Effects of electrode geometry on transient plasma induced ignition

Achieving effective ignition of reacting mixtures using nanosecond pulsed discharge non-equilibrium transient plasma (TP), requires that the effects of several experimental parameters be quantified and understood. Among them are the electrode geometry, the discharge location especially in non-premixed systems, and the relative ignition performance by spark and TP under the same experimental conditions. In the present investigation, such issues were addressed experimentally using a cylindrical constant volume combustion chamber and a counterflow flame configuration coupled with optical shadowgraph that enables observation of how and where the ignition process starts. Results were obtained under atmospheric pressure and showed that the electrode geometry has a notable influence on ignition, with the needle-to-semicircle exhibiting the best ignition performance. Furthermore, it was determined that under non-premixed conditions discharging TP in the reactants mixing layer was most effective in achieving ignition. It was also determined that in the cases considered, the TP induced ignition initiates from the needle head where the electric field and electron densities are the highest. In the case of a spark, however, ignition was found to initiate always from the hot region between the two electrodes. Comparison of spark and TP discharges in only air (i.e. without fuel) and ignition phenomena induced by them also suggest that in the case of TP ignition is at least partly non-thermal and instead driven by the production of active species. Finally, it was determined that single pulsed TP discharges are sufficient to ignite both premixed and non-premixed flames of a variety of fuels ranging from hydrogen to heavy fuels including F-76 diesel and IFO380 bunker fuel even at room temperature.