Electric arc discharge in the transverse gas flow at atmospheric pressure

Physical features of the transverse arc discharge (TA) and its atmospheric pressure plasma were investigated for the wide range of gas flow rates (0 $\div$ 3/4 of the sound speed) and for the different gas content (atomic - Ar, molecular - air) and different character of gas flows (from laminar to turbulent). Component composition of the plasmaforming gas; electronic excitation temperatures T$_{e}^{\ast }$ of atoms, vibration T$_{v}^{\ast}$ and rotation T$_{r}^{\ast}$ temperatures of molecules in the generated plasma were determined by optical emission spectroscopy. The electron distribution function and its average energy were calculated by using Bolsigplus code. The difference between T$_{e}^{\ast}$ of electrode material atoms (cooper) and atoms of blowing gas (oxygen, hydrogen, argon) was found. It can be explained by the additional mechanism of the population of electronic states of cooper atoms due to the ion-ion recombination. It was shown that when the gas flow rate achieves values larger than the drift velocity of ions in an electric field of the discharge further increasing of the voltage drop on the discharge starts with the gas flow rate growth, which is accompanied by appearance of numerous filament structures oriented along the gas flow.