A Universal Resonant Converter for Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Plasma Discharges

Abstract

This paper proposes a new system to ignite and to sustain a plasma discharge for different reactor configurations, using a single-series parallel high-frequency resonant converter. The different operation modes are analyzed, and their performance is verified in two applications: an equilibrium plasma discharge (electric arc) and a nonequilibrium plasma discharge (electric barrier at atmospheric pressure) with intensity current and voltage amplitude varying from 135 mA and 1050 V to 600 mA and 502 V, and operating the reactors at 60 Hz, 14 kHz, and 40 kHz. The principal features and results are remarked, such as its ease of adaptation to several regimes of discharge, by simply changing the operational frequency.Index Terms-Arc discharge, dielectric barrier discharge, equilibrium discharge, glow discharge, nonequilibrium discharge, resonant converter.

Synthesis of Carbon Nanofibers by a Glow-Arc Discharge

“…The electric energy is provided by a high frequency resonant converter specially designed for this purpose (see figure 1(a)) [43]. The AC current can be adjusted from 10mA up to 2A peak to peak.…”

Optical and Electrical Diagnostics of a High-Frequency Glow–Arc Discharge and Its Application to the Synthesis of Carbon Nanofibers

“…The electrical energy is provided by a high-frequency resonant converter deeply described in [11], which is able to generate and sustain nonequilibrium and equilibrium plasma discharges. The data acquisition of the electrical voltage u(t) and current i(t) was carried out with a digital-scope Tektronix model THS710A.…”

“…Our approach to the generation of glow-to-arc transitions has been through the use of a resonant converter as a highfrequency electrical source [11]. This converter has been tested in different reactor configurations and different plasma morphologies, and its universality has been demonstrated [12], [15].…”

Warm Plasma Reactor With Vortex Effect Enhanced Used for CH4–CO2 Reforming

“…The power source consists on a high-frequency series resonant inverter working in the range 20-180 kHz and is able to generate a voltage of 15 kV [4]. The discharge is sustained at atmospheric pressure using nitrogen as plasma gas; it can be observed that the gliding discharge on the central electrode is reflected in the electrical signals [ Fig.…”