Electrical Model of an Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge Cell

• Published in: IEEE transactions on plasma science Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 128 - 134
• Main Authors: Flores-Fuentes, A., Pena-Eguiluz, R., Lopez-Callejas, R., Mercado-Cabrera, A., Valencia-Alvarado, R., Barocio-Delgado, S., de la Piedad-Beneitez, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.01.2009; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Atmospheric modeling; Atmospheric pressure; Atmospheric-pressure plasmas; Capacitance; Circuits; Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD); Dielectrics; Electric discharges; Electric potential; Electricity; Exact sciences and technology; Fault location; Inductors; Mathematical model; Mathematical models; Matlab; Other gas discharges; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; Plasma; Power supplies; Reactors; Solid modeling; Voltage; voltage source inverter (VSI); voltage-controlled current source; Ionized gases; Power supplies; Dielectric barrier discharge; Atmospheric pressure; Nitrogen; Helium; voltage source inverter (VSI); Electrical circuits; voltage- controlled current source; Argon; Comparative study; Capacitive discharge; Parallel plate; Equivalent circuits; Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)
• ISSN: 0093-3813; 1939-9375
• DOI: 10.1109/TPS.2008.2006844

This paper presents a model of the typical dielectric barrier plasma discharge at atmospheric pressure, structured as an equivalent electric circuit whose elements are identified with, and deducted from, the main influential variables of the process, namely, the applied gas, the geometry of the reactor, the breakdown parameters, as well as the power supply associated to the dielectric barrier discharge cell. Considering a parallel-plate reactor and a high-voltage sinusoidal power supply, an electrical comprehensive Simulink/MATLAB model has been developed in order to reveal the interaction between these two elements. The main components of this discharge model are as follows: (1) a double dielectric capacitance; (2) a voltage-controlled current source; and (3) a gas capacitance associated to the ionized gas. A sinusoidal voltage of up to 15 kV peak to peak at frequencies of 12.5 and 47 kHz has been applied to the discharge electrodes. The electrical model is based on the power law proposed by Roth, which defines the V-I behavior during the discharge startup. A series of simulations has been carried out in order to estimate the total current and voltage consumed during each discharge and to identify those parameters which are not measurable during the process. Finally, both the experimental and simulated voltage and current results in helium, argon, and nitrogen, as well as their Q-V graphics, are shown, and a comparison between them is discussed.