10.2514/6.2011-3454">
 

Development and verification of a pseudospectral forward model for collisional plasma diagnostics

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

6-27-2011

Abstract

Plasma diagnostics such as microwave interferometry require a forward model to relate the measurement (phase and amplitude shift) to plasma properties (electron density and effective electron-neutral collision frequency). In the present work a two-way wave equation for the electric field of an interferometer beam is discretized by a pseudo-spectral method of lines approach, and stabilized with Lanzcos -factor smoothing. A Chebyshev pseu- dospectral method is employed that is suitable for modeling a non-periodic domain. This numerical solution of the forward model also allows arbitrary material property gradients to be accurately treated in contrast to simpler analytical approaches (e.g. Appleton-Hartree). The phase and amplitude shift of the interferometer beam is assumed to be caused only by electron currents and electron-neutral collisions in a Lorentz model of the electron motion. The numerical implementation is formally verified using the method of manufactured solu- tions (MMS). The capabilities of a computer algebra system (CAS) are leveraged through- out for code generation and verification. The model is applied to diagnosing a dielectric barrier discharge in air.

Comments

Co-author J. Stults was an AFIT PhD candidate at the time of this conference. (AFIT-DS-ENY-11-15, September 2011)

Source Publication

42nd AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference 2011

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