Investigation on discharge characteristics of a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge reactor driven by AC and ns power sources

A coaxial dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） reactor with double layer dielectric barriers has been developed for exhaust gas treatment and excited either by AC power or nanosecond（ns）pulse to generate atmospheric pressure plasma. The comparative study on the discharge characteristics of the discharge uniformity, power deposition, energy efficiency, and operation temperature between AC and ns pulsed coaxial DBD is carried out in terms of optical and electrical characteristics and operation temperature for optimizing the coaxial DBD reactor performance. The voltages across the air gap and dielectric layer and the conduction and displacement currents are extracted from the applied voltages and measured currents of AC and ns pulsed coaxial DBDs for the calculation of the power depositions and energy efficiencies through an equivalent electrical model. The discharge uniformity and operating temperature of the coaxial DBD reactor are monitored and analyzed by optical images and infrared camera. A heat conduction model is used to calculate the temperature of the internal quartz tube. It is found that the ns pulsed coaxial DBD has a much higher instantaneous power deposition in plasma, a lower total power consumption, and a higher energy efficiency compared with that excited by AC power and is more homogeneous and stable. The temperature of the outside wall of the AC and ns pulse excited coaxial DBD reaches 158 ℃ and 64.3 ℃ after 900 s operation, respectively.The experimental results on the comparison of the discharge characteristics of coaxial DBDs excited by different powers are significant for understanding of the mechanism of DBDs,reducing energy loss, and optimizing the performance of coaxial DBD in industrial applications.

Characteristics of Coaxial Dielectric Barrier Discharge at an Atmospheric Pressure with a Swirling Gas Argon/Oxygen Mixture for the Surface Modification of Polyester Fiber Cord

Abstract A newly developed coaxial dielectric barrier discharge reactor with a length of 1000 mm at an atmospheric pressure was used for plasma treatment of polyester fiber cord in a roll-to-roll manner. In this reactor, swirling mixture gases of oxygen of about 1% and argon with a flow rate of 1.5 L/rain to 2.7 L/min ensured the gas usage sparing, discharge uniformity and efficient fiber surface modification. The water contact angle and surface morphology of the treated fiber were measured. The results show that the surface oxygenation is mainly responsible for the wettability improvement of the fiber cord when passing through the plasma zone at a linear speed of 3 m/min to 8 m/rain. The specimens of modified-polyester fiber reinforced rubber composite were also prepared for the interracial shear strength tests. Furthermore, the effect of adding oxygen into argon discharge on the fiber surface oxidation was correlated with optical emission spectroscopy. Finally, the effect of adding oxygen into argon discharge on the kinetic processes of the active species generation were also analyzed.

Surface Modification of PBO Fibers for Composites by Coaxial Atmospheric Dielectric Barrier Discharge (PLA-PLA)

In this work, the surface modification of poly （1, 4-phenylene-cis-benzobisoxazole） （PBO） fibers by O 2 /Ar coaxial atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge was investigated, as well as the interfacial adhesion properties of modified PBO fibers/epoxy composites. The results indicated that the contact angle decreased remarkably from 84.7 to 63.5 after 3 min O 2 /Ar plasma treatment. SEM and AFM images showed that the surface of the treated PBO fibers became rather rough. In addition, XPS results suggested that the polar functional group （O=C- O） was introduced on the surface of the treated PBO fiber. The interfacial adhesion test showed that the interfacial shear strength （IFSS） and the interlaminar shear strength （ILSS） increased significantly by 63.54% and 130%, respectively. Moreover, the excellent tensile property of the PBO fibres was well preserved.