FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS

FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Chalasani, Dheeraj
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 2013
Subjects:
Plasma Physics
Electromagnetism
Energy
Engineering
Faraday disc
plasma
homopolar generator
plasma brush
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367560698
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu13675606982021-08-03T05:22:45Z FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS Chalasani, Dheeraj Plasma Physics Electromagnetism Energy Engineering Faraday disc plasma homopolar generator plasma brush A Faraday disc generator is a direct current power source that works on the principle of electromagnetic induction. Michael Faraday discovered this generator effect in 1831. Since then a lot of improvements were made upon the original design but the Faraday disc generator has not enjoyed wide spread success. One of the chief reasons for this is the use of contact brushes. The wear of the contact brushes significantly affects the current carrying capacity of the disc. The current distribution in a Faraday disc as a result of energy extraction through a brush contact results in Eddy currents in the Faraday disc which significantly reduces the energy efficiency of the disc. As an alternative, the use of ionized gas or plasma as an electrical contact is considered. The use of plasma as an electrical contact in Faraday disc generators is a new and a novel idea as such an idea has not been suggested by anyone until now.The current work examines the feasibility of using plasma as an electrical contact instead of the conventional brush contacts for energy extraction from a Faraday disc generator from the perspective of plasma attachment and current-voltage characteristics. An experimental apparatus has been designed to simulate the conditions of a Faraday disc generator envisioned as receiving power from a wind or a hydraulic turbine. The setup consists of co-axial electrodes with an air gap of 1mm with the inner electrode being the anode that can be rotated about its axis as required. Experiments were performed at 9.1 torr, 9.55 torr and 10.6 torr to determine the current-voltage characteristics for the cases of rotating anode and stationary anode using a DC power supply. It was observed that the current-voltage characteristics in both the cases of rotating anode and non-rotating anode are qualitatively similar. The various operating regimes of DC plasma were identified qualitatively from the plotted current –voltage characteristics and by visual inspection. As far as plasma attachment is concerned, it seemed to be diffuse and looked to follow the characteristics of a glow regime with by gradually covering the annular gap as the current was increased and stayed diffuse after covering the entire air gap. From the experimental results and observations it was determined that using plasma as an electrical contact is feasible but there are problems that have to be addressed. Based upon the observations and results of the experimental work, two possible self-sustaining configurations for energy extraction were proposed. Finally, a plasma de-coupler design was provided as a solution to the problem of high current densities in the energy extraction area of the plasma. 2013-08-27 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367560698 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367560698 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Plasma Physics
Electromagnetism
Energy
Engineering
Faraday disc
plasma
homopolar generator
plasma brush
spellingShingle Plasma Physics
Electromagnetism
Energy
Engineering
Faraday disc
plasma
homopolar generator
plasma brush
Chalasani, Dheeraj
FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS
author Chalasani, Dheeraj
author_facet Chalasani, Dheeraj
author_sort Chalasani, Dheeraj
title FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS
title_short FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS
title_full FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS
title_fullStr FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS
title_full_unstemmed FEASIBILITY OF A PLASMA CONTACT FOR FARADAY GENERATORS
title_sort feasibility of a plasma contact for faraday generators
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2013
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367560698
work_keys_str_mv AT chalasanidheeraj feasibilityofaplasmacontactforfaradaygenerators
_version_ 1719419289846415360

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