Efficiency analysis of ignition by Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed discharges using a low-order model

Plasma-assisted combustion is an interesting method to promote the ignition of a lean reactive mixture instead of conventional spark plugs. Especially, Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed (NRP) discharges technique is an energy-efficient way to initiate and control combustion processes. Ignition success or failure results from the competition between the discharge energy accumulation, the gas residence time in the discharge region, and the combustion chemistry. Plasma-assisted ignition is modeled here by a Perfectly-Stirred Reactor (PSR) whose volume represents the one surrounding the interelectrode region. NRP discharges are applied inside the reactor to initiate the combustion of the injected mixture. This model numerically identifies a plasma-assisted ignition efficiency map in terms of the amount of energy per pulse and the pulse repetition frequency, at low CPU cost. A criterion based on the residence time, interpulse time, and chemical time is introduced to predict the successful formation of a reactive kernel. This criterion is successfully validated by analyzing the plasma-assisted PSR solutions.