On the modes of nanosecond pulsed plasmas for combustion ignition of quiescent CH4-air mixtures

Jiang, Chunqi; Dhotre, Akash C.; Lai, Meimei; Biswas, Sayan; MacDonald, James R.; Ekoto, Isaac W.

doi:10.1088/1361-6463/ad6876

On the modes of nanosecond pulsed plasmas for combustion ignition of quiescent CH₄-air mixtures

Journal Article · Tue Aug 06 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ad6876· OSTI ID:2587572

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]; Biswas, Sayan ^[3]; ^[4]; Ekoto, Isaac W. ^[4]

Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, VA (United States)
Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

The effect of transient plasma modes on ignition kernel development are discussed here for a quiescent CH₄-air combustion model system. A 10 ns high-voltage pulse was applied to a pin-to-pin electrode in lean fuel-air mixtures at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. High-impedance streamer, transient spark and low-impedance spark discharges were identified based on pulse waveforms of voltage and current. A sustained ignition kernel expansion was observed when the plasma discharge transitioned into a transient spark or spark discharge. The minimum ignition energy was obtained at the transient spark mode, which has less than a third of the energy or Coulomb transfer compared to the low-impedance spark. Employing repetitive 10-pulse sequence at 10 kHz, the lean-fuel limit was extended from an equivalence ratio of 0.6 for the single pulse ignition to 0.5. The use of repetitive pulses also allowed streamer breakdown or spark initiation to occur at a lower voltage.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Air Force Office of Scientific Research of the United States of America (AFOSR); USDOE; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525; SC0024623

OSTI ID:: 2587572

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2406979

Journal Information:: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics Journal Issue: 43 Vol. 57; ISSN 0022-3727; ISSN 1361-6463

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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