Gliding arc discharge (GAD) generates plasma with relatively high electron density and power, and also provides high operating pressure, low fabrication cost and excellent reaction selectivity. In particular, its power levels higher than other atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium discharges such as dielectric barrier or corona discharges have constantly expanded its applications in combustion support, surface treatment, fuel reforming, chemical synthesis, environmental remediation, etc.
Kim Yong Jun, a researcher at the Faculty of Physical Engineering, has proposed a type of gas discharge defined as a gliding arc-microwave hybrid discharge (also called microwave enhanced gliding arc discharge or gliding arc assisted microwave discharge), and experimentally investigated its coordination effects for generating plasma.
The gliding arc acts as an igniter for generating and maintaining microwave plasma at atmospheric pressure, while the microwave-enhanced gliding arc discharge indicates expansion of the length and bulk of plasma flame, which has a positive effect on the residence time and immersion of reactants in the plasma.
The proposed hybrid discharge can be applied to different fields such as chemical synthesis, surface treatment, fuel reforming and environmental improvement as it can generate efficient and bulk plasma with different temperatures and good reaction selectivity at atmospheric pressure.
You can find the details about it in his paper “Coordination effect in generating plasma by gliding arc-microwave hybrid discharge in atmospheric-pressure air” in “Applied Physics Letters” (NI).