Non-thermal atmospheric pressure discharges

TLDR

Non‑thermal atmospheric pressure discharges have attracted growing industrial interest, yet a comprehensive physical understanding of their operational principles remains incomplete. This study surveys the four principal types of non‑thermal discharges—corona, dielectric barrier, gliding arc, and spark—to clarify their characteristics. The authors analyze electrical breakdown mechanisms, emphasizing avalanches and streamers that govern gas discharges.

Abstract

There has been considerable interest in non-thermal atmospheric pressure discharges over the past decade due to the increased number of industrial applications. Diverse applications demand a solid physical and chemical understanding of the operational principals of such discharges. This paper focuses on the four most important and widely used varieties of non-thermal discharges: corona, dielectric barrier, gliding arc and spark discharge. The physics of these discharges is closely related to the breakdown phenomena. The main players in electrical breakdown of gases: avalanches and streamers are also discussed in this paper. Although non-thermal atmospheric pressure discharges have been intensively studied for the past century, a clear physical picture of these discharges is yet to be obtained.