A two-dimensional air streamer discharge modified model based on artificial stability term under non-uniform electric field at low temperature and sub-atmospheric pressure

In this paper, an improved air discharge fluid model under non-uniform electric field is constructed based on the plasma module COMSOL Multiphysics with artificial stability term, and the boundary conditions developed in the previous paper are applied to the calculation of photoionization rate. Based on the modified model, the characteristics of low temperature subatmospheric air discharge under 13 kV direct current voltage are discussed, including needle-plate and needle-needle electrode structures. Firstly, in order to verify the reliability of the model, a numerical example and an experimental verification were carried out for the modified model respectively. Both verification results show that the model can ensure the accuracy and repeatability of the calculation. Secondly, according to the calculation results of the modified model, under the same voltage and spacing, the reduced electric field under low temperature subatmosphere pressure is larger than that under normal temperature and atmospheric pressure. The high electric field leads to the air discharge at low temperature and sub atmospheric pressure entering the streamer initiation stage earlier, and has a faster propagation speed in the streamer development stage, which shortens the overall discharge time. Finally, the discharge characteristics of the two electrode structures are compared, and it is found that the biggest difference between them is that there is a pre-ionization region near the cathode in the needle-needle electrode structure. When the pre-ionization level reaches 1013 cm-3, the propagation speed of the positive streamer remains unchanged throughout the discharge process, and is no longer affected by the negative streamer. The peak value of electric field decreases with the increase of pre-ionization level, and tends to be constant during streamer propagation. Based on the previous paper, this paper constructs the air discharge model under non-uniform electric field, complements with the previous paper, and forms a relatively complete set of air discharge simulation system under low temperature and sub atmospheric pressure, which provides a certain reference for future research.

The Influence of Atmospheric Pressure on Air Content and Pore Structure of Air-entrained Concrete

To study the effect of atmospheric pressure on the properties of fresh and hardened airentrained concrete, three kinds of air entraining agents were used for preparing air-entrained concrete in the plateaus(Lhasa, 61 kPa) and the plains(Beijing, 101 kPa). Air content, slump, compressive strength and pore structure of the three air-entrained concretes were tested in these two places. It is found that the air content of concrete under low atmospheric pressure(LAP) is 4%-36% lower than that of concrete under normal atmospheric pressure(NAP), which explaines the decrease of slump for air-entrained concrete under LAP. Pore number of hardened concrete under LAP is reduced by 48%-69%. While, the proportion of big pores(pore diameter >1 200 μm) and air void spacing factor are increased by 1.5%-7.3% and 51%-92%, respectively. The deterioration of pore structure results in a 3%-9% reduction in the compressive strength of concrete. From the results we have obtained, it can be concluded that the increase of critical nucleation energy of air bubbles and the decrease of volumetric compressibility coefficient of air in the concrete are responsible for the variation of air content and pore structure of concrete under LAP.

Gas-discharge induced flash sintering of YSZ ceramics at room temperature

This is the first study to conduct the flash sintering of 3 mol%yttria-stabilized zirconia(3YSZ)ceramics at room temperature(25℃)under a strong electric field,larger than 1 kV/cm.At the standard atmospheric pressure(101 kPa),the probability of successful sintering is approximately half of that at low atmospheric pressure,lower than 80 kPa.The success of the proposed flash sintering process was determined based on the high electric arc performance at different atmospheric pressures ranging from 20 to 100 kPa.The 3YSZ samples achieved a maximum relative density of 99.5%with a grain size of~200 nm.The results showed that as the atmospheric pressure decreases,the onset electric field of flash sintering decreases,corresponding to the empirical formula of the flashover voltage.Moreover,flash sintering was found to be triggered by the surface flashover of ceramic samples,and the electric arc on the sample surfaces floated upward before complete flash sintering at overly high pressures,resulting in the failure of flash sintering.This study reveals a new method for the facile preparation of flash-sintered ceramics at room temperature,which will promote the application of flash sintering in the ceramic industry.

Cathode catalysis performance of SmBaCuMO_(5+δ) (M=Fe, Co, Ni) in ammonia synthesis

The SmBaCuMO5+δ (M=Fe, Co, Ni) (SBCM) powders were synthesized by the citrate sol-gel method and the powders were sintered to ceramic pellets. The powders and sintered ceramic pellets were characterized with XRD, TEM and SEM measurements. The cathode catalytic performances of SBCM ceramic pellets for ammonia synthesis were studied from wet hydrogen and dry nitrogen at atmospheric pressure and low temperature, using SBCM ceramic pellets as cathode, Nafion proton exchange membrane as electrolyte, Ni-Ce0.8Sm0....