• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2008.03a
• /
• pp.602-605
• /
• 2008

The anode sheath structure in the hollow anode of an anode-layer type Hall thruster was numerically computed using a fully kinetic 2D3V Particle-in-Cell and Direct Simulation Monte Carlo(PIC-DSMC) code. By treating both ions and electrons as particles, anode surface region, which is electrically non-neutral, was analyzed. In order to analyze in detail, the calculation code was parallelized using Message Passing Interface (MPI). The code successfully simulated the discharge current oscillation. In the low magnetic induction case, ion sheath appears in the anode surface because ionization is enough to maintain the plasma occurs in the anode hollow. As the magnetic induction increases, main ionization region move to outside of the anode. At the same time, anode sheath voltage decreases. In the high magnetic induction case, electron sheath appears on the anode surface periodically because the ionization occurs mainly in the discharge channel. This anode sheath condition shift can be explained using the simple sheath model.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2004.03a
• /
• pp.245-250
• /
• 2004

The discharge current oscillation has been measured for various hollow anode widths and its axial positions using a 1㎾-class anode layer hall thruster. As a result, there were thresholds of magnetic flux density for stable discharge. The plasma structure inside the hollow anode was numerically analyzed using the fully kinetic 2D3V Particle-in-Cell (PIC) and Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) methods. The results reproduced both stable and unstable operation modes. In the stable operation case, which corresponds to the case with low magnetic flux, the plasma penetrated into the hollow anode deeper than the case with higher magnetic flux density case. This suggests that comparably large substantial anode area should contribute to stable operation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 1997.11a
• /
• pp.270-274
• /
• 1997

The numerical model that can describe the ignition of the pseudospark discharge using hybrid fluid-particle method has been developed. The evolution process of the discharge has been divided into four phases along the potential distribution. After the plasma enters in the hollow cathode, the confining effect which is one of hollow cathode properties occurs and the electron current on anode rises rapidly. As the plasma expands successively, the sheath contracts and as the electric field in the sheath increases, the field-enhanced thermionic emission(Schottky emission) occurs. From numerical results, the physical mechanism that causes the rapid current rise in the ignition of the pseudospark discharge could be identified.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.1804-1814
• /
• 2015

In order to explore the characteristics of electrons in DC negative corona discharge, an improved plasma chemical model is presented for the simulation of bar-plate DC corona discharge in dry air. The model is based on plasma hydrodynamics and chemical models in which 12 species are considered. In addition, the photoionization and secondary electron emission effect are also incorporated within the model as well. Based on this model, electron mean energy distribution (EMED), electron density distribution (EDD), generation and dissipation rates of electron at 6 typical time points during a pulse are discussed emphatically. The obtained results show that, the maximum of electron mean energy (EME) appears in field ionization layer which moves towards the anode as time progresses, and its value decreases gradually. Within a pulse process, the electron density (ED) in cathode sheath almost keeps 0, and the maximum of ED appears in the outer layer of the cathode sheath. Among all reactions, R1 and R2 are regarded as the main process of electron proliferation, and R₂₂ plays a dominant role in the dissipation process of electron. The obtained results will provide valuable insights to the physical mechanism of negative corona discharge in air.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 2005.07b
• /
• pp.972-974
• /
• 2005

The present work deals with the theoretical study of the effects of copper vapours resulting from the erosion of the electrodes on the properties of a SF6 arc in a Laval nozzle. Computations have been done for a DC arc of 1000A with upstream gas pressure of 3.75MPa. The arc plasma is assumed to be in local thermodynamic equilibrium(LTE). The sheath and non-equilibrium region around the electrodes are not considered in this model. However, its effects on the energy flux into the electrodes are estimated from some experimental and theoretical data. The turbulence effects are calculated using the Prandtl mixing length model. A conservation equation for the copper vapour concentration is solved together with the governing equations for mass, momentum and energy of the gas mixture. Comparisons were made between the results with and without electrodes erosion. It has been found that the presence of copper vapours cools down the arc temperature due to the combined effects of increased radiation and increased electrical conductivity. The copper vapour distribution is very sensitive to the turbulent parameter. The erosion of upstream electrode(cathode) has larger effects on the arc compared to the downstream electrode(anode) as the copper vapour eroded from the anode cannot diffuse against the high-speed axial flow.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.57 no.4
• /
• pp.641-647
• /
• 2008

In this paper, we have studied the basic discharge characteristics of ac-type cylindrical microcavity structure. The structure has a two electrodes, which are positioned in the bottom of the cavity and in the side wall of the cylinder, respectively. The discharge showed asymmetric phenomena depending on the position of a cathode electrode. When the bottom electrode was a cathode, the discharge was stronger even though the area of the cathode was smaller than that of the anode. Simulation results revealed that the focused electric field toward the bottom electrode increased ion density in the space which in turn strengthened the cathode sheath and ionization process.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.5-12
• /
• 2004

The enhancement of adhesion for Cu film on polycarbonate (PC) surface with the $Ar/O_2$ gas plasma treatment and dc-bias sputtering was studied. The plasma treatment with this reactive mixture changes the chemical property of PC surface into hydrophllic one, which is shown by the variation of contact angle with surface modification. The micro surface roughness that also gives the high adhesive environment is increased by the $Ar/O_2$ gas plasma treatment. These results were observed distinctly from the atomic force microscopy (AFM). The negative substrate dc-bias effect for the Cu adhesion on PC was also investifated. Accelerated $Ar^{+}$ lons in sheath area of anode bombard the bare surface of PC during initial stage of dc bias sputtering. PC substrate. therefore, has severe roughen and hydrophilic surface due to the physical etching process with more activated functional group. As dc-bias sputtering process proceeds, morphology of Cu film shows better step coverage and dense layer. The results of peel test show the evidence of superiority of bias sputtering for the adhesion between metal Cu and PC.C.