The Effect of Gas Flow Rate on Radio-Frequency Hollow Cathode Discharge Characteristics

It is known that gas flow rate is a key factor in controlling industrial plasma processing. In this paper, a 2D PIC/MCC model is developed for an rf hollow cathode discharge with an axial nitrogen gas flow. The effects of the gas flow rate on the plasma parameters are calculated and the results show that： with an increasing flow rate, the total ion（N＋2, N＋） density decreases, the mean sheath thickness becomes wider, the radial electric field in the sheath and the axial electric field show an increase, and the energies of both kinds of nitrogen ions increase;and, as the axial ion current density that is moving toward the ground electrode increases, the ion current density near the ground electrode increases. The simulation results will provide a useful reference for plasma jet technology involving rf hollow cathode discharges in N2.

Dynamic behavior of a rotating gliding arc plasma in nitrogen:effects of gas flow rate and operating current

The effects of feed gas flow rate and operating current on the electrical characteristics and dynamic behavior of a rotating gliding arc （RGA） plasma codriven by a magnetic field and tangential flow were investigated.The operating current has been shown to significantly affect the time-resolved voltage waveforms of the discharge,particularly at flow rate =21 min^-1.When the current was lower than 140 mA,sinusoidal waveforms with regular variation periods of 13.5-17.0 ms can be observed （flow rate =21 min^-1）.The restrike mode characterized by serial sudden drops of voltage appeared under all studied conditions.Increasing the flow rate from 8 to 121 min^-1 （at the same current） led to a shift of arc rotation mode which would then result in a significant drop of discharge voltage （around 120-200 V）.For a given flow rate,the reduction of current resulted in a nearly linear increase of voltage.

Effects of Gas Flow Rate on the Discharge Characteristics of a DC Excited Plasma Jet

A direct current（DC） source excited plasma jet consisting of a hollow needle anode and a plate cathode has been developed to form a diffuse discharge plume in ambient air with flowing argon as the working gas.Using optical and electrical methods,the discharge characteristics are investigated for the diffuse plasma plume.Results indicate that the discharge has a pulse characteristic,under the excitation of a DC voltage.The discharge pulse corresponds to the propagation process of a plasma bullet travelling from the anode to the cathode.It is found that,with an increment of the gas flow rate,both the discharge plume length and the current peak value of the pulsed discharge decrease in the laminar flow mode,reach their minima at about1.5 L/min,and then slightly increase in the turbulent mode.However,the frequency of the pulsed discharge increases in the laminar mode with increasing the argon flow rate until the argon flow rate equals to about 1.5 L/min,and then slightly decreases in the turbulent mode.

Influence of the total gas flow rate on high rate growth microcrystalline silicon films and solar cells

This paper reports that high-rate-deposition of microcrystalline silicon solar cells was performed by very-highfrequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. These solar cells, whose intrinsic μc-Si：H layers were prepared by using a different total gas flow rate （Ftotal）, behave much differently in performance, although their intrinsic layers have similar crystalline volume fraction, opto-electronic properties and a deposition rate of - 1.0 nm/s. The influence of Ftotal on the micro-structural properties was analyzed by Raman and Fourier transformed infrared measurements. The results showed that the vertical uniformity and the compact degree of μc-Si：H thin films were improved with increasing Ftotal. The variation of the microstructure was regarded as the main reason for the difference of the J V parameters. Combined with optical emission spectroscopy, we found that the gas temperature plays an important role in determining the microstructure of thin films. With Ftotal of 300 sccm, a conversion efficiency of 8.11% has been obtained for the intrinsic layer deposited at 8.5 A/s （1 A=0.1 nm）.

Influence of total gas flow rate on microcrystalline silicon films prepared by VHF-PECVD

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon （μc-Si：H） films are fabricated by very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition （VHF-PECVD） at a silane concentration of 7% and a varying total gas flow rate （H2＋SiH4）. Relations between the total gas flow rate and the electrical and structural properties as well as deposition rate of the films are studied. The results indicate that with the total gas flow rate increasing the photosensitivity and deposition rate increase, but the crystalline volume fraction （Xc） and dark conductivity decrease. And the intensity of （220） peak first increases then decreases with the increase of the total gas flow rate. The cause for the changes in the structure and deposition rate of the films with the total gas flow rate is investigated using optical emission spectroscopy （OES）.

Experimental Study of Buffer Gas Flow Rate Effect on Output Power of a Copper Vapor Laser

A copper vapor laser with active medium length of 60 cm and bore of 16 mm has been operated and optimized using different buffer gases to investigate the effect of the gas flow rates on the output power. It is found that there is a special optimum gas flow rate associated with the type of buffer gas.

Experimental study on effects of gas flow rate on soot characteristics in diffusion flames coupled with plasma

This study examined the evolution of morphology and nanostructure of soot particles from the plasma-flame interaction for various gas flow rates.The current study used both optical diagnostic and sampling methods to explore the soot production and combustion characteristics.Soot particles were characterized at the same positions downstream from the flame zone by thermophoretic sampling and transmission electron microscopy.Moreover,X-ray diffraction analysis,and thermogravimetric analysis were performed to study the nanostructure and oxidation reactivity of soot.A reduction in soot concentration was found with the plasma addition,which illustrated an inhibition effect of plasma on soot emission.The increased gas flow rate promoted soot concentration since a growing number of carbons participated in the combustion process.Depending on the gas flow rate(carbon content)variation and plasma activation,either liquid-like soot material with irregularly shaped protrusions or chain-like structure,or a mixture of both,were generated from the diffusion flames.The soot produced by plasma-flame interaction also demonstrated a high correlation between nanostructure and reactivity.The soot from lower carbon content with plasma activation had a shorter fringe length and larger fringe tortuosity related to higher oxidation reactivity.On the contrary,soot from the highest carbon content without plasma-flame interaction exhibited prevalent fullerene-like nanostructures with evident large or small shells and also had a higher carbonization degree resulting in lower oxidation reactivity.

Role of the carrier gas flow rate in monolayer MoS2 growth by modified chemical vapor deposition

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide （MoS2） has attracted much attention because of the variety of potential applications. However, its controlled growth is still a great challenge. Here, we report a modified chemical vapor deposition method to grow monolayer MoS2. We observed that the quality of the MoS2 crystals could be greatly improved by tuning the carrier gas flow rate during the heating stage. This subtle modification prevents the uncontrollable reaction between the precursors, a critical factor for the growth of high-quality monolayer MoS2. Based on an optimized gas flow rate, the MoS2 coverage and flake size can be controlled by adjusting the growth time.

Simplified graphical correlation for determining flow rate in tight gas wells in the Sulige gas field

The Sulige tight gas reservoir is characterized by low-pressure, low-permeability and lowabundance. During production, gas flow rate and reservoir pressure decrease sharply; and in the shut- in period, reservoir pressure builds up slowly. Many conventional methods, such as the indicative curve method, systematic analysis method and numerical simulation, are not applicable to determining an appropriate gas flow rate. Static data and dynamic performance show permeability capacity, kh is the most sensitive factor influencing well productivity, so criteria based on kh were proposed to classify vertical wells. All gas wells were classified into 4 groups. A multi-objective fuzzy optimization method, in which dimensionless gas flow rate, period of stable production, and recovery at the end of the stable production period were selected as optimizing objectives, was established to determine the reasonable range of gas flow rate. In this method, membership functions of above-mentioned optimizing factors and their weights were given. Moreover, to simplify calculation and facilitate field use, a simplified graphical illustration （or correlation） was given for the four classes of wells. Case study illustrates the applicability of the proposed method and graphical correlation, and an increase in cumulative gas production up to 37% is achieved and the well can produce at a constant flow rate for a long time.

Effect of Auxiliary Gas Flow Parameters on Microstructure and Properties of Ta Coatings Prepared by Three-Cathode Atmosphere Plasma Spraying

Based on the three-cathode plasma spraying system,tantalum(Ta)coatings were pre-pared on the substrate of CuCrZr alloy.The effects of different auxiliary gas(helium)flow rates on the microstructure,phase composition,mechanical and wear resistance properties of Ta coatings were studied.The results showed that the oxidation degree of the coatings decreases first and then increases with the increase of the auxiliary gas flow.When the auxiliary gas flow rate is 70 L·min-1,the oxidation degree of the coating is the lowest,minimum value of the porosity is 0.21%,and the bonding strength reaches the maximum,59.3 MPa.At this time,the coating wear rate is 0.0012 mm^(3)·N^(-1)·m^(-1)with the best wear resistance.This indicates that the auxiliary gas flow has an important influence on the quality and surface mechanical properties of tantalum coating.

On the Development of a Model for the Prediction of Liquid Loading in Gas Wells with an Inclined Section

The ability to predict liquid loading in horizontal gas wells is of great importance for determining the time of drainage and optimizing the related production technology.In the present work,we describe the outcomes of experiments conducted using air-water mixtures in a horizontal well.The results show that the configuration with an inclined section is the most susceptible to liquid loading.Laboratory experiments in an inclined pipe were also conducted to analyze the variation of the critical gas flow rate under different angles,pressure and liquid volume(taking the equal liquid volume at inlet and outlet as the criterion for judging on the critical state).According to these results,the related angle of the inclined section ranges from 45°to 60°.Finally,a modified approach based on the Belfroid model has been used to predict the critical gas flow rate for the inclined section.After comparison with field data,this modified model shows an accuracy of 96%,indicating that it has better performances with respect to other models used in the past to predict liquid loading.

Synthesis of Gas Transport through Nano Composite Ceramic Membrane for Esterification and Volatile Organic Compound Separations

The transport behaviour of carrier gases with inorganic catalytic ceramic membrane used for ethyl lactate production and VOC （volatile organic compound） recovery in the gauge pressure range of 0.10-1.00 bar and temperature range of 333 K was investigated. The gases include Ar （argon）, N2 （nitrogen） and CO2 （carbon dioxide）. The gas kinetic diameter with respect to permenace was found to occur in the order of At 〉 CO2 〉 N2, which was not in agreement with molecular sieving mechanism of transport after the first dip-coating of the support. However, gas flow rate was found to increase with gauge pressure in the order of Ar 〉 CO2 〉 N2, indicating Knudsen mechanism of transport. The porous ceramic support showed a higher flux indicating Knudsen transport. The surface image of the dip-coated porous ceramic membrane was characterised using SEM （scanning electron microscopy） to determine the surface morphology of the porous support at 333 K.

Modelling Effect of Circulation Flow Rate on Inclusion Removal in RH Degasser

Based on the similarity principles, a 1 ： 7 scale physical model was established to study the behavior of molten steel flow and inclusion removal in a 145 t Rheinsahl-Heraeus （RH） degasser. On the basis of the quantitative measurements of the circulation flow rate and inclusion removal under various lifting gas flow rates, the effect of circulation flow rate on inclusion removal was investigated in the RH degasser. The inclusion removal rate shows the trend of first increase and then decrease twice with increasing the circulation flow rate when the circulation flow rates are smaller than 104.7 L/min. Whereas, the inclusion removal rate increases again with the further increase in circu- lation flow rate when the circulation flow rate is larger than 104.7 L/min. At lower circulation flow rates, inclusions are mainly removed by Stokes flotation to the slag/steel interface after inclusions are transferred near the slag/steel interface by the circulation flow. At higher circulation flow rates, the collision and aggregation of inclusions improves the inclusion removal efficiency. With the further increase in the circulation flow rate, inclusions are mainly removed by following the turbulent fluctuation （turbulent diffusion） to the slag/steel interface after inclusions are transferred near the slag/steel interface by the circulation flow.

Effects of the profile of a supercavitating vehicle's front-end on supercavity generation

The authors designed three different front profiles for supercavitating vehicles based on cavity theory and the Granville streamlined equation are designed. Experiments were done using these front profiles in the Northwestern Polytechnical University high-speed water tunnel. The experiments indicated that the critical volume of gas required for supercavitation is affected by the axial distribution of the front-end＇s slope. The experimental data showed critical gas flow rates required for the three designs were less than rood-l, with the greatest decrease 24%. The experimental results also showed the supercavitation generation speeds of the models were faster than mod-1 by up to 32.4%. This verifies that the front profile of a supercaviting vehicle effects supercavity generation speed and critical gas flow rates. The smaller the changes in axial distribution of pressure, the higher the supercavity generation speed. The smaller the changes in curvature distribution of axial, the smaller the critical gas flow rates.

Characteristics of Atmospheric Pressure Rotating Gliding Arc Plasmas

In this work, a novel direct current （DC） atmospheric pressure rotating gliding arc （RGA） plasma reactor has been developed for plasma-assisted chemical reactions. The influence of the gas composition and the gas flow rate on the arc dynamic behaviour and the formation of reactive species in the N2 and air gliding arc plasmas has been investigated by means of electrical signals, high speed photography, and optical emission spectroscopic diagnostics. Compared to conventional gliding arc reactors with knife-shaped electrodes which generally require a high flow rate （e.g., 10-20 L/min） to maintain a long arc length and reasonable plasma discharge zone, in this RGA system, a lower gas flow rate （e.g., 2 L/min） can also generate a larger effective plasma reaction zone with a longer arc length for chemical reactions. Two different motion patterns can be clearly observed in the N2 and air RGA plasmas. The time-resolved arc voltage signals show that three different arc dynamic modes, the arc restrike mode, takeover mode, and combined modes, can be clearly identified in the RGA plasmas. The occurrence of different motion and arc dynamic modes is strongly dependent on the composition of the working gas and gas flow rate.

Numerical analysis of plasma arc behaviors

Completely understanding the physical mechanisms of the plasma arc is critical to its application in welding of medium thickness plates. In this study, a mathematical model is developed to analyze the temperature, fluid flow, electromagnetic fields and pressure distribution in plasma arc welding. The correlations between the torch structure （ nozzle diameter） and the plasma are properties are analyzed qualitatively. The influence of the plasma gas flow rate on the plasma arc behavior is also simulated numerically. The temperature distribution and current density of the plasma are change greatly with a little variation of the nozzle diameter and^or the plasma gas flow rate. Compared to the tungsten-inert-gas arc with almost same conditions, the heat intensity, fluid velocity and pressure at the anode suoCace rise by one order of magnitude for a plasma arc. The analysis results lay solid foundation for effective usage ofplnsma arc welding.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation on the In-Flight Melting Behaviour of Granulated Powders in Induction Thermal Plasmas

An innovative in-flight glass melting technology with thermal plasmas was developed for the purpose of energy conservation and environment protection. In this study, modelling and experiments of argon-oxygen induction thermal plasmas were conducted to investigate the melting behaviour of granulated soda-lime glass powders injected into the plasma. A two-dimensional local thermodynamic equilibrium （LTE） model was performed to simulate the heat and momentum transfer between plasma and particle. Results showed that the particle temperature was strongly affected by the flow rate of carrier gas and the particle size of raw material. A higher flow rate of carrier gas led to lower particle temperature and less energy transferred to particles which resulted in lower vitrification. The incomplete melting of large particles was attributed to the lower central temperature of the particle caused by a larger heat capacity. The numerical analysis explained well the experimental results, which can provide valuable practical guidelines for the process control in the melting process for the glass industry.

Improved Correlation for the Volume of Bubble Formed in Air-Water System

In order to address the bubble formation and movement in air-water two-phase flow,single bubble rising in stagnant water is experimentally studied by digital image processing.Bubbles are released individually from the submerged orifices with different diameters(1.81 mm,2.07 mm,2.98 mm,3.92 mm)at different detachment frequency.Images are recorded by a high-speed video camera and processed by digital image processing technique. The factors impacting the formed volume of bubble are discussed.The experimental results showed that a threshold of gas flow rate(400 mm 3 ·s- 1)divides the bubble formation into two regimes:the constant volume regime and the growing volume regime.Especially for the growing volume regime,the surface tension is taken into account.The bubble volume is consisted of two parts:the surface tension impacting part and the gas volume flow rate impacting part.An improved correlation for bubble volume prediction is developed for the two regimes and better coincidence with the experiment data than the previous models is obtained.

Effect of indirect non-thermal plasma on particle size distribution and composition of diesel engine particles

To explore the effect of the gas source flow rate on the actual diesel exhaust particulate matter（PM）, a test bench for diesel engine exhaust purification was constructed, using indirect nonthermal plasma technology. The effects of different gas source flow rates on the quantity concentration, composition, and apparent activation energy of PM were investigated, using an engine exhaust particle sizer and a thermo-gravimetric analyzer. The results show that when the gas source flow rate was large, not only the maximum peak quantity concentrations of particles had a large drop, but also the peak quantity concentrations shifted to smaller particle sizes from 100 nm to 80 nm. When the gas source flow rate was 10L min^-1, the total quantity concentration greatly decreased where the removal rate of particles was 79.2%, and the variation of the different mode particle proportion was obvious. Non-thermal plasma（NTP） improved the oxidation ability of volatile matter as well as that of solid carbon. However, the NTP gas source rate had little effects on oxidation activity of volatile matter, while it strongly influenced the oxidation activity of solid carbon. Considering the quantity concentration and oxidation activity of particles, a gas source flow rate of 10L min^-1 was more appropriate for the purification of particles.

A modified simplex method for multifactor optimization of selectivity in gas chromatography

A computer-assisted advanced simplex method is presented for the simultaneous optimization of multifactor (stationary phase loading, carrier gas dow rate and column temperature) for separation of ten compounds in gas chromatography. A three factors factorial design was used. The method was based on a special polynomial established from fifteen preliminary runs, using resolution as the selection criterion, with connection to a general simplex method. Excellent agreement is found between the predicted data and the experimental results, and most of experiments required in the general simplex method can be omitted.