Characteristics of microsecond-pulse gliding discharges in air flow

Summary form only given. Atmospheric-pressure non-thermal plasmas become more and more widely used in the fields of ignition and combustion. In this paper, a home-made microsecond-pulse power supply is adopted to investigate the characteristics of gliding discharges in air flow. The generator could produce repetitive pulses with an output voltage of up to 30 kV, a pulse width of ~8 μs, and pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) of 1 Hz ~3000 Hz¹, ². The voltage-current waveforms and the discharge images are obtained to analyze the characteristics of microsecond-pulse gliding discharges. Furthermore, effects of the gas flow rate, the PRF, and the electrode gap on the electrical characteristics and discharge luminance are conducted. Experimental results show that there are two typical discharge modes in microsecond-pulse gliding discharges i.e. diffuse discharge and spark discharge. Moreover, the gas flow rates slightly affect the electrical characteristics of diffuse discharge but significantly affect the breakdown voltage of the spark discharge. PRF and electrode gap place a more significant role on the gliding discharges in both diffuse discharges and spark discharges.