polarization switching proceeds. When the additional pulses are applied, the high conductive regions eventually connect (i.e., percolate) in the channel layer and the conductance of the layer is greatly increased. Adjusting the height of the applied voltage can slow down or speed up this phenomenon. Also, the nanosecond voltage pulses are employed and the width of the conductive pathway is adjusted. It enables to fine‐tune the conductance of the channel layer. It demonstrates that conductance modulation is optimized with an appropriate voltage pulse train pattern.

Experimental investigation and theoretical analysis of the breakdown time delay and jitter of multi-gap gas switch gaps.

The gas gap of a multi-gap gas switch can be classified as trigger and self-breakdown gaps based on the breakdown condition. A two-gap gas switch consisting of a trigger gap and a self-breakdown gap is developed to independently study the breakdown characteristics of these two types of switch gaps. Trigger experiments for the switch are conducted under various trigger voltage rise rates and different working coefficients. The experimental results indicate that the trigger gap has significantly more jitter than the self-breakdown gap, and the overall performance of the gas switch is determined primarily by the trigger gap. A novel pre-ionization structure with disks is implemented into the two-gap gas switch, considerably decreasing the breakdown delay of the trigger gap and reducing the jitter to a quarter or even less compared to that without pre-ionization. A calculation model of the breakdown time delay for the trigger gap is provided based on the foundational development of the avalanche. The probability distribution of the time required for the initial electron generation is derived in the absence of pre-ionization. The calculated breakdown time delay agrees well with the experimental results in cases with and without pre-ionization under most trigger settings. The method and principle of calculating the breakdown time delay can analyze the collapse of a gas gap with different electrode configurations (quasi-uniform or uniform electrical fields) and various gas media under a nanosecond pulse voltage.