Numerical investigation on thermofluid fields induced by pen-like atmospheric non-thermal plasma torch with array type: A preliminary study

The pen-like plasma torch device, which was developed in 2002, has very simple structure and has been successfully applied for the surface treatment to improve hydrophilic properties of plastic film and polyethylene. However, due to the effective treating area of a single pen-like atmospheric plasma torch is still very limited, the current status of the device is still far from the practical applications. In view of this, the development of the new design of the “pen-like atmospheric plasma torch array”, which is composed of multiple pen-like atmospheric plasma torches, is undergoing. It is expected the array design of the plasma-torch system could increase the effective treating area and satisfy the need of practical applications. The present paper carried out the numerical simulations of the thermofluid fields induced by the devices with dual and four pen-like plasma torches. The major interest is to exploit the different flow features of single-, dual- and four-plasma torch system. The results revealed in the present study provide fundamental understanding of the thermofluid fields induced by the multiple pen-like plasma torches, which are worthwhile for the design work of the array-type devices.