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Simulation of direct current microdischarges for microthruster applications
textThe structure of direct-current microdischarges (MDs) is investigated using a detailed
two-dimensional multispecies continuum model. MDs are direct-current (DC)
discharges that operate at pressures of 100-1000 Torr and geometric dimensions in
the 10-100 micron range. The motivation for this work comes from our proposed application
of a MD-based electrothermal thruster for small satellite propulsion. The
physical and chemical character of MDs, including the sheath-bulk plasma structure,
effect of high-pressure and high-temperature plasma chemistry, effect of geometric
configuration, and effect of bulk gas flow through the active discharge region is
studied.
The two-dimensional model, developed as part of this study, consists of two
modules, a plasma module and a flow module. The plasma module solves conservation
equations for plasma species continuity, electron energy and neutral gas energy,
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and Poisson’s equation for the self-consistent electric field. The flow module solves
bulk gas momentum and mass conservation equations.
Two discharge geometries are considered, the microhollow cathode discharge
(MHCD) geometry, and the flow-through hollow-electrode (HE) geometry. Results
indicate that the MHCD operates in an abnormal glow discharge mode with charged
and excited metastable species densities of order 1020 m−3
, electron temperatures of
tens of eV, and gas temperatures of several hundreds of Kelvin above the ambient
temperature. Most of the model predictions are in qualitative and quantitative
agreement with experimental data for MHCD discharges under similar conditions.
The HE geometry is used to study plasma-flow interactions. The effect of
pressure (250-1000 Torr), power input (0.5-1 W), and flow rates (0-225 sccm) on
helium discharge properties is studied. The results show that the HE discharge
operates in an abnormal discharge mode that transitions toward an increasingly
normal mode as either the pressure or the flow rate is increased. The discharge
becomes more confined and collisional with increasing pressures or increasing flow
rates. Intense gas heating results in high gas temperatures (300-500 K above the
ambient), even in the presence of significant gas flow. Gas heating is found to
have a strong influence on overall discharge behaviour. The study provides crucial
understanding to aid the preliminary design of direct-current MD based thrusters.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic
Sustained Simultaneous High-Speed Imaging of Scalar and Velocity Fields Using a Single Laser
A high-speed technique that combines planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) detection of biacetyl and particle image velocimetry (PIV) for simultaneous imaging of scalar and velocity fields is demonstrated at a frame rate of 12 kHz for up to 32500 consecutive frames. A single diode-pumped, frequency-tripled Nd-YAG laser was used for excitation. Wavelength-separated recording was achieved for Mie scattering from silicone oil droplets with a CMOS camera and for the red-shifted fluorescence from biacetyl with an image-intensified CMOS camera. Interference between PIV and PLIF tracers was found to be negligible. Cross-talk between PIV and PLIF signals was low and a strategy to completely eliminate it was devised and is discussed. The signal-to-noise ratio is about 9 for single-shot scalar images. Example image sequences were recorded in an atmospheric pressure air jet at Re=2000.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86779/1/Sick21.pd