In this paper, we examine the energy distribution function of electrons in the case of a very weakly ionized
argon plasma at sub-atmospheric pressure and external electric field using Boltzmann kinetic equation. We are
interested in the behavior of the collisional part of the equation, thus spatially uniform model is considered. The
goal of the research is to compare two different numerical approaches: a deterministic one (using a two-term local
non-stationary approximation) and a stochastic approach (using the Monte Carlo method) over a wide range of
reduced electric fields: from several Td to kTd. We present the comparison for steady-state and time-dependent
solutions, isotropic and anisotropic parts of the electron energy distribution function, and reaction constants.
The research will also help to identify any limitations and challenges of these methods.
The spatio-temporal structure and plasma parameters of a new type of glow discharge – atmospheric-pressure interelectrode microwave discharge in gas flow – were studied experimentally and numerically. A multi-electrode coaxial-type cold plasma torch developed for large-area surface treatment was used as a gas discharge device. The torch was supplied with microwave power (2.45 GHz, ∼100 W) via a coaxial cable by a typical wave-guide plasmatron. Self-sustained glow discharges were excited between the round ends of the rod-like electrodes and inner wall of the cylindrical discharge chamber near the outlet. The filamentation of the discharge channel in the near-electrode regions was detected by high-speed video filming. The dendritic self-similar (fractal) character of the filaments’ structure was revealed and analyzed. The branching factor and fractal dimension of this structure were estimated as 3 and 1.1–1.3, respectively. Using discharge gas temperature T_g = 1200±100 K, as determined from the emission spectroscopy measurements, the following discharge plasma parameters were obtained from numerical calculations: electron temperature T_e = 1.14 eV and concentration n_e∼10^21-10^22 m^(-3), conductivity σ ∼ 400 Ω^(-1)m^(-1) , current density j ∼ 10^6 A/m^2, and electric field strength E ∼ 10^4 V/m.
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