Streamer Discharges Caused by High-Frequency Voltage Leading to Ignition of Hydrogen/Air Mixtures

Abstract

The authors investigated the ignition process of hydrogen/air mixtures by repetitive streamer discharges due to high-frequency AC voltage in order to achieve a better comprehension in matters of safety engineering. Therefore, the dependence of ignition on the number of voltage cycles is examined. The location of the highest ignition probability is analysed. The electric field strength in the test setup is calculated to explain the obtained effect of different streamer elongation for different polarities. The streamer current is investigated. The streamer radius and length in air are determined. Considering the impact of the discharge as gas heating the minimum ignition energy density of different hydrogen/air mixtures is calculated using detailed chemical kinetics. Based on this approach, the energy deposition resulting from streamer discharges in the gas mixture is estimated.

Keywords:

• AC voltage
• Explosion protection
• Hydrogen
• Ignition
• Streamer discharge
• Streamer length
• Streamer radius