Characteristics of Plasma Discharge according to the Gas-flow Rate in the Atmospheric Plasma Jets

The influence of gas flow on the plasma generation in the atmospheric plasma jet is described with the theory of hydrodynamics. The plasma discharge is affected by the gas-flow streams with Reynolds number (Re) as well as the gas pressure with Bernoulli`s theorem according to the gas flow rate inserted into the glass tube. The length of plasma column is varied with the flow types such as the laminar flow of Re4,000 as it has been known in a general fluid experiments. In the laminar flow, the plasma column length is increased as the increase of flow rate. Since the pressure in the glass tube becomes low as the increase of flow velocity by the Bernoulli`s theorem, the breakdown voltage of plasma discharge is reduced by the Paschen`s law. Therefore, the plasma length is increased as the increasing flow rate with the fixed operation voltage. In the transition of laminar and turbulent flows, the plasma length is decreased. When the flow becomes turbulent as the flow rate is increasing, the plasma length becomes short and the discharge is shut down ultimately. In the discharge of laminar flow, the diameter of plasma beam exposed on the substrate surface is kept less than the glass diameter, since the gas flow is kept to the distinct distance from the nozzle of glass tube.