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Characterization of atmospheric electrodeless microwave plasma in nitrogen

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Abstract

In this study, we investigate atmospheric microwave plasmas produced without electrodes while having a larger plasma volume in pure nitrogen. Optical emission spectroscopy is conducted to measure the translational, rotational, and vibrational temperatures of the plasma. Subsequently, three-temperature plasma kinetic simulations that consider the trans-rotational, vibrational, and electron temperatures separately are developed and conducted to study reaction pathways that sustain the plasma. The translational, rotational, and vibrational temperatures of the plasma are found to be the same and reach approximately 6000 K independent of the flow rate. In the plasma region, the molecular nitrogen is found to be dissociated into atoms to a significant extent because of the high gas temperature, and the plasma is sustained via associative ionizations rather than the electron-impact ionizations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

    Hojoong Sun, Jungwun Lee & Moon Soo Bak

Authors
  1. Hojoong Sun
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  2. Jungwun Lee
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  3. Moon Soo Bak
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moon Soo Bak.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Jeong Park

Hojoong Sun received the B.S. degree from the Mechanical System Design Engineering Department, Kyonggi University, Suwon, South Korea, in 2016. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon. His current research interests include fuel reforming, atmospheric pressure plasma and plasma-assisted technologies.

Jungwun Lee received the B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University in 2017, where he is currently pursuing the M.S. degree with the School of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include laser-induced plasmas, atmospheric microwave plasmas and plasma-assisted technologies.

Moon Soo Bak received the B.S. degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 2007 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, in 2010 and 2014, respectively. He is currently an Assistant Professor with the School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Gyunggi-do, Republic of Korea. His current research interests include combustion, fluid dynamics, atmospheric pressure plasmas and plasma-assisted combustion.

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Sun, H., Lee, J. & Bak, M.S. Characterization of atmospheric electrodeless microwave plasma in nitrogen. J Mech Sci Technol 32, 5999–6007 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-018-1150-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-018-1150-4

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