The Journal of Technological and Space Plasmas
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A Novel Approach for the Particle-in-Cell Modelling of Gridded Ion Engine Plume Neutralisation
The Particle-in-Cell modelling of gridded ion engine plume neutralisation has been simplified when compared to traditional methods. This results in significantly less computational resources being required. The NSTAR engine was modelled as a reference, where simulated specific impulse values were found to be 5% higher than the real engine. This method will be most suited to rapid prototyping and optimisation studies, where speed of simulations is an important factor
Characterization Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Produced In Air At Atmospheric Pressure And Its Application In Surface Modification Of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
The low surface energy of HDPE limits its industrial uses as it is not suitable for printing and adhesion. The main aim of this work is to improve the wetting properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) using air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operating at the line frequency (50 Hz). The estimation of electron temperature and electron density has been done by electrical and optical methods. The surface roughness of the control and plasma treated polymer film is analysed by contact angle (CA) measurement, surface energy measurement and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. The contact angle was found to be suppressed from 93.180±2.00 to 63.750±0.880 after 10s of plasma treatment which implied that the surface property had changed to a hydrophilic state caused by an increase in the surface roughness
Spectroscopic diagnostics of a high-frequency dielectric barrier discharge of atmospheric pressure in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and small additions of xenon
Diagnostics of the emission spectra of a gas-discharge plasma of a barrier discharge of atmospheric pressure in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and small additions of xenon is carried out. A gas-discharge plasma was created and the components of the working mixture were excited by a high-frequency barrier discharge at a sinusoidal voltage pulse repetition rate of up to 140 kHz. Emission of exciplex molecules of cadmium monoiodide with a maximum emission at a wavelength of λ = 655 nm and xenon iodide with a maximum of radiation at wavelengths λ = 253 and λ = 320 nm, excimer molecules of iodine, lines of atoms of cadmium, iodine, neon and xenon was revealed. It was found that at temperatures of the mixtures under study above 150 0C, the predominance of radiation from exciplex molecules of cadmium monoiodide is observed. The reason for the increased brightness of the emission of exciplex molecules of cadmium monoiodide in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and xenon additive is established. The regularities in the spectral characteristics of radiation in the mixtures under study are discussed. A high-frequency barrier discharge of atmospheric pressure in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and xenon is of interest for creating a multi-wavelength excilamp in the UV and visible spectral range
Self-oscillations of non-neutral plasma diode
Self-oscillations of non-neutral plasma diode operating in the anode-glow mode are analysed using the self-consistent one-dimensional Particle-in-Cell Monte Carlo collisions model. In order to obtain these states, the current exceeding the space-charge limited current has to be emitted from the cathode, the electron mean free path must be much longer than the cathode-anode gap, and the cathode voltage must be slightly larger than the ionization potential of the background gas. It is obtained that in such a case, immobile ions form the electrostatic trap for the electrons generated in the cathode-anode gap. These electrons oscillate between the cathode and the anode causing the self-oscillations of the plasma potential. It is shown that the increase of the emission current leads to the increase of the frequency of the obtained self-oscillations. Starting at some value of the emission current, a lot of the emitted electrons are got trapped in the electrostatic well, which leads to the transition to chaos
AC Magnetic sensor to measure mega-amps current and kilo-tesla magnetic fields up to gigahertz frequencies
An AC magnetic sensor is presented for measuring the high speed and high strength magnetic field generated in Z-pinch fusion machines. The proposed magnetic sensor provides the measurement of magnetic fields across a broadband frequency range. The simulation of magnetic probe is presented using a SPICE simulation software LTspice. The magnetic sensors are installed in a Pulsotron-3 Z-pinch machine and measured performance of the sensor are presented. This sensor also can be used to check the ignition conditions of the Z-Pinch by measuring the magnetic field generated by the output streams of large number of reacted alpha particles. The equations for measuring non-stationary magnetic field due to rapidly varying electric currents and a LTspice simulation file are provided to help the engineers to design, build, and install this kind of sensors
Temperature influence on the diethylamine sensing abilities of CuO nanoparticles deposited by atmospheric pressure plasma
In this work we present a copper oxide nanostructured analysed as a gas sensor but the focus of the paper is on the temperature dependance of the sensor sensing properties. As a case study temperature dependent diethylamine sensing is presented.The CuO nano flakes were deposited and evenly distributed on intercalated electrodes by an atmospheric pressure plasma source. The sensor was electrically connected to ohmmetre and inserted in an oven chamber where it was isolated from atmosphere and heated to desired tempearuteres. The intrinsic resistnace of the sensor was measured in dependence of the temperature and the temperature change rate. Then the possibility to detect diethylamine was investigated and the sensor response studied. Finally, the temperature dependence of the detection of the amine was explored. It was possible to demonstrate reliable sensing of the amine down to temperatures of 100 °C and below
Simulation of a high proton temperature plasma toroidal magnetic trap to be used in proton-11B fusion
Several tokamaks structures containing 500 keV protons to be used in P-B11 fusion were simulated. In order to find the optimal confinement configuration, the simulation was helped by an evolutionary algorithm running 145,000 simulations. The results are presented in this paper. According to the simulations the tokamak structure can be operated to reach ignition using the proposed plasma mode that includes the use of low electron temperature and high thermal energy protons in the plasma (500 keV)
Utilisation of plasma centrifuges for life support systems on Mars
In this paper the possibility of utilising a plasma centrifuge for oxygen generation in outer space is discussed. It is proposed that a plasma centrifuge can not only create oxygen for human consumption very efficiently but is also able to produce useful by-products. Special emphasis is given to life support systems working in the atmosphere of Mars, where oxygen and carbon raw materials can be obtained directly from the atmosphere. The system under consideration in this work is a plasma centrifuge with axial circulation that contains a fully ionised plasma. Under these conditions the carbon dioxide from the Mars atmosphere will be entirely dissociated. Thus, the atomic oxygen and carbon can easily be separated