Characteristics of an underwater direct current discharge in bubbles and the temperature distribution in the bubbles

Abstract

An underwater direct current (DC) discharge in artificially produced air bubbles is investigated. Electrical and optical emission properties of the plasma and temperature distribution in bubbles evaluated by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are presented. The behavior of plasma inside a bubble significantly depends on the bubble size. The discharge with water as a cathode is characterized by streamer nature, whereas the plasma with water as an anode appears diffuse and homogenous. The gas temperature is estimated from emission of the plasma, and it is much higher when water is a cathode. Bubble dynamics is investigated by CFD simulation, and results are in good agreement with experimental data. It shows the temperature distribution in bubbles strongly depends on the bubble dynamics, and gas-water interface has a sharp temperature gradient and acts as an efficient heat sink.