We present a computational study that demonstrates the concept of a microwave excited plasma flow sensor. The geometric configuration consists of an array of circularly arranged “receiver” (ground) electrodes that surround a central “transmitter” (excited) electrode that is flush mounted on a surface exposed to incident flow. Microwave excitation is used to strike a low-temperature plasma between the transmitter electrode and the receiver electrode. Depending on the flow direction, a more intense plasma kernel is formed between the transmitter electrode and the downstream electrode for sufficiently strong excitation conditions. The differential current between the receiver electrodes is used to establish the flow direction and magnitude. The computational model establishes the effectiveness of the concept as a flow sensor. Parametric studies involving excitation voltages, flow velocities, scale lengths, electrode shape, and excitation frequency are performed. It is observed that the sensitivity of the device to the imposed flow is considerably improved with increasing excitation frequency in the microwave regime.

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新型用于空气动力流动的微波激发等离子体传感器的计算研究

我们目前进行的一项计算研究证明了微波激发等离子体流量传感器的概念。几何构型由围绕中央“发射器”（受激）电极的圆形排列的“接收器”（接地）电极阵列组成，该中心“齐平”安装在暴露于入射流的表面上。微波激发用于在发射器电极和接收器电极之间撞击低温等离子体。根据流动方向，在发射电极和下游电极之间会形成强度更高的等离子体核，以产生足够强的激发条件。接收器电极之间的差分电流用于确定流向和大小。该计算模型确定了该概念作为流量传感器的有效性。进行涉及激励电压，流速，标度长度，电极形状和激励频率的参数研究。可以观察到，随着微波状态中激发频率的增加，装置对施加的流量的敏感性大大提高。