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This paper presents a semi-empirical model for a wire–wire corona reactor driven by a capacitive storage solid-state pulse generator. The reactor electrode system is configured as a checker mesh of potential and grounded threaded electrodes, and the pulse generator is based on a modern magnetic pulse compression topology. This presentation considers the effect of the geometrical parameters of the reactor (the total length of the high-voltage electrode surrounded by its grounded counterparts and the gap between the high-voltage and grounded electrodes) on the operation of the atmospheric pressure streamer plasma system. The model analyzes the discharge processes in the reactor by distinguishing between four phases, each being represented by an equivalent circuit: before the streamer generation, during the primary streamer propagation, after the primary streamers have crossed the interelectrode gaps, and after the plasma conductivity quenching. The new reactor model is realized on the PSpice platform, and the simulations are done using an improved pulse modulator model. The simulation results are compared with the experimental data, showing the model validity. Based on the simulated model, a better matching between the wire-to-wire reactor load to the pulse generator may be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports the ongoing effort on development of efficient, compact pulsed corona sources for pollution control applications. The system comprises an all-solid 4 kW average-power nanosecond pulser and a plasma reactor. The pulser is based on a single-stage magnetic compressor generating ~50 kV, 1-5 J and 50-100 ns pulses across a multi-wire reactor having an impedance of approximately 100 Ω, at pulse repetition frequency of up to 1 kHz. The principle of operation of the compressor is described. Equivalent circuits for two consecutive operation stages of the compressor accounting for nonlinear processes in magnetic switches are presented and analyzed. It was found that for the given topology, the optimal ratio of the primary and secondary capacitances is less than "classical" unity value that is characteristic for most magnetic compression systems. The freewheeling diode was constructed from UX-FOB diodes chosen on the basis of the comparison of forward losses of several fast recovery diodes at pulsed conditions. Electrostatic analysis of a complex reactor structure was reduced to a simple problem of coaxial electrodes. This allowed for the implementation of a simplified corona model integrated into a PSpice simulation. The simulated waveforms bear close resemblance to their experimental counterparts. It was found that the reactor breakdown voltage decreased considerably with the increase of the pulse repetition frequency. In several cases, the latter effect was clearly associated with ozone build-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]