Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge in a Cylindrical Configuration – Effect of Airflow Orientation to the Microdischarges

ABSTRACT This paper is devoted to studying the effect of airflow orientation on the microdischarges of the surface dielectric barrier discharge in cylindrical configuration through varying air input into the discharge chamber, the number of input nozzles, and the geometry of the active electrode. The air is supplied into the discharge chamber tangentially, radially, or axially through one or four input nozzles. Air input into the discharge chamber and the number of input nozzles determine the airflow regime. We used two active electrode geometries that are the axial strips or azimuthal rings. The change of active electrode geometry from rings to strips affects the orientation of microdischarges with respect to the airflow. For the discharge, the variation of air inputs and the number of input nozzles influences the flow regime in the discharge chamber, which, together with the active electrode geometry, affects the temperature field distribution in the chamber. These factors play an important role in plasmachemical processes leading to the discharge generation of various species, such as ozone. It is found that, for the maximum effect of airflow on discharge ozone generation, the streamlines should be uniformly distributed in the discharge chamber and predominantly oriented perpendicular to the majority of microdischarges.