Identification of Coherent Flow Structures in Nonequilibrium Plasmas

Nonequilibrium atmospheric-pressure plasmas are at the core of a broad range of energy, medical, environmental, and manufacturing applications. The analysis of coherent flow structures is used in diverse areas of fluids engineering for the study of complex flows, and can lead to greater understanding of nonequilibrium plasma flows, particularly of the dynamics of their degree of thermodynamic nonequilibrium. Three different coherent structure identification criteria are used to analyze simulation results of the flow dynamics from an arc plasma torch obtained using a thermodynamic nonequilibrium model. The results reveal some of the possibilities and challenges of the studied criteria for the analysis of nonequilibrium discharges.