Characterization of a model wire-plate pulsed corona plasma reactor

Experimental investigations are reported concerning a laboratory size, wire-plate, pulse corona plasma (PCP) reactor operated in ambient air at pulse repetition frequencies of 10 pps, 100 pps and 1000 pps, with and without application of a DC voltage offset between 8 kV and 15 kV, respectively. Amplitudes were varied between 10 and 25 kV, at a pulse duration of typically 150 ns (FWHM). Corona onset and breakdown have also been investigated by numerical simulation of the avalanche growth in an inhomogeneous electric field using a modified Raether breakdown criterion. The preliminary results achieved with an improved PCP reactor are reported; a specific power density of over 8 kW/m/sup 3/ has been reached using high voltage (HV) pulses of 150 ns in duration and at repetition rates of up to 1000 Hz. The low impedance of this PCP reactor limited the pulse amplitude to <25 kV; it could be shown that a DC bias voltage can be used to reduce the pulse amplitude constraints to a certain extend.