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Numerical Investigation of the Spark Discharge Process in a Crossflow

Journal Article · · Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4]
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  2. Esgee Technologies Inc., Austin, TX (United States)
  3. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
  4. Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The present study numerically investigates the spark discharge process under crossflow conditions using a thermal equilibrium plasma solver that fully couples the electromagnetic physics and fluid dynamics in a computational framework. Numerical results are validated by the comparison with experimental data. Here, the spark discharge experiment is performed in a constant volume vessel using an inductive coil ignition system for automotive applications, and the evolution of the spark channel is measured using high-speed imaging. The crossflow in the gap between the spark-plug electrodes is generated by a rotating fan with two different fan speeds, and the flow velocity across the gap is characterized by particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver is employed to simulate the crossflow and provide the flow field variables (velocity, pressure, temperature) to the plasma solver. The crossflow velocity predicted in the flow simulation agrees well with the PIV data in that the non-uniform velocity profiles at monitoring points are reproduced by the CFD code. With the crossflow initialization in the plasma solver, the simulated spark discharge process from the breakdown to spark discharge matches the experimental data, including the voltage and circuit waveforms and the high-speed images of the spark channel evolution. The stretch of spark channel captured by plasma simulations agrees with the measured data. The plasma simulation reveals that the mean temperature of the spark channel is maintained at 5000 K during the discharge phase, and the temperature varies along the spark channel so that the highest value is obtained at the spark root on the center electrode. Overall, the results presented in this paper are meant to provide valuable information about the properties of the plasma generated by the spark discharge.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1970034
Journal Information:
Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics Journal Issue: 49 Vol. 55; ISSN 0022-3727
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ignition in crossflow
numerical simulation
spark channel evolution
spark discharge
thermal plasma