Pulsed positive streamer discharges in air at high temperatures

Atmospheric-pressure air pulsed positive streamer discharges are generated in a 13 mm point-plane gap in the temperature range of 293 K–1136 K, and the effect of temperature on the streamer discharges is studied. When the temperature is increased, the product of applied voltage and temperature VT proportional to the reduced electric field can be used as a primary parameter that determines some discharge parameters regardless of temperature. For a given VT , the transferred charge per pulse, streamer diameter, product of discharge energy and temperature, and length of secondary streamer are almost constant regardless of T , whereas the streamer velocity decreases with increasing T and the decay rate of the discharge current is proportional to 1/ T . The N₂( C ) emission intensity is approximately determined by the discharge energy independent of T . These results are useful to predict the streamer discharge and its reactive species production when the ambient temperature is increased. (paper)