On the interplay of gas dynamics and the electromagnetic field in an atmospheric Ar/H-2 microwave plasma torch

A complementary simulation and experimental study of an atmospheric pressure microwave torch operating in pure argon or argon/hydrogen mixtures is presented. The modelling part describes a numerical model coupling the gas dynamics and mixing to the electromagnetic field simulations. Since the numerical model is not fully self-consistent and requires the electron density as an input, quite extensive spatially resolved Stark broadening measurements were performed for various gas compositions and input powers. In addition, the experimental part includes Rayleigh scattering measurements, which are used for the validation of the model. The paper comments on the changes in the gas temperature and hydrogen dissociation with the gas composition and input power, showing in particular that the dependence on the gas composition is relatively strong and non-monotonic. In addition, the work provides interesting insight into the plasma sustainment mechanism by showing that the power absorption profile in the plasma has two distinct maxima: one at the nozzle tip and one further upstream

Coherent and incoherent Thomson scattering on an argon/hydrogen microwave plasma torch with transient behaviour

\u3cp\u3eA new method of processing time-integrated coherent Thomson scattering spectra is presented, which provides not only the electron density and temperature but also information about the transient behaviour of the plasma. Therefore, it is an alternative to single-shot Thomson scattering measurements as long as the scattering is coherent. The method is applied to a microwave plasma torch operating in argon or a mixture of argon with hydrogen at atmospheric pressure. Electron densities up to 8 · 10\u3csup\u3e21\u3c/sup\u3e m\u3csup\u3e-3\u3c/sup\u3e (ionization degree above 10\u3csup\u3e-3\u3c/sup\u3e) were observed, which is more than two times higher than presented in earlier works on comparable discharges. Additionally, a parametric study with respect to the argon/hydrogen ratio and the input power was carried out and the results are discussed together with earlier Stark broadening measurements on the same plasma.\u3c/p\u3