Electrical Characteristics, Electrode Sheath and Contamination Layer Behavior of a Meso-Scale Premixed Methane-Air Flame Under AC/DC Electric Fields

Electrical characteristics of a nozzle-attached meso-scale premixed methane-air flame under low-frequency AC (0-4300 V, 0-500 Hz) and DC (0-3300 V) electric fields were studied. I-V curves were measured under different experimental conditions to estimate the magnitude of the total current 10⁰-10² µA, the electron density 10¹⁵-10¹⁶ m^-3 and further the power dissipation ≤0.7 W in the reaction zone. At the same time, the meso-scale premixed flame conductivity 10⁻⁴-10⁻³ Ω^-1•m ^-1 as a function of voltage and frequency was experimentally obtained and was believed to represent a useful order-of magnitude estimate. Moreover, the influence of the collision sheath relating to Debye length (31-98 µm) and the contamination layer of an active electrode on measurements was discussed, based on the combination of simulation and theoretical analysis. As a result, the electrode sheath dimension was evaluated to less than 0.5 mm, which indicated a complex effect of the collision sheath on the current measurements. The surface contamination effect of an active electrode was further analyzed using the SEM imaging method, which showed elements immigration during the contamination layer formation process.