Numerical Simulation of Air Flow in the State of Thermal and Chemical Nonequilibrium behind a Shock Wave Front

We used the model of a five-component air mixture flow behind the front of a one-dimensional shock wave to compute the flow parameters for shock front temperatures of up to 7000 K, taking into account the variable composition, translational and vibrational temperatures and pressure in the relaxation zone. Vibrational level population in oxygen and nitrogen obeys the Boltzmann distribution with one common vibrational temperature. We consider the effect that temperature nonequilibrium has on the chemical reaction rate by introducing a nonequilibrium factor to the reaction rate constant, said factor depending on the vibrational and translational temperatures. We compared our calculation results for dissociation behind the shock front to the published data concerning temperature nonequilibrium in a pure oxygen flow behind a shock wave front for two different intensities of the latter. The comparison shows a good agreement between the vibrational temperature, experimental data and calculations based on the experimental values of vibrational temperature and molality. We computed the parameters of thermodynamically nonequilibrium dissociation in the air behind the shock wave front, comparing them to those of equilibrium dissociation and calculation results previously published by others. The study demonstrates that the molality values computed converge gradually with those found in published data as the distance from the shock front increases. We list the reasons for the discrepancy between our calculation results and previously published data

Spectroscopic evaluation of vibrational temperature and electron density in reduced pressure radio frequency nitrogen plasma

The optical emission spectroscopy technique is used to determine the vibrational temperature of the second positive band system,$$ N_{2} (C,\upsilon^{^{\prime}} - B,\upsilon^{^{\prime\prime}}$$ N 2 ( C , υ ′ - B , υ ″ ) in the wavelength range 367.1–380.5 nm by using the line-ratio and Boltzmann plot methods. The electron temperature is evaluated from the intensity ratio of the selected molecular bands corresponding to $$N_{2}^{ + } (B,\upsilon - X, \upsilon^{^{\prime}} , $$ N 2 + ( B , υ - X , υ ′ , 391.44 nm), and, $$N_{2} (C,\upsilon^{^{\prime}} - B,\upsilon^{^{\prime\prime}}$$ N 2 ( C , υ ′ - B , υ ″ , 375.4 nm) transitions, respectively. The selected bands have a different threshold of excitation energies and thus serve as a sensitive indicator of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF). The electron density has been determined from the intensity ratio of the molecular transitions corresponding to $$N_{2}^{ + } (B,\upsilon - X, \upsilon^{^{\prime}} , $$ N 2 + ( B , υ - X , υ ′ , 391.44 nm), and, $$ N_{2} (C,\upsilon^{^{\prime}} - B,\upsilon^{^{\prime\prime}}$$ N 2 ( C , υ ′ - B , υ ″ , 380.5 nm) for different levels of pressure and radio frequency power. The results show that the vibrational temperature decreases with increasing nitrogen fill pressure and radio frequency power. However, the electron temperature increases with radio frequency power and reduces with fill pressure. The electron density increases both with nitrogen fill pressure and radio frequency power that attributes to the effective collisional transfer of energy producing electron impact ionization. Plasma parameters show a significant dependence on discharge conditions and can be fine-tuned for specific surface treatments. Article Highlights Spectrum analysis of RF-driven nitrogen plasma for varying discharge conditions Evaluation of vibrational temperature using line-ratio and Boltzmann plot methods Comparison of vibrational temperatures for line-ratio and Boltzmann plot methods Evaluation of electron temperature and density using the intensity-ratio of bands Correlation of temperature and density with varying fill pressure and RF power