Discharge effects on gas flow dynamics in a plasma jet

Plasma is used as a flow visualization method to display the gas flow of a plasma jet. Using this method, it is found that a discharge in a plasma jet promotes the transition of the gas flow to turbulence. A discharge at intermediate frequency (similar to 6 kHz in this paper) has a stronger influence on the gas flow than that at lower or higher frequencies. Also, a higher discharge voltage enhances the transition of the gas flow to turbulence. Analysis reveals that pressure modulation induced both by the periodically directed movement of ionized helium and Ohmic heating on the gas flow plays an important role in inducing the transition of the helium flow regime. In addition, since the modulations induced by the high-and low-frequency discharges are determined by the frequency-selective effect, only intermediate-frequency (similar to 6 kHz) discharges effectively cause the helium flow transition from the laminar to the turbulent flow. Moreover, a discharge with a higher applied voltage makes a stronger impact on the helium flow because it generates stronger modulations. These conclusions are useful in designing cold plasma jets and plasma torches. Moreover, the relationship between the discharge parameters and the gas flow dynamics is a useful reference on active flow control with plasma actuators.