Zero-dimensional and pseudo-one-dimensional models of atmospheric-pressure plasma jet in binary and ternary mixtures of oxygen and nitrogen with helium background

TL;DR

This study develops and validates zero-dimensional and pseudo-one-dimensional models of atmospheric-pressure plasma jets with various gas mixtures, providing insights into NO production mechanisms and plasma properties.

Contribution

The paper introduces coupled models with the Boltzmann equation for plasma jets in He/O$_2$, He/N$_2$, and ternary mixtures, enhancing understanding of NO formation and plasma behavior.

Findings

NO concentration depends on gas mixture ratio, flow rate, and power.

Higher power increases the role of vibrationally excited N$_2$ in NO formation.

Simulation sensitivity varies with VDF resolution and impurity levels.

Abstract

A zero-dimensional (volume-averaged) and a pseudo-one-dimensional (plug-flow) model are developed to investigate atmospheric-pressure plasma jet devices operated with He, He/O$_2$, He/N$_2$ and He/N$_2$/O$_2$ mixtures. The models are coupled with the Boltzmann equation under the two-term approximation to self-consistently calculate the electron energy distribution function (EEDF). The simulation results are verified against spatially resolved model calculations and validated against a wide variety of measurement data. The nitric oxide (NO) concentration is thoroughly characterized for a variation of the gas mixture ratio, helium flow rate and absorbed power. The concentration measurements at low power are better captured by the simulation with a larger hypothetical "effective" rate coefficient value for the reactive quenching N$_2$(A$^3\Sigma$,B$^3\Pi$) + O($^3$P) $\to$ NO + N($^2$D). This suggests that the NO production at low power is also covered by the species N$_2$(A$^3\Sigma$,B$^3\Pi$;v>0) and multiple higher N$_2$ electronically excited states instead of only N$_2$(A$^3{\Sigma}$,B$^3{\Pi}$;v=0) in this quenching. Furthermore, the O($^3$P) density measurements under the same operation conditions are also better predicted by the simulations with a consideration of the aforementioned hypothetical rate coefficient value. It is found that the contribution of the vibrationally excited nitrogen molecules N$_2$(v$\geqslant$13) to the net NO formation rate gains more significance at higher power. The vibrational distribution functions (VDFs) of O$_2$(v<41) and N$_2$(v<58) are investigated. The sensitivity of the zero-dimensional model with respect to a variation of the VDF resolutions, wall reaction probabilities and synthetic air impurity levels is presented. The simulated plasma properties are sensitive to the variation especially for a feeding gas mixture containing nitrogen.