Fluid-chemical modeling of the near-cathode sheath formation process in a high current broken in DC air circuit breaker

When the contacts of a medium-voltage DC air circuit breaker(DCCB) are separated, the energy distribution of the arc is determined by the formation process of the near-electrode sheath. Therefore, the voltage drop through the near-electrode sheath is an important means to build up the arc voltage, which directly determines the current-limiting performance of the DCCB. A numerical model to describe the near-electrode sheath formation process can provide insight into the physical mechanism of the arc formation, and thus provide a method for arc energy regulation. In this work, we establish a two-dimensional axisymmetric time-varying model of a medium-voltage DCCB arc when interrupted by high current based on a fluid-chemical model involving 16 kinds of species and 46 collision reactions. The transient distributions of electron number density, positive and negative ion number density, net space charge density, axial electric field, axial potential between electrodes, and near-cathode sheath are obtained from the numerical model. The computational results show that the electron density in the arc column increases, then decreases, and then stabilizes during the near-cathode sheath formation process, and the arc column's diameter gradually becomes wider. The 11.14 V–12.33 V drops along the17 μm space charge layer away from the cathode(65.5 k V/m–72.5 k V/m) when the current varies from 20 k A–80 k A.The homogeneous external magnetic field has little effect on the distribution of particles in the near-cathode sheath core,but the electron number density at the near-cathode sheath periphery can increase as the magnetic field increases and the homogeneous external magnetic field will lead to arc diffusion. The validity of the numerical model can be proven by comparison with the experiment.

Study of three-dimensional spatial diffuse discharge in contact electrode structure applied to air purification

In this work,based on the role of pre-ionization of the non-uniform electric field and its effect of reducing the collisional ionization coefficient,a diffuse dielectric barrier discharge plasma is formed in the open space outside the electrode structure at a lower voltage by constructing a three-dimensional non-uniform spatial electric field using a contact electrode structure.The air purification study is also carried out.Firstly,a contact electrode structure is constructed using a three-dimensional wire electrode.The distribution characteristics of the spatial electric field formed by this electrode structure are analyzed,and the effects of the non-uniform electric field and the different angles of the vertical wire on the generation of three-dimensional spatial diffuse discharge are investigated.Secondly,the copper foam contact electrode structure is constructed using copper foam material,and the effects of different mesh sizes on the electric field distribution are analyzed.The results show that as the mesh size of the copper foam becomes larger,a strong electric field region exists not only on the surface of the insulating layer,but also on the surface of the vertical wires inside the copper foam,i.e.,the strong electric field region shows a three-dimensional distribution.Besides,as the mesh size increases,the area of the vertical strong electric field also increases.However,the electric field strength on the surface of the insulating layer gradually decreases.Therefore,the appropriate mesh size can effectively increase the discharge area,which is conducive to improving the air purification efficiency.Finally,a highly permeable stacked electrode structure of multilayer wire-copper foam is designed.In combination with an ozone treatment catalyst,an air purification device is fabricated,and the air purification experiment is carried out.

Air pressure law of a reservoir constructed in karst sinkholes

Karst sinkholes with natural negative landform provide favorable conditions for the pumped storage reservoir construction for less excavation work.However,the construction of the reservoir would plug the natural karst channels for water and air,which would cause remarkable air pressure in karst channels when the groundwater level fluctuates.A large laboratory simulation test was carried out to study the air pressure variation of a reservoir built on the karst sinkhole.The air pressure in the karst channel and inside the model was monitored during the groundwater rising and falling process.Result showed that the variation of air pressure in the karst channel and the surrounding rock exhibited a high degree of similarity.The air pressure increased rapidly at the initial stage of water level rising,followed by a slight decrease,then the air pressure increased sharply when the water level approached the top of the karst cave.The initial peak of air pressure and the final peak of air pressure were defined,and both air pressure peaks were linearly increasing with the water level rising rate.The negative air pressure was also analyzed during the drainage process,which was linearly correlated with the water level falling rate.The causes of air pressure variation in karst channels of a pumped storage reservoir built on the karst sinkhole were discussed.The initial rapid increase,then slight decrease and final sudden increase of air pressure were controlled by the combined effects of air compression in karst channel and air seepage into the surrounding rock.For the drainage process,the instant negative air pressure and gradual recovering of air pressure were controlled by the combined effects of negative air pressure induced by water level falling and air supply from surrounding rock.This work could provide valuable reference for the reservoir construction in karst area.

Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Air at Atmospheric Pressure

Dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） between two cylindrical glass containers with salt water generated by a nanosecond repetitively pulsed power generator is reported. The electrical parameters, luminous images and spectrum diagnosis are presented. It is shown that the DBD possesses a large discharge current and an intense optical emission from the nitrogen second positive system below 400 nm. The gas temperature remains very close to room temperature regardless of pulse polarity. Luminous photographs with a short exposure time down to 2 ns indicate that no filament is observed and the discharge is homogeneous.

Cold atmospheric-pressure air plasma treatment of C6 glioma cells:effects of reactive oxygen species in the medium produced by the plasma on cell death

An atmospheric-pressure air plasma is employed to treat C6 glioma cells in vitro. To elucidate on the mechanism causing cell death and role of reactive species （RS） in the medium produced by the plasma, the concentration of the long-lived RS such as hydrogen peroxide, nitrate, and ozone in the plasma-treated liquid （phosphate-buffered saline solution） is measured. When vitamin C is added to the medium as a ROS quencher, the viability of C6 glioma cells after the plasma treatment is different from that without vitamin C. The results demonstrate that reactive oxygen species （ROS） such as H2O2, and O3 constitute the main factors for inactivation of C6 glioma cells and the reactive nitrogen species （RNS） may only play an auxiliary role in cell death.

Effect of Manufacturing Errors on Static Characteristics of Externally Pressurized Spherical Air Bearings

Externally pressurized spherical air bearings are the key component of the three-axis air bearing table, and the manufacturing errors of the bearing affects the performance of the air bearing table. However, the manufacturing errors are unavoidable, and the pursuit to enhance the manufacturing accuracy will increase the cost greatly. In order to provide some theoretical guideline for the tolerance choice in the design of the externally pressurized spherical air bearings with inherent compensation, the effects of several manufacturing errors on the static characteristics of the air bearing are studied. Due to the complex geometry of the computational domain, an unstructured meshing technology is used for mesh generation. A finite-volume method is adopted to discretize the three-dimensional steady-state compressible Navier-Stokes equations. A modified SIMPLE algorithm which is suitable for compressible flows is applied to solve the discretized governing equations. The effects of the dimension error and the roundness error of the ball head and the ball socket on the static characteristics are investigated. The investigation result shows that the positive dimension error and the oblate spheroid-type roundness error of the ball head as well as the negative dimension error and the prolate spheroid-type roundness error of the ball socket can improve the bearing capacity and static stiffness of the air bearings by reducing the mass flow. The calculation method proposed in this paper fits well for the general principle, which can be extended to the characteristics analysis of other air bearings.

Influence of air pressure on mechanical effect of laser plasma shock wave

The influence of air pressure on mechanical effect of laser plasma shock wave in a vacuum chamber produced by a Nd：YAG laser has been studied. The laser pulses with pulse width of 10ns and pulse energy of about 320mJ at 1.06μm wavelength is focused on the aluminium target mounted on a ballistic pendulum, and the air pressure in the chamber changes from 2.8 × 10^ 3 to 1.01 × 10^5pa. The experimental results show that the impulse coupling coefficient changes as the air pressure and the distance of the target from focus change. The mechanical effects of the plasma shock wave on the target are analysed at different distances from focus and the air pressure.

Effects of the transverse electric field on nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in atmospheric airflow

In this paper,an asymmetric electrode geometry(the misalignment between the ends of highvoltage and grounded electrodes)is proposed in order to investigate the effects of the transverse electric field on nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge(DBD).The results show that diffuse discharge manifests in the misaligned region and the micro-discharge channel in the aligned region moves directionally.Moreover,the diffuse discharge area increases with the decrease of the discharge gap and pulse repetition frequency,which is consistent with the variation of the moving velocity of the micro-discharge channel.When airflow is introduced into the discharge gap in the same direction as the transverse electric field,the dense filamentary discharge region at the airflow inlet of asymmetric electrode geometry is larger than that of symmetric electrode geometry.However,when the direction of the airflow is opposite to that of the transverse electric field,the dense filamentary discharge region of asymmetric electrode geometry is reduced.The above phenomena are mainly attributed to the redistribution of the space charges induced by the transverse electric field.

Impacts of air pressure on the evolution of nanosecond pulse discharge products

Based on the nonequilibrium plasma dynamics of air discharge, a dynamic model of zero-dimensional plasma is established by combining the component density equation, the Boltzmann equation, and the energy transfer equation. The evolution properties of nanosecond pulse discharge （NPD） plasma under different air pressures are calculated. The results show that the air pressure has significant impacts on the NPD products and the peak values of particle number density for particles such as O atoms, 03 molecules, N2（A3） molecules in excited states, and NO molecules. It increases at first and then decreases with the increase of air pressure. On the other hand, the peak values of particle number density for N2（B3） and N2（C3） molecules in excited states are only slightly affected by the air pressure.

Effect of Air Pressure on Hardened Layer of U75V 60 kg/m Heavy Rail after Heat Treatment

The samples cut from U75V 60 kg/m heavy rail are heated to 900 ℃ in resistance furnace and then put into air spraying channel to be cooled for 80 s, and change air pressure from 0.16 MPa to 0.33 MPa, and observe the effect of air pressure on hardened layer. The thickness and hardness of hardened layer increases with the increase of air pressure, and the thickness is more than 24 mm at the center and top fillets of rail head, and more than 15 mm at the blow fillets of rail head when air pressure is more than 0.26 MPa. During the tempering after heat treatment, tempering temperature of rail head is more than 570 ℃ when air pressure is separately 0.16 MPa, 0.20 MPa and 0.23 MPa, which is higher than finishing temperature of pearlite transformation at the cooling rate of 3 ℃/s according to CCT curve of U75V steel. When air pressure is separately 0.26, 0.30 and 0.33 MPa, the tempering temperature is 529 ℃ lower than finishing temperature of pearlite transformation at the cooling rate of 3 ℃/s. Under this condition, pearlite transformation is finished totally, so in order to reduce air consumption and control the cost, proper air pressure for U75V 60 kg/m heavy rail heat treating should be 0.26 MPa; the cooling rate increases with the increase of air pressure, and the average cooling rate on the surface of rail head is more than 3.21 ℃/s when air pressure is more than 0.26 MPa, and the largest cooling rate occurs at the top fillets of rail head.

Research on Mechanism of Airshooting

The composition and ultimate principle of airshooting experimental system were expounded, and the mechanism of airshooting was emphatically discussed on the basis of experiments. The results indicate that the fracture of medium under airshooting resultes from both shock action of air spray and quasi static dilatation of high pressure air. The action of air spray leads to the initial fracture of the wall of borehole and arouses stress wave to propagate in the medium. The quasi static dilatation of high pressure air results in the propagation of initial fractures and produces shear fracture in the medium along the free boundary. Along the direction of minimum burden, the superposition of quasi static and dynamic stress fields can prompt the propagation of cracks. The superposition of the reflected wave, which comes from multiple free surfaces, will result in the fracture of medium also if multiple free boundaries exist.

Influence of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)(MXene)on the generation of dielectric barrier discharge in air

The formation of homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)in air is a key scientific problem and core technical problem to be solved for the application of plasmas.Here,we report the effect of two-dimensional(2D)nanomaterial Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)(Tx=-F,-O and/or-OH)on regulating the electrical discharge characteristics.The field emission and weak bound state property of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)can effectively increase the seed electrons and contribute to the generation of atmospheric pressure homogeneous air DBD.The electron avalanche development for the uneven electrode structure is calculated,and the discharge mode transition is modeled.The comparative analyses of discharge phenomena validate the regulation of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)on the discharge characteristics of DBD.The light emission capture and the voltage and current waveforms verify that the transition of Townsend discharge to streamer discharge is effectively inhibited.The optical emission spectra are used to characterize the plasma and confirm that it is in a non-equilibrium state and the gas temperature is at room temperature.This is the first exploration of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)on the regulation of electrical discharge characteristics as far as we know.This work proves the feasibility of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)as a source of seed electrons to form homogeneous DBD,establishing a preliminary foundation for promoting the application of atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium plasma.

Predicting air pressure in drainage stack of high-rise building

It is necessary to understand the features of air pressure in a drainage stack of a high-rise building for properly designing and operating a drainage system. This paper presents a mathematical model for predicting the stack performance. A step function is used to describe the effect of the air entrainment caused by the water discharged from branch pipes. An additional source term is introduced to reflect the gas-liquid interphase interaction （GLII） and stack base effect. The drainage stack is divided into upper and base parts. The air pressure in the upper part is predicted by a total variation diminishing （TVD） scheme, while in the base part, it is predicted by a characteristic line method （CLM）. The predicted results are compared with the data measured in a real-scale high- rise test building. It is found that the additional source term in the present model is effective. It intensively influences the air pressure distribution in the stack. The air pressure is also sensitive to the velocity-adjusting parameter （VAP）, the branch pipe air entrainment, and the conditions on the stack bottom.

Design of Piston Air Compressor Unit Control System based Converter

Based on the running characteristics and high energy consumption of air compressors in coal mines,an air pressure PID closed loop control system has been designed in this paper.The system is composed of PLC, converter and sensors etc and adopts the control method of converter triple-evaporator which makes air supply"need-based".The designed system has been applied in multiple coal mines and the results show its energy saving is remarkable and potential application is widely.

Design and Key Technology of Oil-Free Centrifugal Air Compressor for Hydrogen Fuel Cell

For a 120 kW hydrogen fuel cell system,a centrifugal air compressor with fixed power of 22 kW fuel cell is designed.Firstly,the theoretical calculation is carried out for the aerodynamic characteristics of a ultra-high-speed permanent magnet synchronous motor,an air compressor,and an aerodynamic foil bearing.Then,a prototype is trial-produced and a related test bench is built for test verification.Finally,both the simulation and test results indicate that the designed centrifugal air compressor meets the overall requirements of the hydrogen fuel cell system,and the relevant conclusions provide both theoretical and experimental references for the subsequent series development and design of the centrifugal air compressor.

Corona with Streamers in Atmospheric Pressure Air in a Highly Inhomogeneous Electric Field

The paper presents research data on positive and negative coronas inatmospheric pressure air in a highly inhomogeneous electric field. Thedata show that irrespective of the polarity of pointed electrodes placed ina high electric field (200 kV/cm), this type of discharge develops via ballstreamers even if the gap voltage rises slowly (0.2 kV/ms). The start voltageof first positive streamers, compared to negative ones, is higher andthe amplitude and the frequency of their current pulses are much lower:about two times and more than two orders of magnitude, respectively.The higher frequency of current pulses from negative streamers provideshigher average currents and larger luminous areas of negative coronascompared to positive ones. Positive and negative cylindrical streamersfrom a pointed to a plane electrode are detected and successive dischargetransitions at both polarities are identified.

Influence of air pressure on the performance of plasma synthetic jet actuator

Plasma synthetic jet actuator（PSJA） has a wide application prospect in the high-speed flow control field for its high jet velocity.In this paper,the influence of the air pressure on the performance of a two-electrode PSJA is investigated by the schlieren method in a large range from 7 k Pa to 100 k Pa.The energy consumed by the PSJA is roughly the same for all the pressure levels.Traces of the precursor shock wave velocity and the jet front velocity vary a lot for different pressures.The precursor shock wave velocity first decreases gradually and then remains at 345 m/s as the air pressure increases.The peak jet front velocity always appears at the first appearance of a jet,and it decreases gradually with the increase of the air pressure.A maximum precursor shock wave velocity of 520 m/s and a maximum jet front velocity of 440 m/s are observed at the pressure of 7 k Pa.The averaged jet velocity in one period ranges from 44 m/s to 54 m/s for all air pressures,and it drops with the rising of the air pressure.High velocities of the precursor shock wave and the jet front indicate that this type of PSJA can still be used to influence the high-speed flow field at 7 k Pa.

Generation of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma by Repetitive Nanosecond Pulses in Air Using Water Electrodes

Dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） excitated by pulsed power is a promising method for producing nonthermal plasma at atmospheric pressure. Discharge characteristic in a DBD with salt water as electrodes by a home-made unipolar nanosecond-pulse power source is presented in this paper. The generator is capable of providing repetitive pulses with the voltage up to 30 kV and duration of 70 ns at a 300 Ω resistive load. Applied voltage and discharge current are measured under various experimental conditions. The DBD created between two liquid electrodes shows that the discharge is homogeneous and diffuse in the whole discharge regime, Spectra diagnosis is conducted by an optical emission spectroscopy. The air plasma has strong emission from nitrogen species below 400 nm, notably the nitrogen second positive system.

Electrical Characteristics of Dielectric-Barrier Discharges in Atmospheric Pressure Air Using a Power-Frequency Voltage Source

Dielectric-barrier discharges （DBDs） in atmospheric pressure air have been studied by using a power-frequency voltage source. In this paper the electrical characteristics of DBDs us- ing glass and alumina dielectrics have been investigated experimentally. According to the Lissajous figures of voltage-charges, it is discovered that the discharge power for an alumina dielectric is much higher than that for a glass dielectric at the same applied voltage. Also~ the voltage-current curves of the glass and alumina dielectrics confirm the fact that the dielectric barriers behave like semiconducting materials at certain applied voltages.

Experimental Study of ZnO-Coated Alumina DBD in Atmospheric Pressure Air

An investigation on the discharge characteristic of a dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） device was carried out using bare and ZnO-coated alumina dielectric layer in atmospheric pressure air. Highly conductive ZnO film was first deposited on the alumina surface, and the characteristics of the dielectric barrier discharge were examined and compared. Experimental result shows that discharge behavior was definitely improved in the case of ZnO-coated dielectric barrier discharge. Relevant explanation is offered to describe its discharge physics.