Numerical study of atmospheric pressure He plasma jets with dual-channel inlet under different electrode structures
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摘要: 采用二维轴对称流体模型对单电极结构(不锈钢针管)和双电极结构(不锈钢针管-高压环形电极)下同轴双通道进气的大气压氦气等离子体射流进行了对比研究。研究表明:相比于单电极结构,双电极结构下射流的传播速度明显降低,介质管内尤为严重。同时双电极结构下射流的空间结构也发生了显著变化。在单电极结构下,随射流发展由环形中空结构转变为实心圆盘结构;而在双电极结构下则呈现出实心圆盘结构至环形中空结构再至实心圆盘结构的演化过程,改善了射流空间分布的均匀性。此外,还研究了双电极结构下高压环形电极厚度对射流的影响。研究表明,随环形电极厚度的增加,射流的传播速度进一步降低,射流通道径向收缩,同时环形中空结构的射流内径减小,进而改善了射流径向分布的均匀性。Abstract: An atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet with a coaxial dual-channel inlet under single electrode structure (stainless steel needle tube) and double electrode structure (stainless steel needle tube—high voltage ring electrode) is comparatively studied using a two-dimensional axisymmetric fluid model. The study shows that compared with the single electrode structure, the propagation velocity of the jet decreases significantly under the double electrode structure, and decreases more in the dielectric tube. Meanwhile, the spatial structure of the jet changes significantly under the double electrode structure. Under the single electrode structure, the jet structure changes from a donut-shaped hollow structure to a solid disk-shaped structure with its development; while under the double electrode structure, a transformation process from a solid disk-shaped structure to a donut-shaped hollow structure and then to a solid disk-shaped structure is shown, which improves the uniformity of the jet spatial distribution. The effect of high-voltage ring electrode thickness on jet under the double electrode structure is also investigated. It is shown that as the ring electrode thickness increases, the jet propagation velocity decreases further and the jet channel shrinks radially, and the inner diameter of the jet with the donut-shaped hollow structure decreases, which improves the uniformity of the radial distribution of the jet.
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Key words:
- plasma jet /
- electrode structure /
- coaxial dual-channel inlet /
- jet structure /
- radial distribution
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具有更宽的工作带宽和更广的扫描范围的天线,增强了雷达的抗干扰能力、杂波抑制能力,同时保证了雷达在大范围内进行探测、跟踪和精确定位目标。然而,阵列单元之间的相互耦合会影响阵列扫描性能甚至带来破坏性的扫描盲点,使设计变得困难。传统的超宽带天线阵为保持阵列的性能,往往采用一些方法来抑制或者补偿单元间耦合,例如在单元间加入电磁带隙结构[1],或者超材料[2],但这些方法往往带来一些负面影响,如增益下降、方向图畸变、增加设计难度等。
紧耦合偶极子阵列(TCDA) 最早由Munk于2003年提出[3]。与传统阵列不同,TCDA通过减少相邻单元之间的距离来增加耦合,使得带宽有所拓宽。常见紧耦合单元结构有末端重叠型[4-5]及“交指”型[6]。
为了实现宽带和宽角扫描,需要在阵列孔径上方放置一层或者多层电介质板作为宽角匹配层(WAIM)。文献[7]中阵列上方引入两层电介质板,可实现9∶1阻抗带宽,扫描角度达60°。但是必须通过外部180°混合器来抑制偶极子相邻馈线之间的共模谐振。文献[8]采用同轴平衡馈线,并加载两层电介质板,可实现4倍阻抗带宽,但扫描角仅50°。文献[9]中的阵列引入了一种新型的寄生覆层,可以与偶极子巴伦共基板印刷,能够实现E面70°扫描,然而18段阶梯阻抗变换器用于馈电,结构复杂,加工精度非常高。文献[10]提出一种球杯型紧耦合结构,并加载单层电介质板,但仅能实现X波段最大70°扫描。为了减少输入阻抗便于匹配,文献[11-14]采用双偶极子形式,Wilkinson功分器馈电,但会导致E平面大角度扫描时电阻损失过大,扫描角限制在45°。
基于Munk的概念,本文提出了一种新型的TCDA设计。摒弃传统电介质层,选用频选表面(FSS) 作为宽角匹配层;巴伦选用微带线到共面平行双线过渡结构实现宽带馈电,结构简单。仿真结果表明,该阵列天线可实现3倍频内E面80°、H面45°的扫描角,且有源驻波比小于3。
1. 天线单元设计
1.1 TCDA等效电路
该文所提出的TCDA采用偶极子双面印刷于介质板,单元边缘部分相互重叠以增加耦合电容,重叠面积为w×l。图 1给出理想馈源馈电的TCDA模型及等效电路,其中dE, dH分别表示E面、H面单元间距;电介质层均由传输线表示,其特性由每个相应层内的传播Floquet模式确定。Ldipole表示偶极子自感,由偶极子的长度及宽度决定;Ccouple表示单元间耦合电容,取决于重叠面积,两者共同作用于抵消由地平面引入的电抗分量,以进一步扩宽带宽[15],表达式如下
Ldipole =μ04πdE×ln(2dEle) (1) 式中:le=l/4,为平面偶极子的等效宽度,μ0为自由空间磁导率;而Cp的计算采用平行板电容器模型,有
Ccouple =Cp1Cp2/(Cp1+Cp2) (2) 式中::Cp1=Cp2=ε0εr1S4πkd,k=8.99×109,S=w×l/2,ε0为自由空间介电常数,εr1为辐射层介电常数,d为介质板厚度。
利用射频软件ADS建立相应的等效电路,通过算法优化,进而初步确定参数值。等效电路结构简单,优化效率非常高。由于实际馈电方式引入的自身阻抗及金属结构都会影响电场分布,因此电路仿真结果不是非常准确,但仍可作为初步设计的参考。
1.2 宽带巴伦设计
对于TCDA单元,当E面尺寸dE等同于H面尺寸dH时,天线的输入阻抗约为200 Ω。如上文所述,为了便于阻抗匹配,很多TCDA设计采用双偶极子结构,即减小E面尺寸使得dE=0.5dH,此时天线输入阻抗降至100 Ω;为了减少端口数量,采用Wilkinson功分器同时给两个偶极子馈电。但是隔离电阻的存在,严重限制了E面大角度扫描。TCDA中dE=dH时,宽带巴伦须实现50~200 Ω的阻抗变换。由于辐射层为偶极子,采用同轴线直接馈电会导致电流分布不均,方向图畸变,因此巴伦在实现宽带阻抗变换的同时还需实现平衡不平衡转换。
巴伦结构如图 2(b)所示,介质材料为Arlon AD1000 (tm) (介电常数为10.2)。微带线宽带渐变,用于实现阻抗变换;扇形贴片φ=60°可将微带线与地之间垂直电场转换为平行双线之间的水平电场;平行双线实现电流不均匀分布到均匀分布,给偶极子平衡馈电。优化得到最佳参数值见表 1,S参数仿真结果如图 2(c)所示。可以看出,2~10 GHz频带内,该结构反射系数S11<-15 dB,传输系数S21>-3 dB,说明这种微带线到平行双线的过渡结构在5倍频带内实现良好的馈电匹配及平衡不平衡转换。
表 1 优化参数值Table 1. Optimized parameter value(mm) dE dH w l W2 W3 W4 W5 l2 l3 l4 Wb 14.3 14.3 3.4 7.7 0.55 1.25 3 3 5 18 3.2 8 1.3 天线单元结构及参数
根据等效电路初步确定的参数在全波仿真软件HFSS中建立TCDA模型。模型中引入优化后的宽带巴伦,完整TCDA结构包含宽角匹配层、偶极子辐射层、渐变巴伦、电阻型FSS以及金属反射板,如图 2(a)所示。除巴伦外,其余介质材料均为Rogers RO4003 (介电常数为3.55)。
对引入实际馈电方式的模型进行参数微调优化,得到最佳参数值见表 1及图 2。其中辐射层dE=dH=14.3 mm,w=3.4 mm,l=7.7 mm。电阻型FSS介质层厚度为0.6 mm,贴片长度l1=13.7 mm,宽度w1=1.7 mm,方阻为10 Ω/sq。对电阻型FSS进行仿真,将辐射层与金属反射板作为参考面,仿真得到谐振频率为7.5 GHz,而工作频带为2~6 GHz,谐振频率在工作频带之外。电阻型FSS具有一定损耗,因此工作频带内可以吸收部分反射波,有源驻波比得到降低,以牺牲辐射效率为代价来换取带宽的提高。
单元间的互耦使得阵列单元输入阻抗会随着扫描角度发生变化。Magill和Wheeler提出在阵列口径上方放置单层或多层介质板,在阵列参考位置上反射最接近纯电纳,可减小总的阻抗变化,进而起到宽角匹配效果[16]。所设计的TCDA采用频选表面取代传统电介质板,图 3给出等效电路。FSS介质层可等效为L-C级联电路;自由空间由传输线表示,其特性由传播的Floquet模式确定。FSS贴片谐振频率正比于单元结构的周长,因此该结构工作频率低于其谐振频率,旨在为沿z轴传播的平面波提供并联电容。这以与电介质覆层相同的方式降低了介质的特征阻抗,并且增加的电容减轻了接地平面引入的电感分量。从等效传输线观点看,宽角匹配层相当于阻抗渐变线,将天线与真空中的阻抗进行阻抗变化,而这种频选表面比传统电介质层增加了多个设计自由度,使得阻抗随角度变化更加稳定,因此匹配效果更好。
对于紧耦合阵列而言,E面耦合程度高于H面,因此E面扫描特性好,而H面较差。所加载的宽角匹配层设计时主要针对H面,以实现主平面的宽角扫描。频选表面介质材料选定为Rogers RO4003 (介电常数为3.55)。对天线扫描特性影响较大的参数优化后数值为:FSS与辐射层的距离gfss=1 mm;FSS介质层厚度hfss=1 mm;贴片长度lfss=8.58 mm及宽度wfss=1.2 mm。
为了验证FSS的性能,以H面45°扫描为参考基准,对比仿真加载电介质层的TCDA。除宽角匹配层外两者其余结构参数完全一致,周期边界下仿真无限大阵列。电介质层变量为介电常数εd,介质板厚度hd。εd分别取1.7,2.2,3.55,不同εd下优化hd,得到最优组合。图 4给出最优组合下H面45°扫描时的仿真结果。可以看出,当采用单层电介质板时,为了实现良好的宽角匹配,介电常数越低,所需介质板越厚,天线整体剖面越高。采用高介电常数覆层时,介质板厚度虽然降低,但Floquet模式更容易耦合到表面波,高阶模式将占主导地位而导致失谐。因此采用FSS作为宽角匹配层,可以极大地降低天线剖面及成本,同时还能实现更大的扫描角度。
2. 仿真结果与分析
在上节分析基础上,确定天线单元最终参数见表 1,使用电磁仿真软件HFSS对天线特性进行仿真与分析。图 5给出周期边界下无限阵列仿真结果。当天线进行波束扫描时,其有源驻波系数会随着扫描角发生变化。E面可以实现2~6 GHz工作频段内高达80°扫描,且有源驻波系数小于3,高频处匹配较差,因此驻波较低频处增大。H面有源驻波系数变化形式一致,随扫描角的增大而增大,可以实现3倍频内45°扫描。
图 6给出无限大阵列仿真得到的法向可实现增益,天线口径面积A一定时,增益随频率升高而增大。由于阵列电阻型FSS介质损耗及馈电部分损耗,低频处共面极化增益与理想最大增益差距略大,中心频率及高频处一致性较好。同时该阵列轴向交叉极化隔离度大于25 dB。
紧耦合天线阵由大量紧密排列的偶极子天线构成,为了加快仿真速度和节省计算资源,建立如图 7所示无限×有限阵列。有限维由20个元素组成,而无限维采用周期性边界条件,以达到近似全阵列仿真效果。阵列上方采用理想匹配层的边界条件,可以有效吸收阵列辐射。分别取4,5,6 GHz三个频点下对于20×∞单元的行阵列与列阵列做波束扫描分析。波束激励幅度按照均匀直线阵设置,相位差即为
Δφ=2πDfsinθscan /c0 (3) 式中:c0为自由空间波速,D为单元间距,f为工作频率,θscan为扫描角度。
传统相控阵增益会随着扫描角的增大而降低,并且单元间互耦使得有源反射系数增加。当主瓣扫描至60°时,增益下降3 dB;扫描角超过60°时,增益急剧下降;扫描至80°时,增益下降10 dB,严重限制了超宽角扫描[17]。
为了与传统相控阵相比较,图 8给出所提出的紧耦合天线阵相扫时归一化实际增益方向图,各频点处相扫实际增益均与法向实际增益相归一化。E面60°扫描时,归一化实际增益下降在3 dB以内,而当扫描角达到80°时,主瓣峰值处增益下降6 dB以内。H面最大角度45°扫描时,增益下降在2 dB以内。对比传统相控阵,紧耦合相控阵在实现超宽角扫描时具有极大优势。
同时在扫描波束范围内均未出现盲区,共面极化与交叉极化相差约20 dB,保持了良好的交叉极化隔离。对于接近法向的扫描角,旁瓣低于-13 dB,但对于较大的扫描角,旁瓣略有增加。对比三个频率E面及H面相扫方向图,可以看出更高频率时,阵列尺寸与波长相比变大,波束宽度变窄,方向图指向性更好。而当频率低于4 GHz时,由于阵列电尺寸小,辐射特性差,大角度扫描时波束峰值偏移较严重,所以未给出低频阵列方向图。综上所述,在无限×有限阵列,天线辐射特性较好,扫描时指向性良好,可以适用于具有宽带宽角扫描特性相控阵系统中。
3. 结论
本文基于紧耦合原理,提出一种宽带宽角扫描紧耦合偶极子阵列天线单元。结合等效电路,设计参数在电路中直接优化,最后在全波模拟求解器HFSS中进行微调,提高优化效率。频选表面取代传统电介质板用以改善宽角扫描时单元输入阻抗的变换,大大降低天线剖面、质量及成本。仿真表明天线可实现3倍频内E面80°、H面45°的扫描角,且有源驻波系数小于3。并仿真20×∞阵列进行验证,相扫过程中,交叉极化始终低于-20 dB,旁瓣低于-13 dB。所提出的TCDA设计满足宽带宽角扫描特性,且结构简单紧凑,易于加工制作。
致谢: 感谢吴鸿超老师在天线设计方面给予的指导和帮助。 -
图 6 单电极和双电极结构下电离波在管内和管外传播至不同轴向位置时电离头处电场的径向分布
Figure 6. Radial profiles of electric field in the ionization head when the ionization wave propagates to different axial positions inside and outside the tube for single and double electrode structure
Note: solid line: the single electrode structure; dashed line: the double electrode structure
表 1 模拟中采用的化学反应
Table 1. Chemistry reactions used in the simulation
index reaction rate coefficient reference (R1) e + He → e + He BOLSIG+ [21] (R2) e + He → e + He* BOLSIG+ [21] (R3) e + He → 2e + He+ BOLSIG+ [21] (R4) e + N2 → 2e + N2+ BOLSIG+ [21] (R5) e + N2 → e + N2(c3Π) BOLSIG+ [21] (R6) He+ + 2He → He2+ + He 1.1 ×10−43 [m6/s] [22] (R7) He* + 2He → He2* + He 2.0 ×10−46 [m6/s] [22] (R8) 2He2* → He2+ + 2He + e 1.5 ×10−15 [m3/s] [22] (R9) He2* + M → 2He + M 1.0 ×104 [1/s] [22] (R10) 2He* → He2+ + e 1.5 ×10−15 [m3/s] [22] (R11) e + He2+ → He + He* 8.9 ×10−15 (Te/Tg) −1.5 [m3/s] [22] (R12) e + N2+ → N2 4.8 ×10−13 (Te/Tg) −0.5 [m3/s] [22] (R13) He2+ + N2 → N2+ + He2* 1.4 ×10−15 [m3/s] [22] (R14) He* + N2 → He + N2+ + e 5.0 ×10−17 [m3/s] [22] (R15) He2* + N2 → 2He + N2+ + e 3.0 ×10−17 [m3/s] [22] (R16) N2+ + 2N2 → N4+ + N2 1.9 ×10−41 [m6/s] [22] (R17) N2+ + N2 +He → N4+ + He 5.0 ×10−41 [m6/s] [22] (R18) N4+ + N2 → N2+ + 2N2 2.5 ×10−21 [m3/s] [22] (R19) N4+ + He → He + N2 + N2+ 2.5 ×10−21 [m3/s] [22] (R20) e + N4+ → 2N2 2.0 ×10−12 [m3/s] [21] (R21) N2(c3πΠ) → N2 + hv 2.45 ×107 [1/s] [21] Note: In reaction R9, “M” represents background particles He and N2. -
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