Atmospheric pressure air plasmas are often thought to be in local thermodynamic equilibrium owing to fast interspecies collisional exchange at high pressure. This assumption cannot be relied upon, particularly with respect to optical diagnostics. Velocity gradients in flowing plasmas and/or elevated electron temperatures created by electrical discharges can result in large departures from chemical and thermal equilibrium. This paper reviews diagnostic techniques based on optical emission spectroscopy and cavity ring-down spectroscopy that we have found useful for making temperature and concentration measurements in atmospheric pressure plasmas under conditions ranging from thermal and chemical equilibrium to thermochemical nonequilibrium.

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Nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) spark discharges have been studied in atmospheric pressure air preheated to 1000 K. Measurements of spark initiation and stability, plasma dynamics, gas temperature and current-voltage characteristics of the spark regime are presented. Using 10 ns pulses applied repetitively at 30 kHz, we find that 2-400 pulses are required to initiate the spark, depending on the applied voltage. Furthermore, about 30-50 pulses are required for the spark discharge to reach steady state, following initiation. Based on space-and time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy, the spark discharge in steady state is found to ignite homogeneously in the discharge gap, without evidence of an initial streamer. Using measured emission from the N 2 (C-B) 0-0 band, it is found that the gas temperature rises by several thousand Kelvin in the span of about 30 ns following the application of the high-voltage pulse. Current-voltage measurements show that up to 20-40 A of conduction current is generated, which corresponds to an electron number density of up to 10 15 cm −3 towards the end of the high-voltage pulse. The discharge dynamics, gas temperature and electron number density are consistent with a streamer-less spark that develops homogeneously through avalanche ionization in volume. This occurs because the pre-ionization electron number density of about 10 11 cm −3 produced by the high frequency train of pulses is above the critical density for streamer-less discharge development, which is shown to be about 10 8 cm −3 .

International audienceIn atmospheric pressure air preheated from 300 to 1000 K, the nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) method has been used to generate corona, glow, and spark discharges. Experiments have been performed to determine the parameter space (applied voltage, pulse repetition frequency, ambient gas temperature, and interelectrode gap distance) of each discharge regime. In particular, the experimental conditions necessary for the glow regime of NRP discharges have been determined, with the notable result that there exists a minimum and maximum gap distance for its existence at a given ambient gas temperature. The minimum gap distance increases with decreasing gas temperature, whereas the maximum does not vary appreciably. To explain the experimental results, an analytical model is developed to explain the corona-to-glow (C-G) and glow-to-spark (G-S) transitions. The C-G transition is analyzed in terms of the avalanche-to-streamer transition and the breakdown field during the conduction phase following the establishment of a conducting channel across the discharge gap. The G-S transition is determined by the thermal ionization instability, and we show analytically that this transition occurs at a certain reduced electric field for the NRP discharges studied here. This model shows that the electrode geometry plays an important role in the existence of the NRP glow regime at a given gas temperature. We derive a criterion for the existence of the NRP glow regime as a function of the ambient gas temperature, pulse repetition frequency, electrode radius of curvature, and interelectrode gap distance

Results of an experimental study of the efficiency of the ignition of propane-air mixtures by a high voltage repetitively pulsed nanosecond gas discharge (10 kV, 10 ns, 30 kHz) are presented for the pressure range 0.35-2.0 bar. The measured minimal energy for ignition is found to decrease with the pressure. A significant reduction of the ignition delay and a decrease of the overall combustion duration were obtained by using a train of high-voltage pulses. Spectroscopic measurements in a 1-bar air just after a 10-pulse train (300 µs) of about 10 mJ in total energy show the presence of N, N + , O, and O + atomic species and a gas temperature increase up to 3000 K.Index Terms-Nanosecond plasma, plasma-assisted ignition, propane-air mixture inflammation, repetitively pulsed nanosecond discharge.

Nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) discharges were used to generate atmospheric pressure plasmas in air or nitrogen preheated at 1000 K. In order to understand the physico-chemical mechanisms that control the number densities of active species, in situ optical diagnostic techniques were developed. The ground state of atomic oxygen was measured by two-photon absorption laser induced fluorescence (TALIF), the density of N2(A) was measured by cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) and the densities of N2(B) and N2(C) were measured by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Temporally and spatially resolved density measurements were performed in the main operating regimes of the NRP discharge, namely the diffuse and filamentary regimes. The diagnostic techniques and associated challenges are presented and the effects of these discharges on the chemistry are discussed.

A nanosecond repetitively pulsed plasma (NRPP) produced by electric pulses of 10 kV during 10 ns at a frequency of up to 30 kHz has been used to stabilize and improve the efficiency of a 25-kW lean turbulent premixed propane/air flame (Re D = 30 000) at atmospheric pressure. We show that, when placed in the recirculation zone of the flow, the plasma significantly increases the heat release and the combustion efficiency, thus allowing to stabilize the flame under lean conditions where it would not exist without plasma. Stabilization is obtained with a very low level of plasma power of about 75 W, or 0.3% of the maximum power of the flame. In addition, they find that at high flow rates, where the flame should normally blow out, the NRPP allows the existence of an intermittent V-shaped flame with significant heat release, and at even higher flow rates the existence of a small dome-shaped flame confined near the electrodes that can serve as a pilot flame to reignite the combustor. Optical emission spectroscopy measurements are presented to determine the temperature of the plasma-enhanced flame, the electron number density, and to identify the active species produced by the plasma, namely O, H, and OH.

This study is focused on the streamer-to-spark transition generated by an overvoltage nanosecond pulsed discharge under atmospheric pressure air in order to provide a quantitative insight into plasma-assisted ignition. The discharge is generated in atmospheric pressure air by the application of a positive high voltage pulse of 35 kV to pin-to-pin electrodes and a rise time of 5 ns. The generated discharge consists of a streamer phase with high voltage and high current followed by a spark phase characterized by a low voltage and a decreasing current in several hundreds of nanosecond. During the streamer phase, the gas temperature measured by optical emission spectroscopy related to the second positive system of nitrogen shows an ultra-fast gas heating up to 1200 K at 15 ns after the current rise. This ultra-fast gas heating, due to the quenching of electronically excited species by oxygen molecules, is followed by a quick dissociation of molecules and then the discharge transition to a spark. At this transition, the discharge contracts toward the channel axis and evolves into a highly conducting thin column. The spark phase is characterized by a high degree of ionization of nitrogen and oxygen atoms shown by the electron number density and temperature measured from optical emission spectroscopy measurements of N + lines. Schlieren imaging and optical emission spectroscopy techniques provide the time evolution of the spark radius, from which the initial pressure in the spark is estimated. The expansion of the plasma is adiabatic in the early phase. The electronic temperature and density during this phase allows the determination of the isentropic coefficient. The value around 1.2-1.3 is coherent with the high ionization rate of the plasma in the early phase. The results obtained in this study provide a database and the initial conditions for the validation of numerical simulations of the ignition by plasma discharge.