Paper PS-TuP4
Development and Characterization of a Small-Scale Helical Dielectric Barrier Discharge for Studying Plasma-Surface Interactions

Tuesday, October 22, 2019, 6:30 pm, Room Union Station B

The study of plasma-surface interactions is an emerging field for a wide variety applications, including sustainable energy (catalytic H2 production), environmental remediation (water purification), medicine (sterilization), and high-value manufacturing (nanomaterial synthesis). These applications are driven by species created in the plasma or at a plasma-surface interface, such as free electrons, gaseous ions, excited molecules and radicals, driving chemistry at a surface. Here, we develop a new dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) configuration to produce surface DBDs over a three-dimensional geometry. The motivation for this geometry was to embed the plasma source inside a packed bed (e.g., catalyst) reactor that had tight spatial restrictions so that it could be implemented in a commercial Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer instrument.

The design, which we term a helical DBD, was inspired by surface DBD configurations often employed in plasma actuators for fluid dynamics applications. However, rather than using a 2D surface common in plasma actuators, the helical DBD uses the 3D surface of a cylinder as its dielectric, allowing for greater plasma coverage and in this case, greater interaction with a packed bed. This study characterizes the electrical properties of the helical DBD in both free space and within a packed bed reactor. Various electrical parameters, including energy, deposited power, and plasma current are measured as a function of frequency and voltage. Visual properties are presented to show how the DBD spreads along the dielectric surface or into the packed bed. The effect of being immerged in a packed bed is quantified and the potential future prospects of this type of DBD geometry are discussed.