Streamers, sprites, leaders, lightning: from micro- to macroscales

"Streamers, sprites, leaders, lightning: from micro- to macroscales" was the theme of a workshop in October 2007 in Leiden, The Netherlands; it brought researchers from plasma physics, electrical engineering and industry, geophysics and space physics, computational science and nonlinear dynamics together around the common topic of generation, structure and products of streamer-like electric breakdown. The present cluster issue collects relevant articles within this area; most of them were presented during the workshop. We here briefly discuss the research questions and very shortly review the papers in the cluster issue, and we also refer to a few recent papers in other journals.Comment: Editorial introduction for the cluster issue on "Streamers, sprites and lightning" in J. Phys. D, 13 pages, 74 reference

Atmospheric pressure glow discharge for CO2 conversion : model-based exploration of the optimum reactor configuration

We investigate the performance of an atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) reactor for CO2 conversion in three different configurations, through experiments and simulations. The first (basic) configuration utilizes the well-known pin-to-plate design, which offers a limited conversion. The second configuration improves the reactor performance by employing a vortex-flow generator. The third, "confined" configuration is a complete redesign of the reactor, which encloses the discharge in a limited volume, significantly surpassing the conversion rate of the other two designs. The plasma properties are investigated using an advanced plasma model

Arc-to-glow transition approach for practical use in DC low-power, low-voltage electric grids

© 2018 IEEE. This paper presents and discusses results of analysis from investigations of arc-to-glow transformation phenomenon at contact opening, under dc low-energy (≤ 10 J) and low-voltage (≤250 V) inductive loads. Dependence of the duration of arcing and glowing on current magnitude, voltage magnitude, properties of the contact material, gas quenching medium velocity and its pressure, as well as contact opening velocity and contact gap are investigated. The transition phenomenon of arc-to-glow is analyzed by means of fast photography and emission spectroscopy. Also discussed is the theoretical evaluation of conditions of arc instability. From the results, possible procedures are formulated to control the arc-to-glow transformation for practical use in dc low-voltage and low-power electrical grids

Applications of plasma-liquid systems : a review

Plasma-liquid systems have attracted increasing attention in recent years, owing to their high potential in material processing and nanoscience, environmental remediation, sterilization, biomedicine, and food applications. Due to the multidisciplinary character of this scientific field and due to its broad range of established and promising applications, an updated overview is required, addressing the various applications of plasma-liquid systems till now. In the present review, after a brief historical introduction on this important research field, the authors aimed to bring together a wide range of applications of plasma-liquid systems, including nanomaterial processing, water analytical chemistry, water purification, plasma sterilization, plasma medicine, food preservation and agricultural processing, power transformers for high voltage switching, and polymer solution treatment. Although the general understanding of plasma-liquid interactions and their applications has grown significantly in recent decades, it is aimed here to give an updated overview on the possible applications of plasma-liquid systems. This review can be used as a guide for researchers from different fields to gain insight in the history and state-of-the-art of plasma-liquid interactions and to obtain an overview on the acquired knowledge in this field up to now

Plasma Physics

Contains reports on seven research projects.Atomic Energy Commission under Contract AT(30-1)1842Air Force Cambridge Research Center under Contract AF-19(604)-5992National Science Foundation (Grant G-9330

State of the Art Review of High Voltage Insulation Monitoring

The devastating effects of global warming and climate change are now well understood and there is broad unity that fundamental changes are needed. This is clearly addressed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The main perpetrator contributing to global warming and climate change is how we consume energy, which will need to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The mass integration of renewable energy sources aimed to mitigate the effects of global warming, will greatly alter how we generate, transmit and consume energy. If we combine this with the large shift in load consumption, due to the integration of electrical vehicles, there is no doubt that the electrical transmission system will be subjected to major changes in future decades. The existing transmission grid is an aged and mature system, with large parts being installed all the way back in 60s and 70s, thus nearing the end of service. The existing grid has continuous performance issues and the knowledge on fault and ageing mechanisms are still insufficient. A thorough assessment of the current state of the grid is necessary in order to properly gauge its ability to cope with mass integration of HV systems, predominantly HVDC. A key part in assessing the current state of the grid while simultaneously increase its resilience is the utilization of high voltage monitoring methods, as they are key to prevent and predict transmission faults. Due to the increased requirement of long distance high capacity transmission, especially in submarine conditions, the knowledge and monitoring of cables will be of high importance. Compared to AC technology, DC have been regarded as niche and specialist field, thus have been allocated far less attention and research, hence the knowledge and technology of DC is still limited. This thesis will assess the state of the art of high voltage monitoring while simultaneously explore its role towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Keywords: UN Sustainability Goals, Partial Discharges, Tan Delta, SF6, XLPE, High Voltage MonitoringMasteroppgave i energiENERGI399MAMN-ENER

The Applications of Plasma Techniques II

The collection of articles discussed above covers various types of discharges and various processes. The discharges presented include, for example, microwave, spark, glow or surface discharges. The characterizations of the sources of these discharges, the parameters of the generated plasmas as well as the applications of these plasmas are discussed. The applications include, for example, the synthesis of nanoparticles or the treatment of skin cancer cells. I hope that the presented articles will be valuable for readers representing the world of science, medicine and technology