EI3370 Electrical Discharges in Gases and their Applications
The purpose of the course is to give the PhD students solid background knowledge to perform, interpret and analyze measurements and simulations of electrical gas discharges for different engineering applications.
PhD course, 8 credits
Educational level: Third cycle Academic level: D
Main Lecturer: Assist. Prof. Marley Becerra (MB), EES Contact: marley@kth.se or 08-7907762
Seminar and final exam: May 23rd, 24th, 2012
Schedule
Final exam: 60 questions multiple choice and filling in, 40 questions should be answered correctly to pass the exam. The number of questions per subject of the course is as follows:
Fundamentals (11)
Breakdown mechanisms (8)
Non-thermal plasmas (11)
Thermal plasmas (10)
Statistics (4)
Computer modeling (8)
Experimental (8)
Guest Lecturers: Prof. Yuriy Serdyuk (YS), High Voltage Engineering, Chalmers, Prof. Hana Barankova (HB), Division for Electricity, Uppsala University, Prof. Hans Edin (HE), Electromagnetic Engineering, KTH; Prof. Svetlana Ratynskaia (SR), Plasma Physics, KTH.
All lectures scheduled for week 13th, 2012 at KTH Main Campus, Teknikringen 33
Preliminary Lecture Schedule:
Room A: Seminarierummet H21: www.infra.kth.se/GIS/projects/classroomSearch/index.php?id=H21
Room B: Stora konferensrummet
Room C: Student (computer) room
Lab room A: HV Lab
Lab room B: Maxwell Lab
Location 1: Jensen Devices AB
Rudbecks väg 143
SE-192 51 SOLLENTUNA
SWEDEN
Course Learning outcomes
After completion of the course, the student should be able to:
• Explain the fundamental physical processes and the major mechanisms leading to electrical discharges in gases
• Compare the different types of thermal (arcs, leader discharges, etc) and non-thermal discharges (glow, corona streamers, avalanches, dielectric barrier discharges), their types and features
• Analyse and interpret the electrical, chemical and optical measurements of electrical discharges in the laboratory
• Perform electric field calculations and use basic criteria for the evaluation of breakdown in gases
• Compare the different numerical techniques used to simulate electrical discharges in gases, identify their limitations and choose properly the processes that can be simulated with them.
• Develop a simple computer model to simulate electrical discharges in a specific application of interest for the student.
Main Topics
1. Fundamental Processes (2h lecture by MB)
Contents
- Electron drift concepts
- Ionization processes
- De-ionization collisions
- Other processes in the gas
- Cathode processes
2. Basic Mechanisms of Breakdown (2h lecture by HE)
Contents
- Electrical breakdown
- Townsend mechanism
- Streamer mechanism
- Leader mechanism
- Breakdown in vacuum
3. Non-thermal plasma (3h lecture by MB and YS)
Contents
- Electron avalanches
- Glow discharges/streamers
- Dielectric barrier discharges (DBD)
- Interaction of streamers with solid interfaces
4. Thermal plasmas (2h lecture by MB)
Contents
- Electric arcs
- Leader discharges
- Plasmas
- Thermalization
- Radiation
5. Statistical aspects of electrical discharges (1h lecture by MB)
Contents
- Free electrons
- Statistical nature of the transition to breakdown
- Memory effects
- Electrode conditioning
6. Modelling of Electrical Discharges (4h lecture by MB and YS, 4 h project guided session)
Contents
- Finite Element Method simulation
- Monte-Carlo methods for basic parameter estimation
- Fluid methods for gas discharge simulation
- Magneto-hydrodynamic simulation of thermal plasmas
7. Experimental techniques (2h lecture by MB and HE, 3 h laboratory)
Contents
- High voltage measurement basics
- Discharge current measurements
- High speed photography
- Photomultipliers and optical detectors
- Optical emission spectroscopy
- Laboratory demonstrations
8. Applications: Atmospheric pressure plasma techniques: 1 h lecture by HB
9. Applications: Electrical discharges in electrical power industry: 1 h lecture by HE
10. Applications: Complex (dusty) plasmas; basic descriptions and applications: 1 h lecture by SR
11. Applications: Gas discharge tubes: Visit to JENSEN DEVICES AB, Sollentuna: 2 h
12. Other applications (Seminars by the participants)
Course disposition:
Classroom Lectures 19 h
Simulation project computer sessions 4 h
Laboratory session 3 h
Technical visit 2 h
Seminars 8 h
Eligibility:
At least Master’s level on Electrical Engineering, Physics or Chemistry
Requirements for final grade:
Short report and oral presentation (seminar) of the computer project and written final examination.
Course literature:
L. Loeb, Basic processes of gaseous electronics
E. Nasser, Fundamentals of gaseous ionization and plasma electronics
Yu. Raizer Gas discharge physics
V. Cooray, The mechanism of electrical discharges, Chapter 3 in The lightning flash
Journal articles