Simulations of direct-current air glow discharge at pressures ∼1 Torr: Discharge model validation

Computational simulations of air glow discharge phenomena in the pressure range typical of plasma actuator applications for high speed flow control are presented. The model is based on a self-consistent, multispecies, and multitemperature continuum description of the plasma. A reduced air plasma model suitable for multidimensional simulations with 11 species and 21 gas phase chemical reactions is validated against experimental results in the literature. The discharge model predicts experimentally observed glow mode discharge operation, the current-voltage characteristics of the discharge, and spatial profiles of the electron temperature and positive ion number densities. For pressures of order 1 Torr, O2+ and N2+ are the dominant positive ion species in the discharge, and the concentration of O- negative ion is comparable to electron concentration. The two-dimensional structure of the discharge is predicted by the model is found to be in agreement with qualitative observations from the experiments.