Modelling of turbulent reacting flow for a cold atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet

A two-dimensional, axisymmetric model of turbulent reacting flow for a cold atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet has been developed. The model is formulated within the framework of boundary-layer theory and allows to study the transport and chemical processes in the jet with low computational effort. The generation of primary reactive gas species is described using a local zero-dimensional reaction kinetics model. The proposed modelling approach is validated against available experimental data. The computations are performed for a turbulent cold plasma jet operated in argon with admixtures of oxygen, air and water. The effect of a shielding gas on the transport and chemical processes is discussed. The modelling results are compared with the results of quantitative schlieren diagnostics (for Ar), molecular-beam mass spectrometry (for Ar, N₂, O₂), laser-induced fluorescence (for NO), two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (for O), ultraviolet absorption (for O₃) and cavity ring-down (for HO₂) spectroscopy measurements. It is shown that turbulent diffusion across the jet is an important factor influencing the behaviour of reactive species that are of interest for practical applications. (paper)