Discharge Characteristic of AC Rotating Gliding Arc

In order to study the electrical characteristics and arc gliding modes of AC rotating gliding arc discharge, we measured the electrical signal and took discharge images of rotating gliding arc discharge by AC powered under atmospheric pressure. The results show that there are two kinds of gliding modes in the whole discharge process, namely, the Steady Arc Gliding (A-G) mode and Breakdown Gliding (B-G) mode. The current peak in the B-G mode varies between 1 and 40 A, belonging to the ampere-class, and the current peak in A-G mode varies between negative 900 mA and positive 900 mA, belonging to the milliampere-class. The sliding mode of the arc is affected by the voltage and air flow. The process from arc generation to extinguishment is consistent with the physical process of arc approaching ‘zero’ duration, arc burning, and arc extinction. In addition, after describing the voltage-current characteristics by segmentation fitting, we find that the U-I curve in the zero-off phase of the arc in the positive half-cycle of the discharge satisfies the step function. During the process of increasing arc current in the arc stabilized combustion stage, the U-I curve satisfies the inverse proportional function. In the process of re-ducing arc current, the U-I curve satisfies the linear function. The U-I curve of the negative half cycle of the discharge satis-fies the mathematical function characteristic similar to the positive half cycle, but the voltammetric characteristic curve is not symmetrical about the origin. Finally, the discharge images show that the region of the strongest arc emission intensity is always located at the cathode of the root arc. © 2018, High Voltage Engineering Editorial Department of CEPRI. All right reserved.