The electron current to a Langmuir probe in a flowing high-pressure plasma

Author

MacLatchy, Cyrus S. ; Smith, Hume C L

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., Acadia Univ., Wolfville, NS, Canada

Volume

19

Issue

6

fYear

1991

fDate

12/1/1991 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1254

Lastpage

1258

Abstract

The electron current to a Langmuir probe in a moving high-pressure plasma has been measured and analyzed. The plasma is an atmospheric-pressure propane flame, and the probe´s speed relative to the plasma was varied from 10 ms^-1 to 30 ms^-1. The current is linearly dependent on the speed and appears to be comprised of two components-one driven by diffusion and the other by convection. A model is devised which can be used to measure the electron density. By comparing the density computed from this model to that measured from the ion current, it has been possible to measure the electron mobility in the flame gases. The value obtained by the authors is in good agreement with theoretical calculations found in the literature

Keywords

Langmuir probes; convection; diffusion; electron mobility; flames; plasma density; plasma flow; plasma transport processes; Langmuir probe; atmospheric-pressure propane flame; convection; diffusion; electron current; electron density; electron mobility; flowing high-pressure plasma; ion current; model; Atmospheric-pressure plasmas; Current measurement; Density measurement; Electron mobility; Fires; Plasma density; Plasma measurements; Plasma properties; Plasma temperature; Probes;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/27.125048

Filename

125048