Study on the Characteristics of Atmospheric Dielectric Barrier Discharges in $\hbox {He}{-}\hbox {N}_{2}$ Admixture

The influence of different amounts of nitrogen impurity on the barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure in He-N₂ admixture gas has been numerically studied based on a 1-D fluid model. The characteristic of the current density versus N₂ impurity amount shows a transition point. The influence of the amplitude and frequency of the applied voltage on both N₂ impurity amount and the current density at the transition point has been particularly investigated. The following conclusions are given. For fixed frequency of the applied voltage, both N₂ impurity amount and the current density at the transition point increase with increasing amplitude of the applied voltage. Fixing the amplitude of the applied voltage, N₂ impurity amount at the transition point increases with increasing frequency of the applied voltage, but the minimum value of the current density is not evidently affected by the frequency. In particular, the Townsend discharge mode is observed at the transition point under the present simulation conditions.