Transient plasma ignition

Abstract

This paper presents images of transient plasma applied in varied circumstances to fuel ignition and subsequent combustion. The transient plasma occurs during the formative phase of an arc discharge, and persists for /spl ap/50 ns. The results demonstrate that transient plasma ignition initiates combustion efficiently, produces excited species distinct from traditional spark ignition, and that for some applications, including reduced delays to ignition, the approach is advantageous.