Numerical Simulation of Inductively Coupled Air Plasmas

Detailed magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of plasma flows in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) heater are performed with air as the working gas. The plasma flows are numerically solved by the axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations coupled with Park’s two-temperature models and Dunn-Kang’s chemical kinetic models to take into account the thermal and chemical non-equilibrium, while induction heating in plasmas is incorporated by solving the time-averaged MHD induction equations. Computations are done by changing the operating conditions such as the input power and the background pressure to examine how the plasma properties and the wall heat fluxes inside the discharge chamber depend on these parameters. Numerical results are compared with those of spectroscopic measurement. Good agreement is obtained in the downstream region where the flow is in local thermal equilibrium, however, qualitative discrepancy of electronic temperature between the theory and the experiment is found in the discharge chamber where Joule heating is significant.