Interpretation of the gas flow field modification induced by guided streamer ('plasma bullet') propagation

Atmospheric-pressure non-equilibrium plasmas of noble gases in the form of 'bullets' have attracted considerable attention, against cold low-pressure or thermal atmospheric-pressure plasmas, for multidisciplinary scientific fields such as material science and biomedicine, due to their unique compatible features. A key factor for the efficiency of most of these systems is the interaction between the noble-gas channel, where the 'bullets' (streamers) propagate, and the plasma itself. It is the object of this paper to demonstrate this interaction and to provide the explanation on the gas flow field modification induced by the plasma ignition. A three-dimensional numerical model incorporating most of the governing equations, schlieren imaging and UV–visible high-resolution optical emission spectroscopy are applied. In accordance with the present results, the mechanism leading to the flow field alteration is clearly related to the electrohydrodynamic force, while it is demonstrated that the gas temperature plays a minor role. (paper)