Date of Award

Summer 1998

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Program/Concentration

Electrical Engineering

Committee Director

Karl H. Schoenbach

Committee Member

Vishnu K. Lakdawala

Committee Member

Linda L. Vahala

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.E55 D47

Abstract

Microhollow electrode discharges have been developed and researched in the Physical Electronics Research Institute Laboratories. This discharge typically operates in direct current mode. Microhollow electrode discharges are non-thermal discharges that produce electrons with energies greater than 10 electron volts. Passing gas mixtures through non-equilibrium discharges invokes excitation or dissociation of gas molecules.

The scope of my research was to study the effect of the discharge on the chemistry of two gases, oxygen and nitric oxide in nitrogen mixture. Initial experiments were performed in an effort to produce ozone near atmospheric pressure. This seemed possible since the discharge has a high-energy electron distribution and the increased likelihood of three-body processes at high operating pressures. The goal of using the nitric oxide in nitrogen mixture was an attempt to use the microhollow electrode discharge for reducing the nitric oxide concentration. The most probable reaction paths were the excitation of nitrogen molecules to subsequent higher oxidation states such as nitrous oxide.

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DOI

10.25777/tfm2-5y73

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