Simulation of the propagation and reignition of atmospheric pressure air discharges behind a dielectric plane obstacle*

In recent years, experimental studies on flue gas treatment have demonstrated the efficiency of plasma assisted catalysis for the treatment of a wide range of pollutants at a low energetic cost. In plasma reactors, usual catalyst supports are pellets, monoliths or porous media, and then atmospheric pressure discharges have to interact with many obstacles and to propagate in microcavities and pores. As a first step to better understand atmospheric pressure discharge dynamics in these complex geometries, in this work, we have carried out numerical simulations using a 2D-axisymmetric fluid model for a point-to-plane discharge with a dielectric plane obstacle placed in the path of the discharge. First, we have simulated the discharge ignition at the point electrode, its propagation in the gap and its impact and expansion on the dielectric plane. Depending on the applied voltage, the dielectric plane geometry and permittivity, we have identified conditions for the reignition of a second discharge behind the plane obstacle. These conditions will be discussed and compared with recent experimental results on the same configuration.