On the Induced Gas Flow by a Trielectrode Plasma Curtain at Atmospheric Pressure

A study of the induced flow pattern, in quiescent air, by the trielectrode plasma curtain (TPC) discharge is presented and analyzed in terms of the electrical characteristics of the discharge. The TPC discharge is based on the combination of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with a corona discharge (CD) in a three-electrode system, and basically, it consists of the “stretching” of a pure DBD by the action of a negative CD generated between the active electrode of the dielectric barrier and a remote third electrode. It was found that the observed flow pattern is mainly controlled by the forces exerted at the vicinities of both exposed electrodes, where the electric field is very high. On the other hand, the net force produced at the interelectrode gap seems to be very small in spite of the large current flowing there, a fact that can be attributed to the relatively low value of the electric field at the streamer channel.